BALTIMORE _ Federal law enforcement agents fanned out Thursday across Baltimore, raiding City Hall, the home of embattled Mayor Catherine Pugh and several other locations as the investigation into the mayor's business dealings widened.
Dave Fitz, an FBI spokesman, confirmed agents from the Baltimore FBI office and the Washington IRS office were executing search warrants at those locations Thursday morning, as well as at least three other addresses associated with Pugh. It was the first confirmation that federal authorities, as well as state officials, were investigating the mayor's activities.
Pugh remained inside her home during the raids, a police source confirmed.
Shortly after the raids began, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan called on Pugh, who has taken a leave of absence as mayor, to resign.
"On April 1, I directed the state prosecutor to investigate the disturbing allegations surrounding Mayor Catherine Pugh's questionable financial dealings with the University of Maryland Medical System. Today, agents for the FBI and the IRS executed search warrants at the mayor's homes and offices," Hogan said. "Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership. Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust. She is clearly not fit to lead. For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign."
Agents were at the location of the Maryland Center for Adult Training. The Democratic mayor once led the nonprofit job training program and it has listed online as board members three Pugh staffers _ Gary Brown Jr., Poetri Deal and Afra Vance-White. Those three staffers were fired this week by acting Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young.
Fitz said they were executing warrants at Pugh's former home in Ashburton, which she still owns, as well as the downtown office of her attorney and Brown's home.
Pugh and her attorney, Steven Silverman, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Two sources told The Baltimore Sun that the investigation that led to Thursday's raids began more than a year ago.
Democratic City Councilman Brandon Scott also called Thursday for Pugh to resign. The entire City Council as well as Baltimore lawmakers in the House of Delegates and the pro-business Greater Baltimore Committee are also seeking her resignation.
"Mayor Pugh should resign immediately. Baltimore needs to move forward and heal from this embarrassment. Baltimore is a great and resilient city, but we can't waste anymore time on this issue," Scott said in a statement. "There are many important issues in front of us that require the complete attention of a full-time mayor. Our focus must continue to be fighting crime and improving the schools in our city."
Two men in suits with boxes waited Thursday morning in Silverman's office. Asked if they were federal agents, one said, "No comment." Silverman had not yet arrived, and a woman in the office asked a reporter to leave.
When Young, a Democrat, arrived Thursday morning at City Hall, he declined to comment. Lester Davis, a spokesman for Young, said Thursday morning that Young didn't know about the searches in advance. He also said Young did not know if the three aides were under investigation.
As Young left City Hall at midmorning, he said briefly: "The city is moving forward. I'm not ducking anybody. I'm just letting you know I was unaware and all I'm doing is keeping the city moving forward."
City Solicitor Andre Davis said he also did not know about the searches beforehand.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in Baltimore did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Pugh, 69, is under investigation by the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor for sales of her "Healthy Holly" children's books. Thursday's raid marked the first time it was publicly known that federal law enforcement was investigating Pugh, as well.
Citing health reasons, Pugh announced April 1 she was taking a leave of absence amid the growing scandal over sales of the self-published books. The Sun reported last month that Pugh was paid $500,000 by the University of Maryland Medical System for 100,000 of the books to distribute to schoolchildren. The no-bid arrangement was made while she was on the hospital network's unpaid board.
Health provider Kaiser Permanente later acknowledged that it paid Pugh more than $100,000 to buy about 20,000 copies of her books during a period when the company was seeking a lucrative contract to provide health insurance to city employees. Others with business before the city, including Columbia businessman J.P. Grant, also wrote checks for the book.
In all, Pugh's Healthy Holly LLC took in at least $800,000 from local entities since 2011, The Sun has reported.
The city solicitor said the search at City Hall was in the mayor's office on the second floor. City Hall is also home to the City Council president's office, the city comptroller's office and offices of council members, as well as the city law department, the finance department, the department of legislative reference and the inspector general's office.
Shortly before 11 a.m., FBI and IRS agents carrying cardboard boxes left City Hall. They loaded the boxes into about a half a dozen vehicles and left without commenting.
Andre Davis told reporters the searches were complete. He said he received an inventory of what agents seized, but doesn't intend to release it publicly for now, saying to do so could harm the investigation. He said a search warrant affidavit, which would lay out the reason for the City Hall search, is under seal.
Pugh bought her current home in the 3400 block of Ellamont Road for $117,500 just days after being sworn in as mayor in December 2016. Property records showed she purchased it without using a mortgage. She began renovating it in early 2017, but has repeatedly run afoul of city housing regulations regarding permits, historic preservation and fire codes.
Before her move, Pugh lived nearby on Dennlyn Road, where she bought a home in 1998.
At Brown's address at the Cecil apartments on Eutaw Street, two supervisors overseeing construction work confirmed multiple FBI agents raided an apartment in the building. The supervisors, who declined give their names, said three men wearing FBI jackets and one man in a suit showed up with warrants about 7:30 a.m. Thursday. They declined to say whose apartment was raided, but the building is the listed address of Brown.
Pugh's attorney has said she has remained on paid leave because she is still recovering from a case of pneumonia. Young is filling in as acting mayor.
Thursday was not the first time a Baltimore mayor's house has been raided by investigators. In 2008, state prosecutors and police searched the home of then-Mayor Sheila Dixon. The Democrat became the first Baltimore mayor to face criminal charges, was convicted and resigned.
Federal investigators have searched other big City Halls in recent years, including Los Angeles in 2018 and Philadelphia in 2016. In those corruption cases, they were seeking materials from the offices of City Council members.
