Tire Works Cleared - Attorney General Admits Basis Was 'Exaggerated'

'Miniscule' number of complaints 'Better suited for Small Claims Court'

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 23 -- Tire Works has always enjoyed an excellent relationship with its customers. So when Channel 13 began airing wild allegations, Tire Works' Chief Financial Officer Roshie Weightman knew there was nothing to the allegations. What she didn't know is that it would take her a year, millions in lost revenue and putting her expansion plans on hold to prove Channel 13's television reporter had it all wrong from day one.

"This is an amazing account of how a reporter, KTNV's Darcy Spears didn't let facts stand in the way of a story and almost single handedly wrecked a business with 130 employees. It just didn't matter how good our track record with customers was," said Weightman. "This is the type of business that adds customers in an economic downturn but these misguided stories sidetracked our company's business plans. If Spears would have shown minimal effort to make a simple phone call she would have found out that one of her 'trusted' sources was in fact under investigation for alleged felonies and was later arrested on several felony warrants for alleged crimes against Tire Works. In my opinion Spears isn't an investigative reporter, she would be fired by any respectable news outlet in Las Vegas. She made KTNV look ridiculous."

The story started when the economy started melting down. It was clear that the State budget would undergo cuts. The Consumer Affairs Division wanted publicity to justify its existence. They teamed with KTNV, a television station with weakening ratings to target Tire Works, a former advertiser on KTNV. The reality was Tire Works enjoyed one of the lowest customer complaint records in the state. The resulting story was packed with inaccuracies. Proof: a news release from the office of Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto says, the decision bureaucrats made to team with a television station was, "...the reason the case was so exaggerated and received so much publicity." The Attorney General's Senior Deputy, Robert Giunta went on to say, "The net effect was that the allegations were made to appear much larger than they were."

In what has become one of the most widely publicized cases involving a local media outlet, Weightman says she was approached by Channel 13's lead Anchorwoman, Nina Radetich who attempted to exploit the station's attacks on Tire Works. Nina Radetich offered Weightman a way to blunt the impact of the stations repeated attacks: hire Radetich's boyfriend. The entire episode was taped. Despite the incredible impact on the business and the disregard of the basic rules of journalism, KTNV appears unashamed and opted to keep both Darcy Spears and Nina Radetich on staff.

Concluded Weightman, CFO of Tire Works, "This is a market with some truly hard working and accomplished journalists. I would think it must pain Spears to no end to know that she will never be one of them."