Gibbons talks about text messages
Gov. Jim Gibbons said today he made a "mistake" when he used a state cell phone to send more than 850 text messages in March and April of 2007 to Kathy Karrasch, the married Reno woman with whom he has been accused of being involved.
During a news conference in Carson City, he denied ever having slept with Karrasch, the estranged wife of Reno podiatrist C. Craig Karrasch, and insisted the messages were not love notes, but conversations about her dog, children and even taxes.
Gibbons said he sent the messages to Karrasch in response to messages that she sent to him.
He said he no longer sees or calls Karrasch, adding that they stopped any relationship with each other because of "stress and all the media" attention.
Gibbons said that after learning the state had been billed for the calls, he wrote checks for about $130 to cover those costs — and began using his private cell phone for text messages and other calls to friends.
The governor filed for divorce May 2 from his wife of 22 years, former Assemblywoman Dawn Gibbons. He cited "incompatibility in marriage" as the reason for the divorce.
