After weeks of rumor and allegation, the governor's pick to head the new state Department of Community and Culture is addressing lingering concerns that she hired an undocumented worker as a nanny.

On Thursday, the attorney for Yvette Donosso Diaz sent documentation to the state that he said should address doubts as to whether Diaz knew the nanny was an illegal worker.

"We have tried to respond to every allegation of which we are aware," said Brent V. Manning, an attorney with the Salt Lake City firm Manning Curtis Bradshaw & Bednar.

After being nominated by the governor in January, rumors began circulating that Diaz had hired an undocumented worker, Y. Andreina Perez, as a nanny.

The allegations came to a headway last week after Perez's attorney sent the governor a letter saying she and other undocumented persons had worked for Diaz.

Diaz, a Republican, denies all claims.

The records show copies of checks written to Perez from December 2002 until August 2004. Tax forms, a copy of Perez's Social Security and Utah identification cards were also provided, in addition to an affidavit signed by a neighbor saying Perez had hit Diaz's son.

The documents are an addition to records sent to the governor in late March.

Despite the new information, Pedro Gomez — who pushed Perez to come forward with her claims — said "someone is not telling the truth."

It is his impression that Diaz knew her nanny was undocumented. "When you work that close with someone, you can tell," said Gomez, who works for the Newspaper Agency Corporation.

He denied claims that his involvement in the issue was politically motivated.

Jeremy Evans, who is representing Perez, said Thursday night he had questions about the documents Diaz produced. "They knew she was not a properly documented worker," he said. "We're confident that the Governor's investigation will continue."

Meanwhile, friends and colleagues of Diaz denounced allegations in a news conference Thursday. About 25 gathered at the Capitol to read a letter addressed to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and answer questions.

Joe Reyna, a Republican with the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, called allegations the product of a "smear campaign" prompted by two members of the Latino community.

"There is no basis," he said. "This lady (Perez) did not let them know she was undocumented when she was hired . . . and that can be proven."

Others at the event — while hinting the allegations were a personal attack — were more subdued in their comments.

"It appears, in my mind, unfortunately, that there's some people in the Hispanic community that are making these accusations, and, to an extent, there is a perception that Yvette does not have support," said Rep. Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake City. "I and others wanted to dispel that impression."

Whatever the case may be, Tony Yapias, who used to head the Utah Office of Hispanic Affairs, said it is critical the truth come out.

"This is so bad for our community."

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com