Tony (“Nino”) D’Anna, 46 (Convicted Felon)

Tony “Nino” D’Anna

The origins of my involvement with Tony “Nino” D’Anna began in 2010, when I was introduced to him by a woman named Rochanna Ghafouri, a Las Vegas area Realtor, who at the time was Nino’s girlfriend. As a result of that introduction, I formed a friendship with Nino D’Anna that had been ongoing for more than 10 years.

D’Anna had been open with me in his past in conversations over time that I had with D’Anna; he admitted to being a drug dealer and convicted felon. He also told me that he did high-interest cash loans, frequently with his friend and business associate Shafik Hirji. D’Anna told me about a relationship he had with another of his one-time girlfriends. He said he had been arrested for domestic violence, home invasion and other charges related to his treatment of her.

D’Anna has an explosive and dangerous temper. His ex-girlfriend victim has her own harrowing story to tell about what happened to her at the hands of D’Anna beyond the sterile court proceedings documentation.

Judge Melanie Tobiasson had her hands all over this case. She ruled to dismiss the case, and in separate rulings over the course of the case, ruled to recall D’Anna’s arrest warrant, order D’Anna’s release under his own recognizance with intense supervision, rescinded the order of “intense supervision,” ordered no contact with the victim; then she closed the case with the note: “State Not Proceeding.” After the case concluded, however, Nino’s ex-girlfriend victim told a story of being beaten by D’Anna, driven into the Las Vegas desert, and being dumped and left for dead.

• D’Anna, as a convicted felon, is someone who is known in the eyes of the law as a “prohibited person.” A prohibited person is someone who is not allowed to possess or buy firearms under federal law. D’Anna skirted this issue in the following way: Vickie Dehart bought firearms, which once in her possession, he had access to. D’Anna confided in me and said that Vickie Dehart purchased two “assault rifles” one of them was an FN SCAR – an AR 15-style rifle. (Similar to the one shown below.)

The US Department of Justice tracks all legal firearms purchases by having the purchaser fill out a Firearms Transaction Record, known as a Form 4473. It is a seven-page form that requires extensive purchaser information, including a your driver’s license number. There also is a warning that all purchasers must acknowledge, which states the following in bold-face lettering: “Warning: You are not the actual transferee/buyer if you are acquiring any of the firearm(s) on behalf of another person.” Purchasers must sign the form and acknowledge they are abiding by and have read all the legal parameters related to purchasing the firearm and the law that governs it.

It appears Nino D’Annna doesn’t understand that legal concept, nor does his keeper, Vickie Dehart.