NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints have hired a firm run by former FBI director Louis J. Freeh to investigate allegations that the team's general manager, Mickey Loomis, had an electronic device in his Superdome booth that enabled him to eavesdrop on opposing coaches during games, according to sources familiar with the internal probe.

As early as May 15, according to sources, investigators with Freeh Group International Solutions were in the New Orleans area interviewing people, some of whom have also been interviewed by FBI agents working on a separate investigation run by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Saints GM Mickey Loomis has acknowledged the presence of a listening device within his Superdome suite but has denied it had the capability to listen to opponents' coaches. AP Photo/Seth Wenig

A spokesperson for Freeh's company did not respond to a request for comment Friday, and neither did the Saints. But team spokesman Greg Bensel confirmed Freeh's involvement to profootballtalk.com Friday morning.

"Serious allegations have been made about our organization this offseason; we take these allegations very seriously," Bensel said via email, according to profootballtalk.com. "As a result, we have hired the Freeh Group, founded by former director of the FBI and former federal judge Louis Freeh. Mr. Benson (Saints owner Tom Benson) moved quickly to hire them and has spared no expense to get to the bottom of these allegations.

"We have given the Freeh Group complete access to our team and all of the individuals who have been associated with this news story."

The Freeh investigation began not long after Loomis and the Saints dismissed the eavesdropping allegations, first reported by ESPN's "Outside the Lines" on April 23, as "1,000 percent false ... 1,000 percent inaccurate."

The scope and exact nature of the investigation is unclear. Sources told "Outside the Lines" that questions asked by Freeh investigators covered the possibility that there was a listening device and who they thought might have leaked information that led to the "Outside the Lines" report.

Vicky Neumeyer, the team's vice president and general counsel, is the Saints' point person on the Freeh investigation. Neumeyer, a longtime legal adviser to Benson, also could not be reached for comment.

Sources familiar with the game-day operations of the Superdome told "Outside the Lines" that Loomis had an electronic device in his Superdome suite secretly rewired enabling him to eavesdrop on visiting coaching staffs for nearly three NFL seasons. Loomis, who faces an eight-game suspension from the NFL for his role in the recent bounty scandal, had the ability to secretly listen for most of the 2002 season, his first as general manager of the Saints, and all of the 2003 and 2004 seasons, according to sources.

The FBI in New Orleans launched an investigation just days after ESPN's initial report. A spokesperson for the Louisiana State Police said a lone state trooper, regularly assigned to the FBI New Orleans field office, is monitoring the progress of the investigation, which is ongoing.

If proved, the allegations could be a violation of NFL rules and potentially a state and federal crime, according to legal sources. The federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 prohibits any person from intercepting communications from another person using an electronic or mechanical device.