She says in 2009, federal agents found the unregistered gun in a closet in her home.
She says the agents told her the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District had bought the gun, but Loren-Maltese says water district officials told the agents they did not remember whom they had given the weapon to.
Loren-Maltese says she does not know how the gun ended up in her house and she thinks someone must have planted it.
In a message sent Friday evening, Metropolitan Water Relcamation District Executive Director David St. Pierre said: "The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago was notified several weeks ago of the handgun found in Ms. Betty Loren-Maltese's home in Las Vegas. We contacted federal authorities to investigate and determine ownership of the handgun. We are currently awaiting the outcome of the investigation."
Loren-Maltese served seven years in prison on federal corruption charges. She is trying to have her conviction overturned.
