Overdose victim’s family sues North Las Vegas, firefighters over ‘party station’ where employees reportedly traded drugs
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (KLAS) — A federal judge has denied the City of North Las Vegas’ request to be removed from a lawsuit involving the overdose death of a former firefighter’s wife after what investigators called a drug-fueled party.
Tiffany Slatsky, 25, died in February 2020. The mother of her then 3-year-old boy was found unresponsive at her Henderson apartment.
In 2021, a judge sentenced Christopher Candito, 34, Slatsky’s husband, to 16-to-40 months to prison for providing the drugs that led to his wife’s overdose death. Candito was originally charged with second-degree murder in the case. He took a plea deal to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Police said Candito took a 23-mile trip from the Henderson apartment to his North Las Vegas fire station while his wife was experiencing overdose symptoms. He took the opioid-overdose antidote Narcan from the station and administered it to her, they said.
Slatsky’s family filed the lawsuit against Candito, her husband’s colleagues and the city in February 2022.
The lawsuit said the firefighters “were acting on the implied and/or actual permission and consent” of the city and worked at Station 51, “which had a reputation of being a ‘party station’ with numerous employees engaged in the purchase, sale, trade, and/or use of steroids or illicit drugs.”
In his order denying the city’s motion to dismiss, Judge Daniel Albregts wrote because Candito went to a city fire station, he was “acting within the scope of his job.”
“That Candito accessed fire station supplies using his city-issued badge is sufficient to plausibly allege that Candito’s conduct was not a truly independent venture,” Albregts said. “And that Candito acted consistently with his job duties in treating Tiffany is sufficient to plausibly allege that his conduct was committed in the course of the very task assigned to him.”
Albregts also wrote “Candito and the fire station had a reputation of drug use” and the city seemingly allowed “free access” to medical supplies.
A city spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.
“While we sympathize with Ms. Slatsky’s family, responsibility lies solely with Mr. Candito who was criminally convicted for Ms. Slatsky’s death and is serving his time,” a city spokesman told the 8 News Now Investigators when the case was filed last year.
No other employee except Candito was charged with a crime.
Slatsky’s parents have adopted her son, Kade.