Mazzeo wants to tell her side of the story

Jeff German and J. Patrick Coolican

Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 | 9:16 a.m.

Lawyers for Chrissy Mazzeo - the 32-year-old single mother who once accused Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibbons of assaulting her - have scheduled a news conference this afternoon to air her story.

"She's a frightened upset victim who feels abandoned," said Richard Wright, one of the lawyers expected to be on hand for the 12:30 p.m. news conference. "Her position will be explained."

Wright, however, said he was unsure whether Mazzeo would attend the news conference or answer questions.

A rattled - and apparently intoxicated - Mazzeo called 911 three times following her late-night Oct. 13 encounter with Gibbons in a parking structure across the street from the McCormick & Schmick's restaurant near Flamingo and Paradise roads.

She gave a statement to detectives alleging Gibbons threw her up against a wall and made unwanted sexual advances toward her.

But the next day, after Gibbons denied the accusations when questioned by detectives, Mazzeo told police that she didn't want to press criminal charges against the man she considered to be a powerful political figure.

With the Nov. 7 election drawing near, the allegations have become increasingly political, as both Democrats and Republicans have put out their spin.

Last Thursday, with his good friend and attorney Don Campbell, a prominent Republican, at his side, Gibbons read a statement to reporters strongly denying the allegations publicly for the first time. Campbell, who also represents the Las Vegas Review-Journal and other media clients, handed out sworn affidavits from the three other women who had been drinking with Gibbons and Mazzeo, suggesting the congressman's conduct inside McCormick & Schmick's was not out of line.

Campbell would not let Gibbons answer questions, saying he was protecting him from Mazzeo's attorneys.

Those attorneys, Wright and his law partner Karen Winckler, are prominent Democrats who sources said have contributed to the campaign of the Democratic candidate, state Sen. Dina Titus. Both Wright and Winckler are expected to be at today's conference.

Word that Mazzeo's story might resurface , with the election less than two weeks away, comes as Nevada's leading advocate for drunken driving victims said Tuesday that she's troubled by the way Gibbons has explained away his post-drinking encounter with Mazzeo.

Gibbons has said he did not make sexual advances toward Mazzeo after having drinks at McCormick & Schmick's with the cocktail waitress, three other women and his top campaign adviser, Sig Rogich.

The congressman told police that he was merely helping Mazzeo, who he said appeared "tipsy," find her car at the nearby Hughes Center parking structure. His only contact with Mazzeo, he said, occurred when he grabbed her arm to keep her upright after she stumbled.

"If his explanation is true, it would show a definite lack of judgment on the part of Congressman Gibbons," said Sandy Heverly, longtime executive director of STOP DUI, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping victims of drunken drivers.

"With anybody who has been drinking, common sense tells you not to take them to their car. You find a safe means of transportation to get them home."

"It's disheartening to hear that, given all the education and awareness that's been out about the dangers of driving under the influence," Heverly added.

When he was questioned by police at his hotel room Oct. 14, Gibbons was well aware of the dangers of driving drunk.

"I had two glasses of wine 'cause I knew I wasn't driving," he said. "So I didn't have to worry about, uh, a DUI because I could have crawled back here."

Gibbons also told police that Mazzeo "might have been tipsy. Uh, she didn't walk in a straight line. That's for sure."

This week, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported that Gibbons told the newspaper's editorial board that he had never described Mazzeo as "tipsy."

He said he was unsure about how much Mazzeo had to drink.

"I only saw her for a very short time, and she had a glass or two of wine, so I had no idea of what had happened before she came and sat down at our table," Gibbons said.

The gubernatorial candidate also said he would have called Mazzeo a cab if he thought she had too much to drink.

"It's a challenge," he told the newspaper. "How do you go back and change that?"