Former SSH Owner Now Deputy In Texas
The saga of former Silver State Helicopters owner Jerry Airola
has a new chapter. KLAS-8 in Las Vegas reports the Nevada
expatriate is now the focus of a federal investigation into a
number of suspect business dealings.
As ANN reported, Silver State closed up shop
February 3 of last year, and filed for Chapter 7 liquidation the
next day. It was an ignominious end for a company that had expanded
rapidly throughout the nation, recruiting students with a
fast-track rotorcraft proficiency course and the promise of job
placement upon completion of their training.
Airola was a no-show at an April court hearing into claims he
cleaned out student tuition accounts, less than 48 hours before
filing Chapter 7 liquidation.
The shutdown left approximately 2,000 students across the
country scrambling, many with student loans to repay. Airports once
served by Silver State were stuck with unpaid fuel bills and other
fees racked up by the school. Facing a number of federal grand jury
subpoenas, Airola fled Nevada after Silver State closed its
doors... and is now a sheriff's deputy for a Native American tribe
in Texas.
George Kelesis, who has the unenviable task of representing
Airola against those investigations, says he firmly believes his
client has been made an unfortunate scapegoat for a far greater
mess.
"I'm not saying Mr. Airola is a victim," Kelesis said. "I'm
saying Mr. Airola is not responsible for the acts they are trying
to attribute to him."
The attorney
says Airola sold most of his shares in Silver State Helicopters in
2007 to new owners, and left the company in sound financial
condition. The decision to file for liquidation soon thereafter was
theirs alone, he claims.
"That position was opposed to adamantly, vehemently, and loudly
by Mr. Airola," Kelesis asserts. "He did not want to file
bankruptcy. In fact, he objected and voted against it."
Furthermore, Kelesis maintains Airola had arranged a program for
students left out in the cold by the SSH closure to complete their
training at one of five alternate schools... but that the new
owners shut him down.
"He had no power," said Kelesis. "He had no say so. He had no
authority."
If that sounds as though Kelesis is attempting to paint his
client as something of an antihero, it's worth noting the attorney
isn't exactly an Airola apologist; in fact, Kelesis says, he's a
close personal friend of Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie, who
won election to that office in 2006 following a bitter campaign
against... Jerry Airola.
"The circumstances are very unique," Kelesis admits.