tonight on "nightline," a shocking new twist in a baffling hurder for hire. she's already behind bars for ordering a hit on her boyfriend's wife. and now, she's accused of trying to pay another inmate to kill him. inside a treacherous love triangle. plus, riding high? he's an american icon. but tonight, lance armstrong faces new doping charges that could trip him of his medals. the newest chapter in one of the biggest scandals in sports history. and snooki 2.0. she's the latest star to use mommyhood to try and reboot her image. tonight, the "jersey shore's" notorious party girl tells all about ditching the booze and the

bronze for baby. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with ter terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," june 13th, 2012. >> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin with crime. it's been said that all is fair in love and war, but when you come across a murder for hire plot, wrapped inside a murder for hire plot, all belts are off. after one woman landed in prison for hiring a hitman to take out her boyfriend's wife, she's now being accused of ordering another hit. this time, on her former boyfriend. here's "20/20" co-anchor chris cuomo for our series "crime and punishment." >> reporter: this woman is the mistress who pleaded guilty or the hiring a hitman to kill her lover's wife. now, in a new twist, michelle gaiser is also accused of taking out a hit on that lover.

from behind the bars of her jail cell. >> michelle gaiser, from her jail cell, has plotted yet another murder. she has solicited an inmate to murder jeffrey stern for $20,000. >> reporter: the allegation comes from the attorney for jeffrey stern. he read from an intercepted letter, allegedly from gaiser, to a hitman. >> whatever you do, it must not look like a hit. it's going to be accidental death. >> reporter: he says that gaiser planned to kill stern as payback for turning on her. >> so, if you catch him there and he dies there, people will think the wife did the planning to kill him as revenge. >> reporter: the whole thing allegedly unfolded last month in jail. >> however you do this, it needs to look like a robbery. >> reporter: gaiser was interested in getting another woman on her cell block to kill jeffrey stern. and allegedly wrote that detailed four-page letter about how and where to do it.

>> obviously, even a close-range shot didn't get rid of the wife. so, you have to shoot elsewhere to finish it. or a knife in the neck. cut the core rot kid artery and it's over. >> reporter: but a friend of the woman gaiser tried to hire tipped off stern and he alerted his attorney. this is all the latest twist in a tale that began in 2010, when bullets flew through the stern home in a suburb of houston, texas. the prosecution says the shooting was the first of three attempts by gaiser and stern to kill his wife, yvonne. >> the bullet went through one of the windows and that's a hole. broke the chair. >> reporter: the stern family had lived the life of fanfare, not gun fire. ever since yvonne met her husband jeff 30 years ago on a blind date. >> love at first sight. we have the same needs and wants. he's my soul mate. >> reporter: so, yvonne convinced herself the shooting was random. but then, two months later --

you were walking down here? >> i walked here, approaching the door, still saw no one. i see this man jump out of the wall with a gun in his hand and a smirk on his face and shot. that's where the bullet hit the floor. >> reporter: but ill it is wasn't over. a month after the doorway shooting, yvonne was attacked in a parking garage. >> i see someone jump out of their car and i see him coming towards me with a gun. pointed to me. i jumped in my car. he came to the car, pointed the gun to my head. >> reporter: there was just a car window between yvonne and a loaded gun. she begs for her life. >> i crwas crying, hysterical. i thought i almost got to him, making him feel sorry, okay, why am i doing this? he walked away, but he turned around and he just pointed and shot me. >> reporter: yvonne was shot in the stomach. and yet the worst pain was yet to come. when lying in the hospital,

yvonne was told her husband of 20 years was having an affair with gaiser. and that it was gaiser who planned the shootings. gaiser pleaded guilty and was facing a life sentence when she cut a deal with the state. she agreed to testify against jeff stern in exchange for 25-year sentence. her story? jeff was the brains of the operation. and prosecutors buy it. you see him equally responsible as michelle gaiser? >> yes. we believe that the evidence shows that he is guilty of solicitation of capital murder. >> reporter: but the most unbelievable part of the story to many is the fact that the victim is supporting the man accused by prosecutors of trying to kill her. >> there is just no way. the affair, okay, i'll give you that one. but to plot my murder? absolutely not. it's ludicrous. >> reporter: that's right. after initially leaving him, yvonne decided to forgive jeff for the affair and take him back. it may be hard to believe, but yvonne says her marriage was

even better after all the drama. we share more. we're closer. basically inseparable. >> reporter: as for the shocking new twist, stern's attorney says gaiser confessed to law enforcement that she wrote the letter. and he turned it over to the fbi task force and district attorney, who has so far declined to charge gaiser. all these developments may complicate things for prosecutors. gaiser was expected to be their star witness when they begin their trial against jeffrey stern next month. for "nightline," i'm chris cuomo in new york. >> what a story. our thanks to chris cuomo. up next, new doping charges for champion cyclist lance armstrong. will he lose his record-breaking titles? [ kimi ] atti and i had always called oregon home. until i got a job in the big apple. adjusting to city life was hard for me. and becoming a fulltime indoor cat wasn't easy for atti.

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with cynthia mcfadden. >> lance armstrong is one of the most famous and accomplished athletes in the world. a cycling champion and a cancer survivor, who has raised millions of dollars to fight the disease. and after battling a federal doping investigation that was dropped only months ago, he's now facing new charges. while he strongly denies the allegations, they could cost him dearly. here's abc's neal karlinsky. >> reporter: the man who beat cancer to become the greatest tour de france champion ever and one of the most recognized athletes on the planet -- >> fairy tale just goes on and on. >> reporter: now stands accused by the nation's top cops for doping of being one of the most sophisticated sporting cheats in modern history. in this 15-page charging letter from the u.s. anti-doping agency. lance armstrong is accused of using epo, blood transfusions,

testosterone and cortisone, all banned performance boosters. since as far back as 1996, the year he was diagnosed with cancer. the agency fellow riders will testify that armstrong didn't just use the drug, but was part of a wide-ranging conspiracy that included the use of fear, intimidation and coercion in attempt to enforce a code of silence. just as his former teammate and friend floyd landis told "nightline" in this exclusive interview. did you see lance armstrong receiving transfusions? >> yes. >> reporter: more than once? >> ah, yes, multiple times. >> reporter: usada claims it has data from blood collections obtained from armstrong in 2009 and '10 fully consistent with blood manipulation including epo. former armstrong friend betsy, wife of another former teammate to come forward, testified years ago that lance admitted doping before undergoing cancer

treatment. >> i have always told the truth with the first-hand knowledge that i've known of his doping and i've always been an edadvoce for clean sport. >> reporter: armstrong concedes none of it and this afternoon, released a statement, saying, "i have never doped and unlike many of my accusers, i've competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 0 0 0 drug tests ander er inever f one." attorneys point to a two-year federal investigation into armstrong which was dropped without charges. these are the very same charges and the same witnesses that the justice department chose not to pursue, says armstrong. but doping in sport isn't a federal crime. that case was allegedly about drug trafficking, fraud and money laundering. accusations that never went anywhere. the u.s. anti-doping agency has a very different threshold.

and this case is all about using drugs to win. >> lance armstrong has won seven tour de france titles. everyone on earth knows him for that race. it is possible that he will lose all of those titles. that's how big a deal this is. >> reporter: armstrong seemed to know this was coming and spoke of a possible case with "men's journal" this month. "in my mind, i'm truly done. you can inter pretty that however you want. but no matter what happens, i'm finished. i'm done fighting. i've moved on. if there are other changes that arise, i'm not contesting anything. case closed." armstrong is a major celebrity. now just as comfortable with world leaders and members of congress as hollywood elite. his biggest sponsor, nike, says tonight, its relationship with lance remains as strong as ever. so, why go forward with a case after he's already retired? especially considering armstrong's stature in the cancer community? >> we have hit steroid fatigue in the united states. but the flip side of that is,

don't we need to know? >> reporter: armstrong isn't the only accused rider, but according to what was filed today, every other u.s. rider contacted by usada regarding doping in cycling agreed to fully describe their involvement in doping. they are riders, armstrong's attorneys believe, are looking to make deems for themselves, riders with questionable credibility because of their own alleged cheating. i have to say, floyd, you say it in such a matter of fact way, but this is a man that's denied for a decade that he's on anything but his bike and hard work. >> i denied it, as well. >> reporter: you're saying lance armstrong is a liar? >> yes, i suppose if that's the question, yes. >> reporter: armstrong was in the midst of a new sporting career, hoping for a miraculous win at the hawaii ironman triathlon.

that will have to wait. he's now suspended for competition, digging in for a fight to keep his reputation. i'm neal karlinsky for "nightline" in seattle. >> our thanks to neal. and just ahead, she's not the first star to claim that her pregnancy's going to take her from party animal to the straight and narrow. we get to know the new snooki. ♪ loyalty discounts, safe driver discounts, paperless discounts. progressive keeps finding me new ways to save me money on my car insurance. you're sure to save it forward. i see you're a healthy eater. you qualify for a healthy eater's discount. oh, my gosh! thank you. you're welcome. dropping off the shopping cart discount. why are you doing it? because of the hundreds i saved at progressive. and that's when i told her about progressive online! hd 3. [ male announcer ] they were born to climb... born to leap,

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when your only claim to fame is your bad behavior and bad manners, hard partying and perma-tan, it's hard for people to take you seriously. and snooki of "jersey shore" fame is more punch line than headline. but like other stars before her, she now claims she's cleaning up her act for a new baby. here is abc's juju chang. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: nicole poe lizzy, better known as sflook ki, got famous on "jersey shore" for her tan and boozing, swearing -- >> [ bleep ] yourself, mike,

honestly. >> reporter: and cat fighting. she was infamously arrested for being drunk and disorderly after stumbling across a beach. do you have any regrets about it? >> never regrets. i just learn from my mistakes. you know, when i got arrested two years ago, i wish that didn't happen. >> reporter: she stumbled around a lot on the mtv show "jersey shore." it made her a reality star. but with her headline grabbing surprise baby bump, she's the latest celebrity for whom pregnancy is a golden opportunity to reboot her image. you said it was a happy oops, but you think you're ready to grow up and be more responsible? >> i don't think anyone is ready to be a parent because it's just so new to everybody. but i'm definitely ready to take on the challenge. i feel like i'm going to be a good mom. >> reporter: being seen an a good mom transformed nicole richie's image from wild child.

angelina jolie's image was once dark and edgy. now look at her. snooki's boyfriend says she's already trying to make an honest woman out of her, by putting a ring on it. five carats with the band, people. >> he's going to be paying it off for life. h >> reporter: how is nicole different from snooki? >> she cleans, she cooks. she, you know, she's not that girl. >> reporter: what do you think? >> perfect. like the size of me. >> reporter: while cheque out the goods at alby baby in new york, snooki insists pregnancy has already changed her. call it snooki 2.0. >> obviously no drinking. none whatsoever. i'm scared to even have caffeine. all my friends are like, you can have a glass of wine. no, i refuse. because, you know, i'm gok to be that person that has a glass of wine and it comes out with three legs. >> reporter: it helps that she's moved out of the "jersey shore" house this summer, for season six. but she is moving in right next

door. >> hi! yep, can't wait. >> reporter: snooki says she's taking even more extreme measures, avoiding caffeine, hair coloring, even her tanning regimi regimine. >> i haven't gotten spray tanned. >> reporter: are you going through withdrawal? >> no, because i'm embracing, you know, the paleness. kind of a new look. >> reporter: it seems one of the few pregnancy vices she's not giving up is six-inch heels. >> i feel confident in them and i know i'm not going to fall, so, you know, until it feels very uncomfortable, i'm still going to rock them. >> reporter: it's no coincidence that she's estimated to be worth millions. $1.8 million for the show alone last year. that doesn't include a line of sun tan lotion, a grfragrance, even a series of best sellers. she says she's not planning on using babysitters, but she's not at all conferenced she wants to

nurse. do you plan to breast feed? >> it just looks so painful. but i definitely want to pump, because it's the best nutrients for your baby. kind of like you are a cow and you are just milking. >> reporter: that's exactly what it's like. >> did you do it? >> reporter: i did. >> did it hurt? >> reporter: yeah. >> i need to tell you something. i'm pregnant. >> reporter: her new spin-off assumes that she can be just as entertaining sober. and so a lot of people think you can take the girl out of "jersey shore" but you can't take "jersey shore" out of the girl. >> once inhave my baby, obviously, i would love to go to karma and dance again, like, you know, my life's not over. but i just have different priorities. >> reporter: but are "jersey shore" fans ready for her to turn into a wholesome mama? snooki and mtv are banking on it. for "nightline," i'm juju chang in new york. >> we'll see. "snooki and j-woww" premieres june 2on