Maybe things are starting to look up for Jim Gibbons, Nevada's beleaguered Republican governor, who has had a host of problems in the last few months. According to the Associated Press, the FBI has cleared him of wrong-doing after an 18-month investigation into claims that he helped a friend win defense contracts and received luxury vacations and private flights in exchange.

The allegations against the governor and his friend, Warren Trepp, who owns eTreppid Technologies, arose during the legal tussle between Trepp and former employee Dennis Montgomery over ownership of anti-terrorist software. The two men settled their lawsuit in September, but the FBI probe had expanded to include thousands of dollars in consulting payments from a military contractor that had gone to the governor's wife, Dawn.

From the AP:

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell said the Justice Department told him that Gibbons would not be charged. Such assurances are commonplace when prosecutors have completed a case.

"The prosecutors in the case confirmed what the governor has been saying for the past two years -- that he did nothing wrong and there was no basis for any allegations against him," Lowell said in a prepared statement.

The Justice Department had no comment on Lowell's assertion Sunday. But a law enforcement official close to the case, speaking on condition of anonymity because authorities have not even officially acknowledged the investigation, confirmed the substance of Lowell's statement.

"I anticipated this would be the result," Gibbons said in a telephone interview Sunday. "This is taking a little of the weight off my shoulders. I hope the public is starting to see that the partisan attacks and attacks of personal destruction against me are false."

With the FBI probe concluded, now Gibbons only has to deal with his acrimonious divorce, his rapscallion reputation, and an ongoing suit filed by a cocktail waitress who accuses him of battery, second-degree kidnapping, false imprisonment, and threats of rape.

When Governor Jim Gibbons (R-NV) was photographed in a parking lot, arms around a female companion, his reply was that he was merely comforting a friend. "She was upset, crying," he told the Nevada Appeal, who published the pictures on Friday. "She couldn't catch her breath. I put my arms around her."

But earlier that same week, the Governor had given greater color to his relationship with the woman, a former Playboy model and ex-wife of a former Reno mayor, whose hand he held while she was giving birth. From the Las Vegas Sun:

"You know what, I've know Leslie for 20 plus years. In fact, Leslie is a wonderful dear friend and if they are implying there is anything romantic there, they are wrong.

"She is helping me get through a very troubling time in my life by being a friend. What troubles me is all these people speculating every time I bump into somebody that happens to be of the opposite sex. You can talk to Leslie, but I think she will tell you if (there's something that) takes the romance out of a friendship it's being there when her child is born. I held her hand when her child was born.

"That's how close a friend we are."

And now that the Governor has explained that nothing turns him off quite like childbirth, he'd like to get back to work, please:

Asked if this was romance, he replied, "Absolutely not."

"I put my arm around her shoulder. I was talking to her. I had to get close because I had to get over the noise of the crowd."

Asked about the photographs, he replied, "I think this is about my private life. I'm focusing on balancing the budget. I think this is such nonsense. The public wants to know what we're doing to preserve and protect the people of the state of Nevada."

Yes, the caption at left is correct. That's Governor Jim Gibbons (R-NV), in a warm embrace with a former Playboy model who is most definitely not his wife.

Last we heard in the Gibbons v. Gibbons fiasco, the governor and the First Lady had called a truce in their acrimonious divorce proceedings.

But since that joint statement, Gibbons has been implicated in other acts of philandering: hundreds of text messages to a female "friend" and affectionate outings with younger women-- the most recent of which was caught on film.

The Nevada Appeal this morning, published a series of pictures of Gibbons and a female companion at a rodeo in Reno.

Gibbons responded in a brief statement to the Appeal:

What it shows, according to the governor, is him comforting a stressed out friend. "She was upset, crying," he said during a quick hallway interview with our reporter, who'd been trying to get a comment from the governor or his staff for two days. "She couldn't get her breath. I put my arms around her."

So who is the mystery parking lot woman seeking solace on Gibbons' shoulder?

According to the Appeal:

[W]e did a little checking on our own and now know his companion to be the ex-Playboy-model, ex-wife of an ex-Reno mayor. She is not the woman with whom he has widely been accused of having an affair of late and with whom he exchanged hundreds of text messages at all hours. But he has been seen around Reno with this woman, too. In fact, there are cell phone pictures of the two together at a Reno restaurant posted on area blogs.

Just for some context, the Appeal's photo spread comes in the midst of a huge budget crisis in Nevada.

Just when we thought the Gibbons' saga was over, it all starts again.

Throughout his very messy and public divorce with his wife of 22 years, Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons has repeatedly denied having an affair -- despite being seen cavorting around town with two married women half his age and a suspicious friendship he had struck up with Kathy Karrasch, a neighbor of the Gibbonses and the estranged wife of a Reno podiatrist.

But the Reno Gazette-Journal uncovered documents this week that reveal that in just 6 weeks the governor exchanged 867 personal text messages with Karrasch, making their relationship seem a little more than friendly:

With the intense volume of messages between March 3, 2007 and April 9, 2007, Gibbons wracked up $130 in cell phone charges for the state, which he promptly reimbursed when his chief of staff brought the personal messages to his attention. The text messages occurred throughout the day and night, on weekends and work days.

On one Friday, for example, Gibbons exchanged 160 text messages with Karrasch starting at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 11:45 p.m. On another night, Gibbons exchanged 91 messages between midnight and 2 a.m. with her.

The records also revealed 42 phone calls between Gibbons and Karrasch, mostly on the weekends and evenings. The records include two lengthy phone calls during working hours.

In a sensational motion filed two weeks ago by her attorney, Dawn Gibbons had attempted to unseal the couples' divorce proceeding, and accused her husband of having an "infatuation and involvement" with the unnamed woman who "for years stalked the man who could give her the public persona and prestige that apparently she craves."

On Monday of this week, the attorneys for Jim and Dawn Gibbons released a joint statement and stated that, "[t]he parties have agreed that there will be no further Public comment from either side while the parties attempt to resolve issues related to the divorce action."

As we previously reported, Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) has been going through a very messy divorce with the First Lady, Dawn Gibbons.

Two weeks ago, Dawn made not-so-veiled threats to implicate the governor in one or more scandals by opening their divorce proceedings to the public.

But in a joint statement released today from Gov. Gibbons and Dawn Gibbons' attorneys, it seems that the future-former First Lady has had a change of heart:

     JOINT STATEMENT BY COUNSEL
     (Gibbons Matter)

The Governor and The First Lady have entered into an agreement to suspend litigation activities in an attempt to resolve issues regarding the divorce action filed by the Governor. While they are in negotiations, no court documents will be filed.

     The First Lady has agreed to move to the guest house on the Mansion grounds and the Governor shall reside in the Mansion.

     The Governor and the First Lady will share the Public Areas of the Mansion for their respective Public Duties with their respective staff coordinating the scheduling with each other.

     The parties have agreed that there will be no further Public comment from either side while the parties attempt to resolve issues related to the divorce action.

     Dated June 9, 2008

     CALVIN R. X. DUNLAP      GARY SILVERMAN

After years of rumors of philandering with a neighbor and an alleged sexual assault of a 32-year-old woman in a parking garage, news of Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) divorce from his wife of 22 years does not come as a great surprise. But after the governor's attempt to evict the First Lady from the Governor's mansion and a lot of name-calling, estranged wife Dawn Gibbons is now making not-so-veiled threats to implicate the governor in one or more scandals.

So what incriminating information might she have? Quite a lot it turns out. Because Dawn Gibbons was closely involved in at least two of the scandals which have been dogging Gibbons for almost two years.

A few examples after the jump ...

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Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons' still has two years left in office.

But Gibbons' divorce is getting nastier by the day, and many GOP operatives are getting more concerned about saving their party than his marriage.

The Las Vegas Sun reports on the latest in the court battle:

Wednesday's filing by Dawn Gibbons' attorney Cal Dunlap, a former district attorney who is said to love a public fight, is ostensibly an argument to open the now-sealed divorce filing. In fact, however, it's clearly part of an aggressive media strategy to paint the governor as a cold, philandering liar.

"Despite his disingenuous, shallow, and transparent protestations that his relationship with another man's wife is a mere friendship, his infatuation and involvement with the other woman is the real, concealed and undisclosed reason for his voluntary departure from the marriage," the court filing states.

Gibbons has been refusing to comment about the divorce proceedings. A judge has sealed the case, but Dawn Gibbon's attorney released her filings because of the "importance of the First Amendment and the public's right to have open access to the courts and court proceedings."

The court documents did not identify the woman Gibbons is accused of having an affair with. But local reporters in Nevada did. The Las Vegas Review Journal reports:

The woman is Kathy Karrasch, said several sources who requested anonymity, the wife of Reno podiatrist C. Craig Karrasch.

Recent phone records obtained by the Review-Journal show a single call placed from the governor's cell phone to Kathy Karrasch's cell phone on Jan. 10.

A family member who answered the cell phone Wednesday said Kathy Karrasch and her husband have separated for reasons unrelated to the governor.

The Reno Gazette-Journal offers more details about the relationship.

Karrasch lives a few blocks away from the Gibbonses' Reno home. ... Jim Gibbons was seen having dinner with Karrasch and three other people May 10 at the Atlantis Sky Terrace Oyster and Sushi Bar. He also attended the Galena High School play on May 1 to see Karrasch's daughter perform.

Although he attended the play alone, he spent the second half standing with Karrasch in the back of the room while she filmed her daughter, according to video footage provided to the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Gibbons' spokesman Ben Kieckhefer said the governor attended the play at the invitation of an unnamed neighbor.

In previous interviews, Gibbons has maintained he and Karrasch are "friends."

We've been reporting Gibbons' run of embarrassing political moves in recent months. The investigation of his ties to a defense contractor still lingers. But the locals in Nevada say the final straw was when Gibbons tried to get his wife evicted from the governors' mansion.

The Sun reports:

Republicans say serious discussions are taking place around the state among political and business leaders about how to extricate the party from the increasingly messy divorce proceeding between Dawn and Jim Gibbons. They say Jim Gibbons has handled the matter poorly by attempting to evict the first lady from the mansion and not settling the matter quickly and quietly.

And the implications could reach far beyond Nevada, one Republican tells the New York Times

"This absolutely could depress Republicans who are already depressed," said Chuck Muth, a Republican political consultant and blogger. "This could hurt McCain's ability to hold on to Nevada. It could also affect the chances of (Rep.) Jon Porter (R-Nev.) to get re-elected."

[Late Update: The previous version of this post referring to Gibbons as a practicing Mormon has been corrected. Gibbons was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but has described himself as a non-observant Mormon.]

To call Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons' tenure troubled doesn't quite capture it.

It started off with a bang with accusations that he'd drunkenly assaulted a cocktail waitress in a parking garage in the middle of the night. That probe was eventually closed due to insufficient evidence. And then there's the federal investigation as to whether he took bribes from a defense contractor while he was a congressman. And now he's seeking a very public divorce from his wife.

Yes, there have been happier times, such as during this 2005 cruise, which was paid for by his defense contractor buddy:

Remember Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons (R)? Friend of defense contractors and foe to cocktail waitresses?

Prosecutors convened a grand jury this spring in Washington, DC to investigate whether Gibbons had accepted bribes from defense contractor Warren Trepp. Things have been pretty quiet since then, but last week, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that prosecutors had subpoenaed their first witness to testify to the grand jury.

The witness is Michael Flynn, the lawyer who used to represent Dennis Montgomery, Trepp's former business partner who has been the source of the accusations against Gibbons. In a lawsuit against Trepp and in an interview with NBC news, Montgomery laid it all out: he'd seen Trepp pass more than $100,000 in cash and poker chips to Gibbons. There was even an old fashioned briefcase full of cash in the mix. Trepp gave Gibbons the chips, Montgomery said, during a cruise (see picture below). He also produced an email from Trepp to his wife allegedly sent before the cruise, where he responded to his wife's request of "Please don't forget to bring the money you promised Jim and Dawn [Gibbons' wife]," with "Don't you ever send this kind of message to me! Erase this message from your computer right now!"

But it gets muckier. Flynn, who represented Montgomery on the copyright lawsuit against Trepp, says that Montgomery quit paying his bills this spring. So he withdrew from the case. And now he's suing Montgomery for the money -- and saying in a recent filing that his former client is a "pathological liar."

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Where do you find a job after lobbying for a (potentially) corrupt failure of a subprime mortgage company? You go work for Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) as commissioner of the state's Mortgage Lending Division, of course!

Gibbons just tapped Joe Waltuch, who served as legislative counsel to New Century Financial, which filed for bankruptcy protection in April (after predicting it wouldn't cover its weekly payroll) and is now under scrutiny by federal prosecutors in California and the Securities Exchange Commission.

Not surprisingly, some officials are pretty shocked by the choice, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports:

"I'm in total disbelief that the governor would appoint a former executive for a company that's under federal criminal inquiry, bankrupt and caused countless people to lose their homes," said Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas. "This company is a poster child for what not to do in mortgage lending. And now the appointee is supposed to watch out for consumers? Unbelievable."

We've noted Gibbons' decision-making skills here before, but he'd been laying low for awhile. The move is particularly surprising as both the House and the Senate are starting to probe the subprime mortgage industry now that an estimated 1.2 million people may lose their homes.

The many investigations poking into Gov. Jim Gibbons' (R-NV) life might be a headache for him, but a dream for lawyers.

The Reno Gazette Journal noticed that big gun lawyers are jumping on board the Gibbons scandal.

In the course of a civil suit with his former company, Nevada technology firm eTreppid, software developer Dennis Montgomery accused eTreppid head Warren Trepp of bribing then-Congressman Gibbons, offering Gibbons lavish trips and cash in exchange for government contracts.

Now Montgomery has hired high-powered D.C. lawyer Robert Bennett, the Journal reports. Bennett's clients tend toward the elite: he represented President Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones case, New York Times reporter Judith Miller in the CIA leak investigation and ex-World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz during his departure from the World Bank.

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If Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) does as well accumulating donations as he has investigations, he'll be all right.

According to the Las Vegas Sun Gibbons has started a new legal fund to help cover the cost of defending himself against quite an array of accusations.

The document Gibbons filed with the Nevada Secretary of State says the money he'll raise will go to paying his lawyers defending him against:

FBI/Grand Jury investigation into alleged dealings with Warren Trepp and eTreppid Technologies all allegations that Jim Gibbons helped secure defense contracts in exchange for gifts and money.

The ongoing litigation captioned eTreppid Technologies, Inc., Plaintiff, vs. Dennis Montgomery, et al., pending in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.

Investigation regarding Jim Gibbons' relationship with Sierra Nevada Corporation and the report that Sierra Nevada Corporation hired the First Lady as a consultant and paide her $35,000 at the same time that Jim Gibbons helped the company get funding fora no-bid federal contract.

Investigation into Jim Gibbons alleged assault of Chrissy Mazzeo.

Investigation into an allegation that Jim Gibbons employed Martha Patricia Sandoval, an alleged illegal immigrant, as a nanny.

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Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons’ run-ins with the FBI, a cocktail waitress, the Wall Street Journal and most recently his state’s legislature, have gotten the new governor’s tenure off to a “rocky start” The New York Times reports.

It looks like the Republican governor’s involvement in myriad scandals might be catching up with him. A recent Mason-Dixon poll cited by the Times showed Gibbons, who was sworn into office 12 seconds after midnight on New Year’s Eve (because of security concerns related to the execution of Saddam Hussein…), garners support from only 28% of voters.

Lately, Gibbons, under investigation for allegedly taking bribes while a member of the House, has taken heat for causing a state government shutdown. Gibbons threatened to veto the state’s $7 billion budget after the legislature denied his request for half a million dollars for an anti-terrorism hub in Carson City that would duplicate work already being done in Reno and Las Vegas.

In another unpopular move, Gibbons backed a tax program meant to encourage green buildings, but turned out to be so generous that companies could actually turn a profit. He later ended the program (except for four companies), just before telling the local editorial board he could not pronounce the name of his "Indian" energy adviser (she is Turkish).

Besides outlining Gibbons’ ongoing saga of scandal The New York Times also revisited how he defeated State Senator Dina Titus and got into office in the first place:

He took few strong policy positions in that campaign, and instead continually derided Ms. Titus — already an object of suspicion thanks to her Southern accent and tough-edged persona — as tax happy.

Among the more memorable campaign remarks made by Mr. Gibbons, a former combat pilot and veteran of both the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars, was his suggestion that “liberal, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, hippie, tie-dyed liberals” ought to be used as human shields in Iraq. It all played well with Mr. Gibbons’s base of voters in rural and Northern Nevada.

Similar tactics worked well for another fighter pilot turned politician, Duke Cunningham. And Cunningham, like Gibbons, enjoyed cozy relationships with defense contractors who he rewarded millions of dollars in classified contracts. You can bet Gibbons hopes the similiarities end here.

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons (R) has had a few brushes with the law recently over vacationing with defense contractors and grabbing a woman in a parking garage. Now that federal investigators are bearing down on him over an alleged cash-for-contracts scheme, Gibbons is likely to remain in the limelight.

Federal investigators are probing former Republican House member Gibbons’ involvement with the tiny Nevada software company eTreppid Technologies. Gibbons admits he opened doors for the company, which has secured millions of dollars in defense contracts. Gibbons has, in some instances, called gifts from eTreppid appropriate because of his longtime friendship with the company's owner Warren Trepp. Other times Gibbons has denied accepting lavish gifts. Gibbons and Trepp lived the high life together at least once on a Caribbean cruise, of which there are photos, but it's unclear who picked up the tab. At a minimum, Gibbons has accepted $100,000 in campaign contributions from Trepp, according to disclosure records.

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Check out some snapshots from the Caribbean cruise businessman Warren Trepp sent Gov. Jim Gibbons (R.-NV) and his wife on in 2005.

Trepp is the founder of eTreppid, a company for which Gibbons helped secure federal contracts while a member of the House. Gibbons is now reportedly under FBI investigation for his involvement with Trepp.

You can see the photos here. (Be sure to scroll down for the group shot.) It looks like a good time.

The pictures accompany an NBC interview with Dennis Montgomery, who raised the bribery allegations in a lawsuit he filed against Trepp, his former business partner, over intellectual property infringement of software he says he created. During the interview, Montgomery describes just how certain he is that Trepp gave Gibbons $100,000 in cash and casino chips on the cruise.

Dennis Montgomery: There was a lot of alcohol and a lot of drinking. And that's when I first saw Warren give Jim Gibbons money.

Lisa Myers: How much?

Montgomery: Close to $100,000.

Myers: How can you know?

Montgomery: Because he gave him casino chips and cash.

Myers: Are you sure about what you saw?

Montgomery: I'm absolutely, positively sure.

Everybody's in on it -- and I mean everybody. From The Reno Gazette-Journal:

Gov. Jim Gibbons said Monday he’s heard a rumor that Democrats paid the Wall Street Journal to publish stories about his relations with a defense contractor and that the coverage is designed to help Democrats in the 2008 election.

Asked about rumors of a conspiracy among Democrats against him, Gibbons said he heard the same thing but did not name a source.

“I have heard that the Democrats have paid to have these Wall Street Journal articles written,” Gibbons said. The Journal has reported that Gibbons is under investigation by the FBI for allegedly accepting unreported gifts or payments from a Reno company that was awarded secret military contracts when Gibbons was in the U.S. House.

Gibbons said he first met the Journal reporter who broke the stories, John R. Wilke, when Wilke was in Elko the night of the debate between Gibbons and Democratic rival Dina Titus of Las Vegas. Gibbons said Wilke was brought to Elko by the Titus campaign.

“When I met this guy, (Wilke), he was brought to Elko by the Dina Titus campaign and that is where I met him. So I don’t know what his agenda is, but there is nothing there with any of these allegations.”

Now, let's take a step back and see how high and wide this conspiracy goes. Not only has the (apparently conservative) Wall Street Journal been paid to write these stories about poor Jim Gibbons, but since those stories revealed a federal corruption investigation into his dealings with a defense contractor when he was in Congress, that means the (ostensibly Republican run) Justice Department is in on it too -- the FBI, the U.S. attorneys' office in Washington, everyone. And how about this for a kicker: Wilke's last story revealed that Gibbons' wife had a consulting contract with a defense contractor for which Gibbons had earmarked millions in federal dollars. There's only one conclusion to be drawn: Gibbons' wife is on it too.

Come to think of it, that cocktail waittress who alleged in October that Gibbons drunkenly assaulted her... she was also on the Dems' dole, for sure. Where does it end?

Not since ex-Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) was brought down by the liberal conspiracy to have him investigated by the FBI has my worldview been so shaken.

Note: It should go without saying that the Journal denies Gibbons' allegation... but anyway the Journal denies Gibbons' allegation.

The Wall Street Journal continues (sub. req.) to make life miserable for Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons. The paper first reported a month ago that Gibbons was under federal investigation for improper gifts (possible bribes) from a defense contractor.

Now the paper reports that Gibbons' business as a legislator was intertwined with a second defense contractor:

The wife of Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons was hired as a consultant to a defense contractor at the same time that her husband, who was then a member of Congress, helped the company get funding for a no-bid federal contract.

Dawn Gibbons got about $35,000 in consulting fees in 2004 from Sierra Nevada Corp., of Sparks, Nev., the company said. Mr. Gibbons, a five-term Republican who served on the armed services and intelligence committees, sought funding that year for Sierra Nevada for a $4 million contract to develop a helicopter radar-landing system.

If this seems like déjà vu, it's because the role of wives has been key in the Jack Abramoff investigation. Abramoff often selected lawmakers' and staffers' wives for busy work --- one former staffer, Tony Rudy, has pled guilty for accepting bribes from Abramoff in the form of consulting work for his wife.

There are more than shades of similarity here. Gibbons has the same defense lawyer as Abramoff: Abbe Lowell. And Lowell tells the Journal that Mrs. Gibbons "had a pre-existing relationship" with the contractor that began long before Mr. Gibbons was elected to Congress and had "no knowledge" of the federal contract. Just a coincidence.

Now, there's another major revelation in the Journal story, one that touches on the U.S. attorney scandal. John Wilke reports that "a federal grand jury in Washington has begun to issue subpoenas for documents, according to witnesses contacted in recent weeks."

A lot of the suspicion over U.S. Attorney for Nevada Daniel Bogden's firing has centered on the assumption that it was his office leading the investigation against Gibbons. Not the case, reports Wilke: "Mr. Bogden wasn't involved in the Gibbons probe, which was initiated by prosecutors in Washington."

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) has nabbed Abbe Lowell, best known as Jack Abramoff's lawyer, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that there was a federal investigation of Gibbons' relationship with scandal veteran and software executive Warren Trepp. Our rundown of the muck is here.

Yesterday, we noted the FBI investigation of Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) and one particuarly troublesome email exchange in particular between Warren Trepp, the software exec who's being investigated for showering Gibbons with illegal gifts, and his wife:

On March 22, 2005, days before Mr. Trepp and his wife embarked on the Caribbean cruise with the congressman and his family, Jalé Trepp sent a reminder to her husband. "Please don't forget to bring the money you promised Jim and Dawn," referring to Mr. and Mrs. Gibbons.

Minutes later, Mr. Trepp responds, "Don't you ever send this kind of message to me! Erase this message from your computer right now!"

Yesterday, Gibbons released a statement to the media in which he protested his innocence, but also provided an explanation of sorts for the email (which I'll note without comment):

In a statement issued Thursday... he said e-mail messages quoted by [The Wall Street Journal] were probably references to campaign contributions, which he said were lawful and reported in accordance with campaign finance laws.

Bear with me here, because it's a tangled web.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that TPMmuckraker favorite Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) is under federal investigation over whether he "accepted unreported gifts or payments from a company that was awarded secret military contracts when Mr. Gibbons served in Congress." The feds, concentrating on Gibbon's relationship wtih Nevada software entrepreneur Warren Trepp (the Zelig of scandals), are also probing whether any of those gifts were bribes, John Wilke reports.

The Journal first reported on the two's closeness back in November. But since then, more revealing evidence has come out:

On March 22, 2005, days before Mr. Trepp and his wife embarked on the Caribbean cruise with the congressman and his family, Jalé Trepp sent a reminder to her husband. "Please don't forget to bring the money you promised Jim and Dawn," referring to Mr. and Mrs. Gibbons.

Minutes later, Mr. Trepp responds, "Don't you ever send this kind of message to me! Erase this message from your computer right now!"

But that's not even the most interesting part of the case.

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Ah, the cover-up is worse than the (alleged) crime.

A local district attorney announced today he won't seek to indict the Nevada governor-elect for drunkenly assaulting a cocktail waitress in a parking garage in the middle of the night, AP reports. But the DA and his staff will investigate the woman's claims that those around the governor attempted to keep Mazzeo from telling her story to police.

Former Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) won his state's governorship just weeks after 32-year-old Chrissy Mazzeo accused him of assaulting her in a parking garage after drinking with her and friends for most of the evening. The local police had earlier declined to pursue the matter, and passed the investigation to the DA.

Remember the dust-up in Las Vegas between then-Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) and a cocktail waitress who said he assaulted her drunkenly in a parking garage in the middle of the night?

Gibbons was elected governor of Nevada. And now the police say they've found no evidence to support the charges of battery made by Chrissy Mazzeo, the waitress.

A man named Warren Trepp surfaced in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago, you may recall. The paper had investigated the Nevada defense contractor for his shady dealings with then-Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV).

Today's Las Vegas Sun puts Trepp's current flap in perspective. Apparently, the man has a history of attaching himself, Zelig-like, to no fewer than four disparate scandals in the past two decades:

Perhaps Warren Trepp is always just at the wrong place at the wrong time, a victim of terrible and perpetual coincidence.

By his early 30s, he was chief trader for the notorious 1980s junk bond trader Michael Milken.

Then a friend helped him sell a bundle of stock in a collectibles business in 2002, and he wound up selling it to Tom Noe, a Republican bigwig in Ohio recently convicted on multiple counts of fraud and larceny and laundering money to the Bush/Cheney re-election campaign.

Trepp formed the software company eTreppid Technologies that later sought national security contracts with the government. A woman, Letitia White, who did lobbying work for the firm is said to be under investigation in connection with the widening federal bribery probe following the conviction of a former congressman.

Finally, his friendship with Nevada Gov.-elect Jim Gibbons landed him on the front page of The Wall Street Journal in an examination of contracts that eTreppid received with help from Gibbons, the Republican congressman from Reno.