Nick Lachey Blackmail Attempt Alleged; Minnillo Doorman Misses Derek Jeter

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo are one happy couple - and that doesn't sit well with one controlling father.

Reports allege that Joe Simpson - the paternal manager of Jessica and Ashlee, pictured on the left - tried to strong-arm a club into providing him security footage of a night Lachey was cohorting with Minnillo. According to a source cited by the New York Daily News:

"Joe was looking to incriminate Nick. He told the club, 'If you ever want to see my daughter there, you'll give me what I want.'"

Apparently it's illegal to attend a club after you're divorced. A Simpson rep called the story "preposterous," while Jessica wondered what that word meant.

In other Lachey and Minnillo news: The doormen in Minillo's apartment complex on the East Side of Manhattan probably wouldn't mind any scheme with Nick as the target.

They seem to miss Vanessa's former squeeze, Derek Jeter, "because he was much nicer and a lot more fun â€" and he didn't mind signing things for the boys." He also turned a better double play.

A TMZ spy says that Minillo and Lachey have entered the building and had the nerve to ignore the staff as they tried to elude paparazzi hot on their trail. Jeter, on the other hand, would have come up big in this clutch situation, satisfying the demands of all involved.