Schwarzenegger Scandal

Through the years, Arnold spent some serious quality time with Mildred Patty Baena and their kid ... even engaging in tender father-son moments -- like when he taught the little guy how to golf.

Sources very close to Baena tell TMZ ... she was extremely aggressive when it came to chasing men -- like a heat-seeking missile. They say her flirting was often "inappropriate," but her tactics frequently worked -- at least short-term.

Our sources says Baena almost always made the first move -- going after whomever she wanted -- and Arnold was no different.

What's especially interesting about this ... it looks like Arnold told Maria about Mildred Patty Baena immediately after he left the governor's office on January 3.

Sources say Maria and her broker looked at a condo at The Carlyle on Wilshire, a pricey condo building near UCLA. Among the residents -- Bruce Willis, Sofia Vergara, Paul Anka, Donna Summer and Matt Kemp.

Our sources say Maria didn't like the units. We're told she looked at several penthouse units, which are priced between $10 - $14 million (they rent out for around $30,000 a month). She also looked at a few 3-bedroom condos, which were listed between $4 - $7 million (they rent out at around $17,000 a month).

We're told Maria felt the building was too exposed to the paparazzi.

Baena kept the 13-year-old boy in the dark, says the New York Post, and neighbors say he even referred to Baena's current boyfriend as dad.

The paper says Baena's secrecy over paternity ran so deep, her own sister didn't even know until this week. That's strange, because some of Baena's friend who have spoken with TMZ tell us they've know for a while.

According to loan documents obtained by TMZ, Arnold made the "gift" payments in two installments from his own personal bank account -- one for $5,000 in April 2010 ... and one for $60,000 in May 2010.

According to the docs, the money was used to secure a loan for Patty's house in Bakersfield, CA -- where she currently lives with Arnold's 13-year-old love child.

The purchase price of the house was $268,000 -- so Arnold's down payment covered nearly a quarter of the total cost.

The official announcement comes just a few hours after Schwarzenegger said he was putting all his future acting gigs in a holding pattern.

A rep for the animated project -- Arnold's first after leaving office -- tells TMZ, "In light of recent events, A Squared Entertainment, POW, Stan Lee Comics, and Archie Comics, have chosen to not go forward with the Governator project."

The rep would not specify if the project is completely dead or just postponed until Arnold's personal issues blow over.

One potential problem was the show's plot ... Arnold's character was supposed to fight crime with the help of his wife Maria and their four kids.

Arnold's office released the statement today -- claiming the actor has already asked his agent at CAA to discontinue his current film negotiations for the time being.

The statement continues, "Governor Schwarzenegger is focusing on personal matters and is not willing to commit to any production schedules or timelines."

Mildred Patty Baena had an obsession with Maria ... sources close to the Schwarzenegger's former housekeeper tell TMZ. We're told Patty felt she was naturally "gorgeous" and wanted to look just like Maria.

Toward the end, our sources say Patty would dress in Maria's clothing and even wear her jewelry around town. We're told Patty once confided that Maria noticed on one occasion that a piece of jewelry was missing and interviewed the staff about it. We don't know if the jewelry resurfaced.

And get this -- Patty would go to Maria for "love advice" as well as advice about her pregnancy and Maria graciously offered her counsel.

And there's more. Patty confided in a friend -- when Maria would leave the house in the morning, she would crawl into the marital bed and do the deed with Arnold. She once even bragged that she was more of a wife to Arnold than Maria because she was always there for him.

Sources connected with Maria tell TMZ ... she's hired disso-queen Laura Wasser, who has repped just about everyone in Hollywood, including Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie and Christina Aguilera.

TMZ has learned ... Mildred Patty Baena has a sister named Mirian who also worked as a housekeeper for Arnold and Maria Shriver for years.

When Mirian's daughter turned 15 -- Arnold shockingly agreed to pay for her "Quinceanera" ... a traditional Latina celebration. Sources tell us Arnold funded the entire event -- including limo service to and from the party venue, food, entertainment, decorations ... the works.

Arnold -- who brought his wife and their children to the celebration -- agreed to speak at the party ... and told the crowd he wanted to "take care" of the family because they had all been close for so many years.

Mildred Patty Baena was also in attendance along with her young love child ... and during the party, the little boy spent time playing with Arnold's other children.

The picture, featuring the two dancing in front of a live mariachi band, was shot back in November 1994 ... around the same time "True Lies" and "Junior" came out in theaters. We're just sayin' ...

We're told the Christmas photo was taken inside Arnold's house around the year 2000.

Maria sported oversized shades outside a restaurant with 13-year old Christopher, and 19-year old Christina in their hometown of Brentwood on Wednesday.

Question is...

According to the time stamp on the photos -- the Halloween boozefest went down back in October 1996.