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	Priest Wanted on Assault Charge Waives Extradition By Chris Kahn Mohave Daily News February 6, 2007 http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles/2007/02/07/news/state/state2.txt Phoenix - A Roman Catholic priest facing charges of beating and sexually assaulting a female employee at his Las Vegas parish will not fight extradition from Arizona. The Rev. George Chaanine, 52, agreed not to fight his return to Las Vegas during a brief extradition hearing in Maricopa County Superior Court on Tuesday. He is being held on $1 million bail. Chaanine was arrested Thursday in Apache Junction, about 30 miles east of Phoenix. No gun was found in Chaanine's car, Las Vegas police Lt. John Bradshaw said in an e-mail response to questions Tuesday. He had been on the run since Jan. 26, when he allegedly attacked the female church worker. He faces charges of attempted murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and battery with a deadly weapon in the incident. Chaanine, an administrator at Our Lady of Las Vegas parish, could face life in prison if he is convicted of the most serious charges, Clark County prosecutors have said. Chaanine's lawyer, Brian Russo, said Tuesday that his client will plead not guilty once he is returned to Nevada. "He looks forward to getting out there and litigating those charges," Russo said. The priest, dressed in jail stripes, sat quietly and answered routine questions from court Commissioner Lisa Ann Vandenberg with a yes or no, until she asked him if he had used drugs or alcohol in the past 72 hours. "Never," Chaanine said. The woman told Las Vegas police that she was sitting at her desk when Chaanine suddenly attacked her, breaking a bottle of wine over her head and then choking and groping her. She told detectives she was praying for her life when the attack suddenly stopped. Chaanine has been suspended with pay from his position as church administrative pastor. He declined an interview request from The Associated Press following his arrest. Nevada authorities have 30 days to arrange for his transfer to their custody, Vandenberg said. In Las Vegas, lawyer David Chesnoff said he had been asked to represent Chaanine and that Russo appeared "on my behalf" in Phoenix. But Chesnoff said he had not met personally with Chaanine and said he had not been hired for Chaanine's defense in Las Vegas. "He's attempting to make arrangements to retain our office," Chesnoff said. Chesnoff is a well-known defense lawyer who has been involved in some of southern Nevada's biggest trials in recent years. He represented one of 42 Hells Angels motorcycle club members and served as unofficial spokesman for the defense in a recent federal racketeering trial stemming from a 2002 brawl with a rival biker gang that left three people dead. Chesnoff's client was one of six Hells Angels who pleaded guilty in October to reduced charges. He was sentenced last month to four years and three months in a federal prison. Chesnoff also represents Darren Mack, a wealthy former Reno pawn shop owner accused of killing his wife and shooting a judge last year, and represents Bruce Crispin Leyser, a Los Angeles-based television producer seeking half of the 2006 World Series of Poker main event grand prize of $12 million won by Jamie Gold.
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