Former Las Vegas politician Robert Telles was imprisoned for the murder of investigative journalist Jeff German.

Telles reportedly blamed German, who spent more than four decades covering crime, corruption and the gang world in Las Vegas, for the failure of his career after he failed to win re-election to a second term following a series of revelations in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Christopher Hamner, the assistant district attorney, had told jurors that Telles' conviction was only possible by “connecting the dots” based on a large amount of evidence. The killer drove a car similar to Telles', and video footage showed the car driving back and forth between Telles' and German's homes.

Mr Hammer told the court that the journalist tried to fight off the attacker, who accused him of ruining his career and threatening his marriage.

Prosecutors said Telles killed German just hours after discovering that the reporter was about to make public electronic communications between Telles and the subordinate with whom he allegedly had a relationship.