Judge orders 200K pounds of fireworks to be returned to owner

UPDATE 1 P.M. Judge Joseph Sciscento has ordered around 200,000 pounds of fireworks to be returned to Michael Paglia, but they must be transported out of Clark County by a certified hazmat company.

Judge Sciscento had concerns the hot and dry weather could possibly ignite and spread a fire.

"This is the worse season for the fire department. This is the month where they are the busiest. I do not want any fire people taken off of their normal routines," said Judge Sciscento.

Any money that Paglia receives from the sale of the fireworks, which were ordered by the Paiute Tribal, will be held temporarily by the court until the case is resolved.

Judge Sciscento said in court his decision was rushed by the plaintiff's attorney since the fireworks needed to be delivered by June 3.

"If this was not close to the Fourth of July, we would have all the time in the world to come up with a solution," said Judge Sciscento.

He also acknowledged Paglia had to comply with the sale contact and that the fireworks ordered are allowed in the Moapa Indian Reservation.

Jessica Walsh, the Clark County District Chief Deputy, argued the amount of fireworks could pose a threat to people and the land.

Richard Schonfeld represents Michael Paglia.

"The judge did not want to prevent the transaction from occurring but also did not want my client to get the economic until the are later proceedings in the case," said Schonfeld.

He said in court Paglia was only shipping "consumer type" fireworks, the kind that pose less explosive risks.

"All the fireworks were certified, transported properly," said Schonfeld.

Paglia will be back in court on July 19 at 8 a.m.

ORIGINAL STORY
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- A Nevada man is in court today to contest the seizure of approximately 200,000 pounds of fireworks.

The fireworks were found at a storage facility just outside of Las Vegas.

The man, identified as Michael Paglia, says that he bought the fireworks from China and had them shipped to California. He then brought them to Nevada in a truck. Paglia says that he had already sold the fireworks to the reservation in Moapa Valley but they did not have anywhere to store them.

The fireworks included firecrackers, cherry bombs, bottle rockets, roman candles, aerial display fireworks, M-80s and M-60s.

Paglia, who has sold fireworks for several years, does not have a license to sell or store fireworks. He claims that he will lose about $500,000 if the fireworks are not returned to him today.