FBI serves search warrants at Lancaster City Hall
The FBI served search warrants at Lancaster City Hall and other locations on Wednesday morning.
A spokesperson for the FBI said affidavits in support of the warrants have been sealed by the court and they are unable to comment on the nature of the investigation.
Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris said he was caught completely off guard by the raids. "I was shocked, shocked," he said.
The city has been under scrutiny before, with subpoenas issued years ago. "They subpoenaed documents 2 1/2 years ago, and so we retained law firms to look at it to see if they had done anything wrong, anything, and it came up clean," Parris said.
Neighbors were stunned Wednesday to be awoken by federal agents swarming a home, which property records show belongs to Vice Mayor Marvin Crist.
Meanwhile, outside city hall, a community advocate and educator says he's been raising these concerns for weeks about possible corruption.
"There's more to it. This is just the tip that meets the iceberg," Miguel Coronado said. "We think that millions and millions and millions of dollars of taxpayer money have been misallocated."
Many residents say their trust in the city is on shaky ground. "It doesn't give me any confidence for sure and in what City Hall is doing," one resident said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.