Gov. Gibbons cleared in eTreppid probe

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice has cleared Gov. Jim Gibbons and closed its investigation of allegations that the former congressman took unreported gifts from a friend in exchange for millions of dollars in federal contracts, the governor’s defense attorney said.

Gibbons is expected to hold a press conference on Monday to declare an end to the corruption probe that linked him to Reno defense contractor Warren Trepp. The investigation centered on allegations Gibbons improperly used his influence when he was a member of the House to obtain secret contracts for Trepp’s firm.

"The prosecutors in the case confirmed what the governor has been saying for the past two years — that he did nothing wrong and there was no basis for any allegations against him," attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement obtained by the Review-Journal.

Lowell said he spoke Friday with Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Durham, who was conducting the probe,  “and was told the investigation of any allegations against governor Gibbons had been closed,” according to the statement issued by the McDermott, Will & Emery law firm, where Lowell heads its White Collar Criminal Defense Group.

Calls to Durham and the governor’s spokesman, Ben Kieckhefer, were not returned.