Washington - A local Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President Cheney and former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on charges connected to alleged abuse of inmates in a private prison system, a Texas newspaper reported late Monday on its website.

The Brownsville Herald reported that the grand jury in Willacy County, hearing evidence presented by District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, returned several counts against Cheney and Gonzales as well as Texas officials including a state senator and state district judges.

The indictment cites Cheney's investment in the Vanguard Group, a major brokerage and mutual fund firm with financial interests in private prison companies that run federal detention centers, the newspaper reported.

It charged that Cheney had a conflict of interest and was responsible for "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees.

Gonzales, who was US attorney general from 2005-07 under US President George W Bush, is charged with using his influence to halt an investigation into alleged abuses at the prisons, the Herald reported.