The City of Las Vegas has sued a local contractor it says is "holding hostage’’ certain architectural elements for the Mob Museum under construction downtown.
In a suit filed in Clark County District Court on Wednesday, the city said J.L. Wallco Inc. dba Wallternatives, and an official there, Richard Nieto, because of a payment dispute with another contractor, refuse to return 14 city-owned steel window grilles that Wallternatives has been refurbishing.
The suit says that as part of the process of renovating the old downtown post office into the Mob Museum, the grilles valued at $22,000 were removed in December 2009.
Mob Museum contractor APCO Construction hired Wallternatives to remove lead paint from the grilles, prime them for painting and then return them to the museum, the suit says.
A dispute then arose between APCO and Wallternatives regarding the work and payment for it, the suit says.
"Defendants have wrongly retained the grilles since the dispute between APCO and Wallternatives arose," the suit says. "Wallternatives and/or Nieto are now holding the grilles hostage. Neither Wallternatives nor Nieto have any ownership interest in the grilles and they are improperly retaining the grilles."
The defendants couldn’t immediately be located for comment on the lawsuit.
Records show J.L. Wallco’s license with the State Contractors Board expired on Jan. 31, 2010, and has not been renewed. The phone number listed on that license was not in service on Friday.
Officials at the city couldn’t immediately be reached for comment for more information about the grilles such as where in the museum they will be installed.
A Mob Museum spokeswoman said Friday she didn’t have any information about the grilles, but said the museum is on track for its Feb. 14 opening.
The Mob Museum is not related to the bankrupt but still-operating Las Vegas Mob Experience at the Tropicana resort.