The Blog

(This post has been updated x4.  Scroll down for the latest…)

On a conference call moderated by the Nevada News Bureau with a small group of bloggers, Governor Gibbons this morning denied all allegations made by Wendy Mazaros (formerly Hanley) to investigative journalist George Knapp in a KLAS-TV news report last night.

The KLAS-TV story focused on what Mazaros described as “a long-term romantic relationship between Jim Gibbons and Leslie Durant,” some of which allegedly took place at a Reno condo she said was owned by Gibbons.

Gibbons said he never had an affair with Lesie Durant (or, as she was known back then, Leslie Sferrazza, ex-wife of former Reno mayor, Pete Sferrazza).  He also said he never owned nor leased a condo in Reno and that he was “beside himself” about the KLAS-TV report.

Gibbons this morning acknowledged leaving a voice mail message threatening to sue KLAS-TV as well as George Knapp and producer Ian Russell personally for what he called “the failure to do basic fact checking and the inexcusable airing of slander” against him.

Gibbons said he plans to sue KLAS-TV if they air another story containing slanderous statements he says can easily be disproved, such as whether he in fact ever owned or leased a condo in Reno as Mazaros claimed.

Gibbons said Mazaros’s statements to KLAS-TV reflect allegations she made in a court-sealed deposition from his divorce proceedings with Dawn Gibbons. He said he has never met Mazaros.

Gibbons added that his ex-wife’s attorney, Cal Dunlap, chose not to use Mazaros’ deposition in court, in part because the sworn deposition of Leslie Durant directly contradicted Mazaros’ claims.

“Dawn’s attorney, Cal Dunlap, decided to ignore [Mazaros's] allegations in the divorce case,” said Gibbons.  “Cal opted not to use it, and Cal was the one who took the deposition. I think that says something,” said Gibbons.

Characterizing Mazaros’s allegations as “false, libelous and slanderous,” Governor Gibbons added, “I do not know how this woman even ever came forward, but this report on KLAS-TV appears to be the politically motivated work of my opponents, whether it is the Sandoval campaign or those who wish to attack me on the issue of raising taxes.”

Gibbons said he anticipates KLAS-TV’s follow-up segment may include an allegation by Wendy Mazaros that she and Leslie Durant drove to California and brought back “bags of money” she says were delivered to Gibbons under dubious circumstances.

Gibbons said Mazaros’s deposition also contained this allegation and denied that he ever received any money from either woman.

“At the time [Mazaros] says all this took place, I was not even in public office,” Gibbons said.  “I was a pilot.  No one had any reason to contemplate giving me anything, certainly not ‘bags of money’ as was claimed in that deposition.  There was no reason to try to bribe me, and I received no such money.”

Gibbons continued, “Wendy alleged in her deposition that they brought this money back from two Canadian miners in San Francisco or Napa.  It is just nonsense.  I never received any money like that.”

“She also claimed in her deposition that I owned a condo in San Diego,” said Gibbons.  “Well, I did not.  I have never owned property outside Nevada, nor have I leased any, except when in school or in the military. If she also tried to say that in her interviews with Channel 8, it is a fact that can easily be checked.  I think Channel 8 bears responsibility for doing an ordinary fact check on something like that.”

“There is not one thing in that entire deposition that was true, nor are these statements that were made to Channel 8 true.  I think Channel 8 has an obligation, if they do their jobs and find out statements were false, to report what they know,” he said.

“I’m upset about this not only because all of the allegations are false, but because that false and malicious deposition was not a releasable item to the public from my divorce,” said Gibbons.  “I am not taking this lightly.”

“I do intend to talk to my lawyer about bringing litigation in this matter,” he said.

Update (5:38 p.m.):  A spokesperson for the Sandoval campaign has contacted me with the following statement:

I saw that NNB did an interview with Governor Gibbons today in which he accuses the Sandoval campaign of leaking information.  The accusation is utterly ridiculous.

Update 2 (8:42. p.m.):  I’ve been informed that I was given the improper spelling of Wendy’s last name by Governor Gibbons’ office.  It is “Mazaros.”  I’ll correct it throughout this post right now.

Update 3 (8:48  p.m.):  I spoke to Dawn Gibbons’ attorney, Cal Dunlop, this evening.  He said the following in response to Governor Gibbons’ statements about the Mazaros deposition:

“Governor Gibbons’ initial motion and the court’s agreement to seal the filings and proceedings of his divorce pursuant to Nevada statutes were found, on challenge, to be unconstitutional.  The court ruled that the files and hearing would be open, so no filings and no depositions were sealed.  Governor Gibbons is aware of that, or ought to be.”

“I did not take the Wendy Mazaros deposition.  I was aware of her statements and related information, and I investigated them, and then Mr. Silverman, the attorney for Governor Gibbons, took her deposition.  Again, this is a fact of which Governor Gibbons’ ought to be aware.”

“It’s customary that one party or the other provides the witness with a copy of the deposition in order to offer the opportunity for any corrections.  Mr. Silverman gave Ms. Mazaros such a copy.”

“Ms. Mazaros was listed as a witness in the case, but as was reported at the time, there were discussions and negotiations happening late that Sunday, the 28^th of December.  I went home at 4 or 4:30 a.m.…and the next morning, we went into the judge’s chambers to discuss housekeeping matters.  And we settled the case, so of course no witnesses were called.”

Update 4 (8:30 a.m. on 2/9/10):  Here’s the text of Part 2 of the KLAS-TV piece from last night’s 11:00 newscast.  George Knapp flashed the NNB blog while quoting a Gibbons comment we provided yesterday.

I’ve got a couple of follow up questions in to the Governor, so we’ll see what comes back.  (The questions are:  (1) What is the governor’s response to attorney Cal Dunlap’s contradictions of his statements about Mazaros’ deposition and (2) What is his proof that his political enemies – whether the Sandoval campaign or Gibbons-hating tax-raisers or whoever – somehow orchestrated this whole thing in order to smear him?)

Whatever his responses, I believe we’ll soon be done talking about this because (1) nothing Wendy Mazaros has said can be corroborated or proven unless another material witness comes forward and (2) three people including the two main characters in her story have contradicted her story.  I’m not saying I think Mazaros is lying about everything.  I really do not know.  But allegations that cannot be proven usually become a non-story pretty quickly, however sensational at first blush.

Oh, and my two cents on the likelihood of a lawsuit:  I seriously doubt Governor Gibbons is going to sue KLAS-TV.  For one thing, his attorney is in Israel on vacation for two weeks.  By the time Silverman gets back, we’ll be into the special session and Gibbons will have bigger fish jerking his line.  And, as I said, the story will most likely have blown over by then.

On the other hand, if Gibbons convinces himself that suing KLAS-TV and striking back at perceived political conspirator-enemies is a good fundraising tool, he might just do it.

Update 5 (11:17 a.m.):   Governor Gibbons: “Anything this woman says about me is a baseless lie. I have been advised to say nothing further about this matter at this time.”