William P. Beko

William P. "Bill" Beko was a lifelong Nevadan whose legal career spanned more than four decades in the courts of Nye County. The son of Pete and Saveta Beko, he grew up in Tonopah, attended local schools, and was remembered as an outstanding scholar and athlete. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada and graduated from Hastings College of Law of the University of California in May 1952. That same year he was admitted to practice in all Nevada courts, and he was later admitted before the U.S. District Court, the U.S. Tax Court, and the Supreme Court. He enlisted in the military in 1942, was commissioned in military intelligence, and served in the counterintelligence corps during World War II, continuing in military intelligence for six years after his discharge.

Beko began his public service as a member of the Nevada Assembly in the 1953 Legislature. He was first elected Nye County District Attorney running unopposed, and went on to win five re-elections through 1974, compiling a courtroom record in which he was said to have prevailed in 97 percent of the cases he took to trial. Among his notable achievements as prosecutor was a tax lawsuit against Nevada Test Site contractors that yielded some $4.5 million in back taxes for the county. He also served as chairman of the Nevada Commission on Crime.

In May 1976, Beko was appointed by Governor Mike O'Callaghan as judge of the Fifth Judicial District, a bench he served with distinction. Over the course of his career he compiled an outstanding record of service to Nye County in both public and private life, and his legacy endures in the William P. Beko Justice Complex in Tonopah, which continues to house Nye County court operations.