Attorneys seek to withdraw

Two high-profile attorneys representing the software developer who has accused Gov. Jim Gibbons of improperly steering millions in military contracts to a Reno-based company have asked to withdraw from the case.

Citing payment issues and their client's behavior, attorneys Michael Flynn and Carla DiMare filed documents in federal court Monday asking that they no longer represent software developer Dennis Montgomery.

"Mr. Montgomery and his family trust have breached an obligation for the payment of fees," and Montgomery "has engaged in conduct that has made continued representation unreasonably difficult," Flynn wrote to the court.

Flynn's announcement came about two weeks after a computer expert alleged in court papers that Montgomery fabricated an e-mail message showing that Gibbons was being paid off by eTreppid, a company for which Gibbons helped secure federal defense contracts.

Montgomery is suing eTreppid for copyright infringement.

Flynn declined to comment Monday and his partner, DiMare, did not return phone calls. They have represented Montgomery since at least January 2006.

Gibbons spokeswoman Melissa Subbotin said the lawyers' move "shows Dennis Montgomery's credibility is being called into question and that there are serious doubts on behalf of all parties."

Subbotin said the facts of the case would come out and prove Gibbons' innocence. She added, "We have doubted Dennis Montgomery's credibility since Day One. Now it would seem that even his own lawyers share those same doubts."

Douglas McNabb, a Houston attorney specializing in federal white collar cases, said it's unusual for attorneys to pull out of a federal civil case after 18 months.

He suspected that the allegations that the damning e-mail was falsified might have played a role in the decision by Flynn and DiMare'.

"Ethically, if Montgomery was the one who created the false e-mails and the lawyers found out about it ... they are under an obligation to withdraw," McNabb said. "I can't represent a client who is creating false documents that I'm either making reference to in court or submitting documents on."

The e-mail in question was sent from eTreppid Vice President Len Glogauer to the company's founder Warren Trepp in 2003 and said, "We need to take care of him like we discussed."

A computer expert, however, said that the e-mail message was altered by Montgomery to include that line, according to previously filed court papers.

Montgomery and Trepp are suing each other over ownership of secret software used in "black budget" military work. The "black budget" includes military appropriations that are not made public. The software is video compression technology that allows the military to review video taken of battlefield images and search for people or objects.

The copyright infringement case has spawned a federal investigation into whether Gibbons, while serving in congress, accepted gifts and money in exchange for awarding military contracts to eTreppid.

Montgomery made most of the accusations against Gibbons, including that he accepted a briefcase with $100,000 from Trepp.

Montgomery, through Flynn, also accused the governor of asking former U.S. Attorney Dan Bogden to initiate a raid on Montgomery's house and storage units.

Bogden denied being involved in the raid, in which FBI agents confiscated computer equipment.

A federal magistrate later ruled the March 2006 raid unconstitutional.

Montgomery is also represented by Reno-based attorneys Ronald Logar and Eric Pulver. They did not return phone calls on Monday.