Text messages allegedly show Brett Favre and former Mississippi governor collaborated in welfare scandal
from Andrew Kulha, with YardBarker/www.yardbarker.com
Is Brett Favre in hot water down in Mississippi? Legal experts and analysts will determine that much, and ultimately so will the court, but the latest reporting from Anna Wolfe of Mississippi Today is certainly connecting Favre to an alleged welfare scheme.
Text messages were entered into a Mississippi state civil lawsuit that connected former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant and Favre to a woman named Nancy New, who pleaded guilty to misusing public welfare money in April 2022. New’s nonprofit “was in charge of spending tens of millions of flexible federal welfare dollars outside of public view.”
“Nancy New and Zachary New acknowledged spending welfare grant money on lavish gifts that included first-class airfare for John Davis, executive director of the state Department of Human Services from 2016 to 2019,” the report read at the time. “Nancy New, 69, and Zachary New, 39, agreed to testify against others in what the state auditor has called Mississippi’s largest public corruption case in the past two decades. Davis is among those facing state charges.”
The last part of that report is important because the texts were released by an attorney representing New’s nonprofit. The texts show that Favre, New, John Davis and Bryant — among others — were working together to use state welfare money to build a new volleyball center for Southern Miss, where Favre was a standout quarterback from 1987 to 1990, and his daughter, Breleigh, was a volleyball player in 2017 and 2018.
According to the report, they “worked together to channel at least $5 million of the state’s welfare funds to build a new volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi, where Favre’s daughter played the sport. Favre received most of the credit for raising funds to construct the facility.”
Favre had received a $1.1 million welfare contract in order to promote the program.
“I could record a few radio spots,” Favre texted New, according to the reporting “…and whatever compensation could go to USM.”
“If you were to pay me is there any way the media can find out where it came from and how much?” he also texted.
New told Favre that her nonprofit doesn’t disclose that information. A day later she texted Favre: “Wow, Just got off the phone with Phil Bryant! He is on board with us! We will get this done!”
In aiding prosecutors, New is alleging that Bryant told her to make the payment to Favre. He was also apparently well versed in the planning of the scheme. So much so that there was a plan to put Bryant’s name on the new volleyball building — built by the state welfare funds, mind you.
New pleaded guilty to 13 felony counts, and Davis, the former executive director of the state Department of Human Service, is waiting for trial.
The former governor, Bryant, hasn’t been charged with a crime, and neither has Favre.
According to one of the criminal defendant’s plea agreement, the state is not pursuing the matter in its ongoing civil complaint. “Current Gov. Tate Reeves abruptly fired the attorney bringing the state’s case when he tried to subpoena documents related to the volleyball stadium,” Wolfe wrote in her report.