On Feb. 2, UK’s News Of The World published a picture of the 14-time Olympic gold medalist using a bong to smoke pot. The picture was taken at a party in Columbia back in November when Phelps was there for a visit.

Investigators began trying to build a case, and they’ve made eight arrests: seven for drug possession and one for distribution. These are arrests that resulted when the sheriff’s department served search warrants.

The department has located and confiscated the bong as well. The MORON owner of the bong was trying to sell it on eBay for as much as $100,000! He wasn’t even at the party, but he is now one of the eight now charged. Brainiac.

Phelps is not one of those charged at this point, but the sheriff’s department says it has strong evidence that matches the photo to the house on Blossom Street. It clear that he’s gunnin’ for Michael. Geez.

According to an arrest report, deputies in the coastal county of Santa Barbara pulled Collins over Saturday evening after noticing him driving a motor home erratically. The 70-year-old was arrested by the California Highway Patrol after failing a field sobriety test. He was later released on $25,000 bail.

The arrest comes roughly 13 months after Tom Gary Collins plead no contest to driving under the influence and served a four-day jail sentence in a suburb of LA. He was placed on two years of informal probation, and records show he was admonished about the dangers of drunken driving. Obviously, admonishing doesn’t go real far with Gary. Time to call Dr. Drew?

Records also indicate he was convicted of DUI in 2004 in Malibu. They did not indicate whether he has an attorney. Trust me, he has one…on retainer. No word on whether he still has his former Miss America wife, Mary Anne Mobley around, but if she’s still hanging in- let’s hope she hides ALL the keys this time. Gary’s approaching “George Jones On A Lawnmower Beer Run” status. (Google it. Yes, it’s true.)

Reportedly, in November Michael got his par-tay on during two days of hanging with students at the University of South Carolina. It was a quiet time in the swimming calendar when athletes would not expect to get tested for drugs.

One party-goer told the NOTW that

“He was out of control from the moment he got there.If he continues to party like that I’d be amazed if he ever won any more medals again.”

Michael’s peeps reportedly went ballistic over the story, and the tabloid says they were offered some big bucks not to run the bong picture above.

The bong-hitting was on November 6, weeks after Michael’s Beijing triumph. He surprised students at the University Of South Carolina by showing up unannounced at a house party. He was secretly dating a girl named Jordan Matthews, who was a student there. Somebody snitched, and said:

“Michael came to visit Jordan but ended up just getting wasted every night.“He arrived with a group of girls hanging all over him. Jaws hit the floor when he walked in. You don’t get many celebrities in Columbia, so when Phelps comes to your party it’s a very big deal. He didn’t know many people so you’d think he’d be a little shy. But he was loud, obnoxious and slamming beers from the get-go. Every girl wanted a piece of him and every guy wanted to be his best buddy. He couldn’t get enough of all the attention.”

Ouch. Hallmark of the nerd-made-good. Amateur! NOTW says Phelps knocked back beers and shots. And… when a student offered him the glass bong engraved with red writing, he did not hesitate. What would Flipper say?! The snitch said,

“You could tell Michael had smoked before. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and knew exactly what to do. He looked just as natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming in the pool. He was the gold medal winner of bong hits. Michael ended up getting a little paranoid, though, because before too long he looked like he was nervous and ran out of the place.”

Paranoia and the munchies. Classic. Now we know why Michael eats so damn much! Maybe you should hang out with George Obama, Michael! Duuuude, Cameras. They’re EVERYWHERE.

source: NOTW