One of the judges the reporters were told to monitor, Elizabeth Gonzalez, is handling a wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed in 2010 against Mr. Adelson and his casino company by Steven Jacobs, the former chief executive of its operations in Macau.

Mr. Jacobs has contended in court papers that he was fired after refusing to carry out what he believed to be illegal demands ordered by Mr. Adelson such as digging up potentially damaging information on high-ranking members of the Macau government. He also contended that he was ordered to continue to use a lawyer there despite his fears that doing so could violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Mr. Adelson and his company have rejected those assertions as unfounded and said Mr. Jacobs was fired for cause. Filings in the case have also pointed to the possible involvement of Chinese organized crime in the Macau gambling industry. During the course of the case, Judge Gonzalez has had sharp words for Mr. Adelson and his team in the courtroom.

In its article, The Review-Journal said that it was not clear how the judges “came under scrutiny just as GateHouse Media,” the company that manages the newspaper, “was quietly finalizing the newspaper’s sale and an ongoing management contract with Adelson’s family.”

The article is the latest puzzle in the controversial transfer of the newspaper’s ownership. Mr. Adelson and his family paid $140 million for the newspaper last week, giving the seller, New Media Investment Group, which operates from the offices of the investment management firm Fortress, with an estimated gain of nearly $57 million.