SCNDLS said:

I know, right?

I can't believe she's STILL in jail. Can't she pawn the ring or sumthin???

Nowitzki's Ex-Flame Transferred From Dallas Jail

A woman arrested last week at Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki's house has been transferred to another Texas county to face a theft charge.

Cristal Taylor, 37, was taken early Wednesday by authorities from Jefferson County in southeast Texas, Dallas County spokeswoman Kim Leach said. That's where a 2006 indictment alleges Taylor didn't pay for dental services ranging from $1,500 to $20,000.

Taylor's bond was raised from $20,000 to $50,000 at the request of Jefferson County officials, Leach said. Leach said she had no record of an attorney for Taylor.

Taylor's arrest May 6 also was for a probation violation in Missouri. A prosecutor there said Taylor pleaded guilty in 1999 to two counts of forgery and two counts of felony stealing.

Nowitzki didn't want to discuss the situation before the Maverick's shootaround Wednesday in Denver ahead of Game 5.

"Basketball business is public business. My private life is private business. This is private business," said Nowitzki, whose team trails the Nuggets 3-1 in the series.

Sources have told media outlets that the woman arrested at Nowitzki's posh Preston Hollow home was engaged to the Dallas Mavericks star. Police have refused to speculate on the woman's relationship to Nowitzki.

Nowitzki reportedly bought Taylor a $250,000 engagement ring, according to one source. People close to Nowitzki said his inner circle of teammates and longtime counselors advised him to hire a private investigator to do a background check on Taylor in preparation for a prenuptial agreement. The investigator then learned about Taylor's checkered past and police were notified.

Taylor's former husband told The Dallas Morning News she racked up $330,000 in debt while they were married. The debt forced him into bankruptcy a year after he divorced her, the newspaper reported.

A source told the newspaper there are indications that Taylor may have gained access to Nowitzki's credit cards without his permission.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Dallas-Fort Worth

Now I KNOW homegirl was tearing up Sak's and Neiman's with dudes credit card. Dunno know if it was without his knowledge tho.

Nowitzki's credit cards may have been at risk

The love interest of Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki may have gained access to his credit cards without permission, The Dallas Morning News has learned.

And, The News found, Cristal Taylor may have already victimized someone in a similar fashion – her former husband.

James Westerhaus said Friday night that Taylor was responsible for racking up $330,000 in debt, which led to his divorcing her after three years of marriage in 2001 and then forced him into bankruptcy in Harris County a year later.

Taylor, who remains in Dallas County jail, has declined The News' interview requests.

Westerhaus now lives in Lewisville. After a News reporter knocked on his door, Westerhaus was reluctant to speak about his marriage to Taylor. He sent his current wife to speak on his behalf but remained within earshot.

"What I can tell you is the debt was hers," Westerhaus' current wife said, adding: "He was an innocent person, just like Dirk is now."

Westerhaus' story seems to mirror aspects of Nowitzki's predicament, a source with knowledge of Taylor's current situation told The News earlier Friday. The source said indications are that Taylor gained unauthorized access to Nowitzki's credit cards. The source said it is unknown if, or how much, she was able to use them.

The source also told The News that Taylor, 37, previously had lived at different times with a number of people who never knew her real name or age.

Multiple team sources said Thursday that people within the organization cautioned Nowitzki about his relationship with Taylor. They said his own suspicion led him to question her past while he allowed her to stay in his Preston Hollow home until her Wednesday morning arrest there.

She was taken to Dallas County jail with bail set at $20,000 on a theft of services charge out of Beaumont and no bail allowed on a probation violation from suburban St. Louis. She could face an extradition hearing in the coming days.

Taylor's mother, Shirley, attributed her daughter's criminal past to youth and could not explain why she may have used multiple names and dates of birth.

"She really got herself together, [and she is] just a whole different person," Shirley Taylor said Thursday. On Friday, she and other family members declined to speak to The News.

It is unclear how much Nowitzki knew about Taylor's past prior to her arrest, or what he has learned since. Today, he returns to playoff basketball for the first time since the arrest. The Mavericks resume their second-round playoff series against Denver at 4 p.m. at American Airlines Center, trailing two games to none.

By the time the media were allowed onto the AAC practice court for interviews Friday, Nowitzki was gone. He was not made available for interviews. Later, outside the locker room, Nowitzki was flanked by a security person when a reporter asked if he was OK.

He nodded and gave a half-smile.

"We're preparing for Game 3," said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, after he was asked whether his star forward's private-life turmoil is a distraction. "Yesterday's news has been here and gone – and it's down the road."

But Nowitzki, an intensely private person, will be the center of attention today as AAC fans and TV viewers wonder whether the events of recent days will affect his play.

Westerhaus, through his current wife, indicated that Taylor had turned his life upside down: "This is part of his past he wants to forget."

According to Westerhaus' bankruptcy filing, more than $100,000 of the $330,000 debt was credit card bills, including five that exceeded more than $10,000 apiece. One reached $32,000. Gas stations and stores like Victoria's Secret, Dillard's and JCPenney were also owed.

The bankruptcy records also show several dozen bad checks – some more than $1,000 each – to stores like Eddie Bauer, Starbucks and Kmart.

That history sheds new light on Taylor's record of financial crimes and use of multiple aliases. She had pleaded guilty to various forgery and stealing charges in the late 1990s in Missouri, quit reporting to her probation officer in 2000 and then disappeared, prompting authorities there to issue an arrest warrant.

Beaumont police also sought her for allegedly bilking a dentist out of $10,000.

Staff Writer Steve Thompson and staff researcher Molly Motley Blythe contributed to this story.

Dirk Wants Sole Custody of Baby
It's as good as admitting he thinks the baby could be his.

Dallas Mavericks star player Dirk Nowitzki has filed for sole custody of the baby his ex-girlfriend, Crystal Taylor, is carrying.

Nowitzki filed a petition at the Dallas County courthouse last Friday according to the Beaumont Enterprise.

Taylor was arrested May 6 at Nowitzki's home in north Dallas. The 37-year-old woman was indicted in Sept. 2006 on a theft of services charge for not paying a Beaumont dentist for 2004 dental work worth from $1,500 to $20,000.

Taylor is still in the Jefferson County jail and that's where she was served with Nowitzki's petition to adjudicate parentage.

Neither Nowitzki nor Taylor were named in the court document the Beaumont Enterprise reported. The petitioner was identified as "D.N.," a resident of Dallas County and the respondent, Taylor, was referred to as "C.T."

Taylor's lawyer, Beaumont attorney Scott Renick, confirmed Taylor received the documents, and says she is visibly pregnant.

Renick said the petition not only requests genetic testing to determine the identity of the parents, but requests that "D.N." be appointed sole managing conservator of the child after birth if he is proven to be the father.

Taylor's trial on theft of services was delayed until July 27. If convicted, she could be sentenced to a state jail for up to two years.

Taylor is also held without bond on a probation violation warrant from St. Charles County, Mo.