A Killer View

"In a year's time, authorities said, he wiped out more than 500 trees near an upscale retirement community just south of Las Vegas."

"Greenery, he had complained to a homeowners committee, was blocking his view of the Strip."

"In November, a jury convicted Hoffman, 60, on 10 charges in the destruction of nearly $250,000 worth of mesquite and other trees. He will likely face sentencing next month and could get as much as 35 years in prison."

"The 'arborcide,' as one lawyer dubbed it, has resonated in booming Clark County, where hillsides in recent years have been overrun with sand-colored homes and transplanted trees. In many neighborhoods, glimpses of the Spring and Muddy Mountain ranges -- and the Strip's neon skyline -- have vanished."