Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber's fiancée, Cylvia Hayes, confessed she helped plan an illegal pot operation in Washington in 1997.

Hayes' confession came less than a week after she admitted entering into an illegal marriage in the same year with an Ethiopian seeking U.S. citizenship, USA Today reported.

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In an e-mail sent Monday night, Gov. Kitzhaber's fiancée recounted how she lived with her then-boyfriend in a property that was purchased for illegal marijuana growing that never pushed through. She described that during those times, her life was "difficult and unstable" because she made mistakes and was involved in the wrong crowd.

"I am not proud of that brief period of time," Hayes added. "I was involved in an abusive relationship with a dangerous man."

According to Patrick Siemon, the real estate agent who brokered the sale of the property, the 70-acre land in Washington included a cabin. Hayes told Siemon that she and Karl Topinka, her boyfriend at that time, wanted to buy the property to be closer to nature.

Less than a year after they closed the sale, the land was foreclosed and Siemon discovered evidence of the pot operation. He found a large pool table with marijuana trimmings and saw holes drilled into the log house's walls to allow irrigation tubes to go through.

Siemon also said he saw paraphernalia used for marijuana grow such as nitrogen fertilizers and more marijuana bloom. In addition, he said Hayes was the one spearheading the operation, not Topinka, and that she was the one doing all the talking.

Based on the real estate contract, Hayes and Topinka were the listed buyers. They purchased the land for US$245,000 and gave US$15,566.88 as down payment.

Hayes, on the other hand, said she had no financial investment in the marijuana grow because she had no money back then. A year later, she said she decided to move to Oregon to rebuild her life.

Hayes' sham marriage was dug up after she was questioned on the possible ethics violations involved in her job as an environmental consultant in Gov. Kitzhaber's office. The probe found out that she received US$5,000 in exchange of the marriage for convenience with the Ethiopian immigrant in 1997.

Meanwhie, Gov. Kitzhaber said he only learned about his fiancee's sham marriage on October 7. While Hayes admitted to the marriage, she "categorically denied" that her consulting work had any ethics violation.

Kitzhaber, who is seeking re-election as the governor of Oregon, ordered an ethics review of Cylvia Hayes' consulting job.

TagsJohn Kitzhaber, Oregon governor, illegal pot grow, marijuana operation, Cylvia Hayes