Is Pacific Coast News just the latest paparazzi agency to be fingered for colluding with celebrities? We're hearing very good information that the agency cut a deal with The Hills' Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. PCN gets access the couple, staged shots, and thus a leg up in selling their photos to tabloids, while Heidi and Spencer get to be seen in positive light. Oh, and pad their pockets with a cut of the revenues.

A PCN exec we reached out to hasn't returned comment, but one knowledgeable source also says PCN had a similar financial arrangement with cash-starved Brandon Davis, who would ensure shots of him and Mischa Barton were captured by the agency's photogs. (So the rumor goes, Brandon began running out of photo-worthy activities with Mischa. Thus, there's a pic of them playing croquet.) Mischa, who was once thought to be just a pawn in Brandon's photo escapades, is now said to be in on the deal herself; following her DUI arrest, a tearful Mischa walking her dogs in Greystone Park appeared, credited to PCN.

PCN has also acknowledged to industry sources we spoke with that they have a "business relationship" with Spencer, but didn't elaborate. Heidi has been overheard talking about her own deal with "Matt at PCN" to shoot her exclusively.

So how much do these photos enrich this unnerving reality twosome? A two-page spread inside a celeb weekly can snag "at least" $5,000 gross, according to one paparazzi source, but the percentage Heidi and Spencer take home isn't known. But their lengthy photospread on UsMagazine.com, as exhibited here in a PCN photo, probably paid for a teeth whitening or two.

Of course, none of this is entirely "news," as most photo agencies secure exclusive or semi-exclusive relationships with any number of celebs and reality starlets. Not that standard industry practices aren't worthy of our attention, of course.