|
Fbi raids philly mayor ally lawyer Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/7030866.htmhttp://www.philly.com/mld/philly/7030866.htm
Posted on Thu, Oct. 16, 2003
FBI Raids 3 City Agencies, Street Fund-raiser's Office
By Anthony Twyman, Nathan Gorenstein and Emilie Lounsberry
Inquirer Staff Writers
In a stunning development in the federal inquiry that has enveloped Mayor Street, FBI agents searched three city agencies today, and the office of a lawyer who is an ally of the mayor and a leading fund-raiser for his reelection campaign.
The extraordinary raids took place at the city Finance Department, the city treasurer's office, and the city Board of Pensions & Retirement, as well as at the law office of Ronald A. White, a major player in the city's lucrative government bond business.
White, who was outside his office on Broad and Walnut Streets as the search was proceeding this afternoon, declined to comment.
The execution of search warrants inside city offices today by FBI agents - which virtually halted the normal course of business - prompted a hastily called news conference by the mayor last night. Speaking to reporters at City Hall, Street expressed concern about the timing of the searches and worried about the ability of city voters to remain focused on the forthcoming election.
The mayor - who has been identified as a subject of the probe - said it was "unfortunate that these events, conducted in this way, have in effect hijacked this election."
But he pledged to forge ahead.
"I intend to be the mayor and run the government," said a subdued Street. "I also intend to be the candidate and work hard on the campaign."
U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, chairman of the Democratic City Committee, denounced today's raids. He and some Democratic colleagues were drafting a letter to the Justice Department calling on federal officials to make public details of the investigation.
"We're going to call for honesty," Brady said. "We want them to come out and tell us what's going on."
At the White law office, meanwhile, agents worked into the night, carrying empty boxes and what appeared to be computer equipment to the second-floor office. About a half-dozen agents finally emerged shortly before 8 p.m. and carried out about 50 boxes with markings that read: "PHA," "Tasker Homes," and "Bonds."
The searches were the latest development in the federal investigation that has plagued the mayor since a sophisticated FBI listening device was discovered last week in the ceiling of his City Hall office.
People familiar with the inquiry have said that the wide-ranging corruption investigation focuses on city contracts, and one city official said that the investigation appears to be focusing, in part, on the lucrative city bond business.
"It is virtually impossible to know what they're looking for because, as you probably know, an awful lot of information has been requested," Street said last night.
City Solicitor Nelson A. Diaz, who confirmed raids at the city Finance Department and the pension board, declined to disclose what the warrants contained, or what documents were seized by agents.
But Diaz complained that the raids violated an agreement he had reached with the U.S. Attorney's Office to voluntarily provide whatever documents federal investigators wanted.
"It really disturbed me because I thought we had a deal with the U.S. Attorney's Office," said Diaz.
The city has turned over "thousands and thousands of documents" to federal investigators over the last year, he added.
He said that federal authorities were supposed to give advance notice of any requests for documents but he said he learned of today's search after it had started, from Finance Director Janice Davis.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said prosecutors in his office had met with Diaz about an unrelated matter in July and more recently with a top deputy in Diaz's office about a "recent search of a city office and interview of city officials."
"In each instance we unambiguously communicated the necessity to take whatever investigative steps are appropriate to safeguard and preserve evidence," Meehan said in a statement. "To now suggest that we breached a promise is entirely unfair and inaccurate."
FBI spokeswoman Linda Vizi would say only that agents conducted searches at several locations.
"We executed several search warrants at various locations," said Vizi. The warrants, she added, are "sealed."
While the Street campaign has portrayed the investigation as part of a Republican conspiracy aimed at ensuring the election of GOP candidate Sam Katz, a person with knowledge of the investigation said that the bugging of the mayor's office was approved by a Justice Department official - and not U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Since it burst into public view last week with the discovery of the bugging device, the FBI has appeared to be working feverishly to conduct interviews and carry out court-authorized searches.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact staff writer Emilie Lounsberry at 856-779-3863 or elounsberry@phillynews.com.
Inquirer staff writers Cynthia Burton, Nancy Phillips, Angela Couloumbis, Craig R. McCoy, Mark Fazlollah, Tom Turcol, George Anastasia, and Thomas Fitzgerald.
|
|
