Catherine Cortez Masto
Nevada Attorney General.
In January 2007, Catherine Cortez Masto began serving her first term as Nevada’s Attorney General after winning more votes than any other statewide candidate. Known for her integrity and leadership, General Masto has committed her time in office to protecting and advocating on behalf of the people and communities in Nevada.
As the chief law enforcement officer of the State, she has worked to keep our communities safer. In February of 2007 she advocated for the creation of a statewide Methamphetamine Working Group to combat the use and distribution of methamphetamines in Nevada. Working closely with law enforcement, treatment providers and community advocates and leaders, General Masto fought for a new state law that restricts the sale of materials used to manufacture meth. The new law also added new criminal penalties for engaging in certain activities related to the manufacture of meth. She sponsored a bill to create a permanent Working Group to fight all substance abuse including prescription and synthetic drugs. General Masto helped secure funding for the Drug Engaged Children Alliance. She is currently the chair of the Substance Abuse Working Group.
Staying true to her commitment to protecting seniors, General Masto created a senior protection unit in her office ensuring for the first time that her investigators and prosecutors would have the necessary tools to pursue those who abuse, neglect or exploit seniors in our communities. She has continued her commitment to seniors by hosting a statewide conference for senior advocates, providers and law enforcement to provide them with the tools and best practices for preventing and addressing elder abuse. She sponsored a bill to include additional civil penalties for crimes against the elderly including assault, battery, larceny and mortgage fraud.
A lifelong advocate for women and children, General Masto has worked on behalf of Nevada’s families to strengthen our state laws to prevent violence against women and protect kids from sexual predators. In 2008 she created an advisory committee on victims of crime to address funding, resource and enforcement issues. The advisory committee successfully fought for state laws to authorize victims of sexual assault to seek a protective order, and to provide for penalties for the crime of strangulation involving domestic violence. General Masto introduced a bill to organize a multi-disciplinary team to review the deaths of domestic violence victims, called the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Statewide Team, which she chairs.
General Masto’s dedication to children in our communities has resulted in new laws strengthening the registration and notification requirements of convicted sex offenders and offenders against children; prohibiting an individual from using the internet to access child pornography; preventing a person from luring someone believed to be a child; and strengthening child custody laws.
While in office, General Masto has stressed the importance of educational outreach. She conducts presentations to elementary, middle schools and high schools talking with students about cyber safety and dangers of sexting, cyberbullying, teen dating violence and online predators. When travelling through some of the State’s smaller communities on her semiannual rural road trips, General Masto emphasizes the importance of consumer protection. In 2008 she created the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force in her office to investigate and prosecute fraudulent foreclosure rescue and loan modification scams.
Prior to her service at the Attorney General’s Office, she worked as an Assistant County Manager for Clark County, Nevada. She also served as a federal criminal prosecutor for the United States Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. and was Chief of Staff to Governor Bob Miller.
General Masto, a native Nevadan, attended the University of Nevada Reno, graduating with a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1986 with a major in Finance. She graduated Cum Laude from Gonzaga University School of Law, in Spokane, Washington in 1990. She is married to Paul Masto a retired U.S. Secret Service Agent.