JACKSON — The federal government has ended its investigation into an associate of former lawyer Dickie Scruggs, the man's attorney said.

Doug Jones of Birmingham, Ala., said federal authorities have closed the case on his client, P.L. Blake, according to an article in Tuesday's Clarion-Ledger newspaper.

Krisi Allen, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Oxford, told The Associated Press they don't comment on the status of investigations.

Jones did not immediately respond to a message left by AP.

Blake, according to court documents, earned $50 million from the state's tobacco settlement by clipping newspapers and assessing political activity for Scruggs, now serving seven years in prison for corruption in unrelated cases.

Scruggs was the chief architect of the landmark tobacco litigation of the 1990s and became one of Mississippi's most wealthy and politically connected attorneys.

Blake's name arose shortly after Scruggs and several associates were arrested in 2007. Others charged in the case included Scruggs' law partner, Sidney Backstrom, then-lawyer Timothy Balducci and former State Auditor Steve Patterson.

They were all indicted for trying to bribe Lafayette County Circuit Judge Henry Lackey to rule in Scruggs' favor in a $26.5 million legal fees dispute involving Hurricane Katrina litigation.

Lackey cooperated with the FBI in the investigation.

In a 2008 hearing in the judicial bribery case, Balducci testified that he contacted Backstrom to see if the elder Scruggs would pay the judge. Balducci testified that he was told to go ahead and pay the money.

Balducci testified that he was willing to front the money, but Patterson, Balducci's business partner, wanted word from Scruggs. Patterson, who pleaded guilty in the case, contacted Blake, according to testimony.

"He wanted some direct confirmation because the $40,000 meant a lot to us at the time and he wanted to make sure that if we were going to do this we would get our money back," Balducci said.

Word came back from Blake "that we would be covered and not to worry about it," Balducci testified.