LPD now investigating Gov. Pillen’s $2.5 million no-bid contract awarded in 2024

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Lincoln Police Department announced Wednesday morning that they are taking over an investigation tied to Governor Jim Pillen’s office.

The case arose after Pillen’s office awarded a no-bid contract to the Nebraska Emergency Economic Development for $ 2.5 million.

Nebraska state auditor Mike Foley flagged the act as suspicious due to state statutes.

He says that the contract was not opened for other companies to bid competitively.

Foley specified in a letter he released on Jan. 6 that the selection indicated favoritism.

The investigation was first assigned to the Nebraska State Patrol, but was later transferred to the Lincoln Police due to a conflict of interest.

Auditor Foley said that he immediately transmitted the entire case file to them electronically.

In an interview with Channel 8 on Wednesday, Foley confirmed that he doesn’t know much about the investigation.

“It’s been a number of weeks, I don’t know what their processes are, I don’t know what the timeframe is, I don’t know the cases they might already have, working on and have in motion, so to speak, that’s all I know,” he said.

The case began nearly two years ago, when the contract was awarded.

This is an ongoing investigation. Channel 8 will update this article as we learn more.