Paul Willis believes someone is out to get him.

The Pahrump resident and acting chairman of the state Republican Party knows uttering such a statement might make him appear paranoid. But, as the saying goes, that doesn't mean someone isn't really after him.

The question is, is there a good reason?

Part of the heat Willis has received lately comes from critics inside the GOP, where he served as vice chairman until the February resignation of chairman Paul Adams. Willis has been acting chairman since.

But another source of controversy comes from Willis' admittedly cordial relationship with Nye County brothel owner Maynard "Joe" Richards, who is under federal indictment for wire fraud in connection with his alleged attempt to bribe a commissioner named Candice Trummel. Richards paid Trummel $5,000 in 2005 to ensure her support for lifting a land-use restriction that would enable the brothel boss to develop a whorehouse on land south of Pahrump, according to the indictment.

In an interview Friday, Willis told me Trummel had contacted him about "easing up some restrictions in the south. I thought it was a good idea for the community."

For the community, maybe. For Richards, absolutely. It would have been a business coup worth millions for Richards if he had gotten it on.

Asked to describe the nature of his friendship with the brothel owner, Willis repeatedly denied receiving compensation from Richards. He did, however, admit the two have traded favors.

"I do things for friends," he said. "Friends do things for me. I don't know if you call that compensation. When a friend's wronged, I would stick up for a friend and vice versa, and ... it would never effect my judgment on the community."

Perhaps not. But it certainly raises questions of propriety at a time Richards is involved in a public corruption case and Willis is the acting head of the state Republican Party. No matter how innocent their friendship might be, it stacks up as an embarrassment that promises to reverberate nationally for the GOP.

Not all of America will embrace the concept of legalized whorehouses, brothel zoning and friendships between pimps and political players.

"I am a friend of Joe Richards," said Willis, who likes to refer to himself as "just a retired carpenter." "I know Joe Richards. I know brothel owners because I live in Nye County, where it's a legal business. With being a friend of Joe Richards, a certain amount of baggage comes along with it."

That baggage now includes allegations of political bribery. Trummel, whom Willis helped elect, cooperated with the FBI's investigation and assisted in recording Richards. It's also possible -- even likely, sources say -- that she recorded her conversation with Willis.

"I don't know what she was doing," he said. "I don't know what deal she made. ... I don't know if Trummel was targeting me, or what. I think everyone has to worry about it."

Willis seems to know a lot about Richards' aborted plan, calling it an upscale housing development in addition to the brothel business.

"He'd always wanted to get located down there," Willis said. "When we (he and Trummel) had our discussion, I proffered up something I thought would be good for the community."

Yes, it's all about the community.

Willis said the bribery allegations "came as a complete surprise when I read about it in the newspaper."

He said he believes Richards was the victim of "a clear case of entrapment" and is "stand-up and above board."

"The man in all my dealings with him has had more integrity than people who were supposedly the pillars of the community," Willis said of the owner of record of the Mabel's Ranch, Cherry Patch Ranch and Cherry Patch II brothels and the Kingdom strip club and massage parlor.

Although Willis initially wouldn't admit he was contacted by the FBI, he allowed, "I'm not at liberty to say. If you use that statement, I think it's self-explanatory."

What's less clear is whether Willis will find himself in Richards' legal predicament.

"I definitely wasn't carrying his water, but when you're friends with controversial people, sometimes friends like that come with a lot of baggage," he said.

With friends like that, politics may be the least of Paul Willis' worries.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0295.