2001
FBI agent Gus Aitoro (Ricky Paull Goldin) came to Springfield to investigate the Santos crime family. He had a vendetta against them because Danny Santos's father had murdered his father. Danny, in the meantime, was on trial for his mother, Carmen's murder. Gus planted evidence to ensure that Danny would be incriminated, but Michelle exposed the scheme. Once Carmen returned from the "dead," Danny was set free, so he accepted a job offer from Alan Spaulding. Gus, however, could not let Santos go. He pursued Danny and Michelle, who were trying to steal Spaulding funds to implicate the mob. Meanwhile, Harley (Beth Ehlers) was married to Phillip Spaulding, but she threw him out when he grew obsessed with his former love, Beth. After a fight, Harley had drunken sex with Rick and wound up pregnant. Their son, Jude, was born in a jail cell after she was pulled over for speeding. Harley tried to call Rick, but reached Gus instead. Aitoro had to deliver the baby, even though it was a breech birth. By the end of the year, Gus struggled to get his mind off Harley.

2002
Rick and Harley's loveless wedding plans were called off when she fell in love with Gus, and Rick admitted that he had feelings for Mel. Gus moved in with Harley, causing Phillip to take Zach away from his ex-wife. To help her in the custody case against Phillip, Harley brought Eden, Gus's sister, to town to clear him of a juvenile murder charge (he'd taken the blame for Eden), but she reneged on confessing.

2003
Phillip (Grant Aleksander) granted custody of Zach to Harley. She was shot on the job, but recovered. Gus saved Alan, who had been drugged by Alexandra. Harley's detective/legal-aid agency (Harley's Angels) competed with Gus to find a missing person. Gus was stunned when he read old letters that his parents wrote and learned that his mother had been barren. Harley and Gus worked together to discover his true parentage. They learned that Phillip's childhood nanny, Regina, was actually Gus's mother. Originally, Gus was convinced that he was really a Santos, but after coming face-to-face with his presumed-dead mother, he was shocked to learn that Alan was actually his father.