Advance look from this week's Creative Loafing:

BY JOHN SUGG and WAYNE GARCIA

Michael Fechter, whose reporting led to the decade-long federal investigation of Sami Al-Arian, and Cherie Krigsman, one of the case’s federal prosecutors, are an item.

Fechter confirmed to Creative Loafing this week that he and Krigsman have been romantically involved since shortly after the end of Al-Arian’s trial 11 months ago. He said the relationship did not color his reporting on the case because he begged off writing any further Al-Arian stories once he and Krigsman became romantically involved.

Fechter’s newspaper, the Tampa Tribune, has long been accused of bias in the Al-Arian case. The fact that Fechter is dating one of Al-Arian’s three lead federal prosecutors is sure to raise at least a few eyebrows among critics.

The Fechter-Krigsman relationship could also revive legal acrimony about a case that is still being fought out in federal court even this week, months after Al-Arian pleaded to a single count of conspiracy. When told of the relationship by CL, Al-Arian attorney Linda Moreno said, “I’m shocked and stunned. We’ll have to see what comes out about this and what impact it might have on [Al-Arian’s] case.”

This article appears in Nov 8-14, 2006.