PRESENTER:  That's our first item that we want to bring to your attention, the allegation that there have been and there has been a long history of preferential contracts awarded, in some cases no-bid situations, to Gardener Engineering.

THE WITNESS: I retrieved this document through a Freedom of Information Act at the University of Nevada, Reno.  I acquired approximately 3,000 documents.

One of the documents that stood out was this handwritten 9:00 a.m. conference call between the facilities maintenance staff.

And what it basically says is that -- and line, I think it's 12, the one with the arrow pointing at it, says: "By doing things this way at least it looks like a legitimate bid."

And then the other one, which is much worse, says: "Maybe other contractors will recognize this for what it is and not bid it."

This verified the conclusion of the Legislative Audit Report that said that Mr. Gardner had been receiving preferential treatment at the University of Nevada, Reno, through Vice President Buzz Nelson for approximately 20 years.

PRESENTER: . . . we want to draw your attention now to that Legislative Audit Report.

THE WITNESS:  "Due to misinterpretations of law, violations of policies, opportunities to use convenient financing methods, many of these projects were not awarded through a competitive bidding process."

It goes on to say that "a total of 14 energy retrofit contracts totaling $8.2 million with Sierra Pacific Power, none of the contracts were awarded based on a competitive bidding process."

- Transcript excerpts from the Univ. of Nevada, Reno public corruption hearing.