Inquiry into leak of probe closed

CLEVELAND (AP) — A judge has closed his inquiry into whether federal prosecutors gave two newspapers sealed documents in a probe of Cleveland’s former mayor.

In July 2005, U.S. District Judge James Gwin ordered the U.S. attorney’s office to investigate who turned over sealed documents to The Plain Dealer and the weekly newspaper Scene.

Several leaked documents appeared to have been used by the publications in their stories about a federal probe involving City Councilman Joe Jones and business consultant Nate Gray, a friend of former Mayor Michael R. White, then-U.S. Attorney Gregory White said at the time.

The documents were part of the bribery case against Gray, who was later sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy in which bribes were paid in exchange for public contracts in Cleveland, East Cleveland, Houston and New Orleans.

White, who left office in 2002, was never charged with a crime.