Favre Family Dysfunction: Sister Brandi's Arrest Adds to Brett's Troubles

Jan. 14, 2011— -- After his sister's arrest on methamphetamine-related charges, Brett Favre may well be thinking, "With family like this, who needs enemies?"

After all, it's not Brandi Favre's first brush with the law, nor is she the only family member to get into trouble. What's more, the timing of his sister's arrest couldn't be worse. Favre, the veteran quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, was recently slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit by two female massage therapists.

"Trouble never seems to be far away," Favre told Playboy in 1997, a year after the NFL put him on probation for addiction to the painkiller Vicodin and his older brother Scott was sent to prison for a probation violation on a DUI charge.

Looks like trouble has returned. Favre's agent James "Bus" Cook did not immediately return requests for comment.

Here's a look at the Favre family's troubles, past and present:

Brandi Favre

Brandi, 34, the youngest of the four Favre children and the only girl, was among five people arrested in a raid Wednesday at a condo in Diamondhead, Miss. She was charged with possession of two or more ingredients to manufacture methamphetamine, and generating hazardous material.

Hancock County Sheriff's Maj. Matt Karl, director of narcotics, told ABCNews.com that Brandi was "at the location" at the time of the raid, in which police found nine grams of methamphetamine and another 10 grams of the drug cooking in the bathtub.

Brandi was released after posting a $40,000 bond Thursday.

"That was our goal today," her lawyer Chad Favre (no relation), told ABCNews.com. "As far as the facts go, we still have an opportunity to sort these things out."

Both counts are felonies. If convicted, Brandi faces fines up to $1 million in fines and 30 years in prison for each count.

A former Miss Teen Mississippi, Brandi first tangled with the law in 1996 when she was arrested and charged with unlawful use of a weapon during a drive-by shooting near a motel in Louisiana. No one was injured in the shooting and Brandi, then 20, completed a diversion program to remove the arrest from her record.

Her brother Brett described the incident the following year to an interviewer for Playboy: "She was giving another girl and the girl's boyfriend a ride home. The boyfriend had had an argument with another guy at a party, and the boyfriend shot at him from the car. Brandi told the truth and she was fine."

Brandi Favre Helps Herself to Some Clothes

Only that wasn't the end of Brandi's troubles with the law. In 1999, when she was 23, Brandi was arrested for felony shoplifting, along with two other women, including her sister-in-law Rhonda Doyle Favre, who is married to Brandi and Brett's brother Jeff.

The women were accused of stealing 19 items, including clothing and Godiva chocolate, from a department store in Biloxi, Miss.

"Her and two cohorts helped themselves to some clothes," Police Detective Capt. Rick Kirk told The Associated Press at the time.

In 2003, Brandi gave some insight into her behavior when she spoke at a memorial service for her father, Irvin Favre, about what each of the Favre children inherited from him.

"Scott got his quiet side. Brett got his tractor-driving, hard-nosed desire to succeed. Jeff, well, he got Dad's looks, the poor guy. As for me, I got his meanness and moodiness," she said.

"They're just great people," Sheriff's Maj. Karl said about the family. "But it's something where she has just got to get herself straight."

Brandi's lawyer points out that she has "never been convicted of any prior felony."

Scott Favre

In July 1996, the oldest Favre boy, Scott, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after an accident that killed his and Brett's close friend Mark Haverty.

On their way home, Scott, who was driving, stopped on a railroad track. A 49-car freight train slammed into the car, killing Haverty and injuring Scott. Later, Scott's blood alcohol level was found to be 0.23, more than twice the legal limit.

Scott was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years -- 14 or which were suspended -- and a year of house arrest.

"This was a mistake between two buddies. I mean, there's nothing good about drinking and driving, but who hasn't done it?" Brett told Playboy in 1997. "They were unlucky. It could just as easily have been Scott who was killed. If I had been home that night it could have been me."

Then, in May 1997, Scott was on his way to help his dad fix his fishing boat when police arrested him for driving with a suspended license. It was enough that a judge revoked his parole, sentencing him to 13 years in prison.

Brett, who had just won his first Super Bowl ring for the Green Bay Packers, was racked with guilt. "Here I am in my fairy-tale world playing football while Scott sits in prison, and I have done more bad things than he's ever dreamed of," he told Playboy. "I would give up my ring in a heartbeat to trade places with my brother."

In the end, Scott only served 67 days, after it was determined in a hearing that he had been wrongfully jailed.

Brett Favre

Perhaps some of those "bad things" Brett referred to have caught up with him. From October of 2010 until late December of last year, Favre was under investigation by the NFL after the website Deadspin posted voicemails allegedly from Favre to Jenn Sterger, a former game day reporter for the New York Jets. He was also accused of sending Sterger lewd pictures of himself.

The voicemails and pictures were allegedly sent to Sterger in 2008 when Favre was quarterback for the Jets.

In the voicemails, Favre is heard inviting Sterger to his hotel. Favre has admitted to leaving the voicemails but not to sending inappropriate pictures of himself.

The NFL concluded its investigation on Dec. 29, 2010 by fining Favre $50,000. The fine drew the ire of some critics who said the punishment wasn't harsh enough. Favre, who had left the Jets by then to play for the Minnesota Vikings, reportedly makes $50,000 in just five minutes of game time. His base salary is $11.6 million.

The league said that Commissioner Roger Goodell "could not conclude" that Favre violated the NFL's personal conduct policy given the evidence available to him.

Then, in January, massage therapists Christine Scavo and Shannon O'Toole filed suit against Favre and the Jets for sexual harassment. In the suit, Scavo claims that Favre treated her like a "hanging slab of meat" and suggested she and another therapist "get together" with him for a three-way.

In 1996, when Favre admitted he was addicted to Vicodin, he 46 days at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, and the NFL put him on probation for drugs and alcohol.

Favre went on to win the Super Bowl and his second title as league MVP.