FBI agents search Muncie City Hall office

Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation spent three hours on Thursday morning searching an office in Muncie’s City Hall.  IPR’s Tony Sandleben was there.

Agents searching the city’s Building Commissioner’s office were part of the bureau’s public corruption unit.  Muncie city attorney Megan Quirk says city officials did not receive an official copy of the federal search warrant when agents arrived around 9:00 in the morning, despite asking for the document.  Quirk was given an envelope of documents when the FBI finished its search and left the building.

No other city offices – including the mayor’s office – were searched.  Paper was taped over the windows of the building commissioner’s office and a “temporarily closed” sign was taped to the office door.

Just after noon, agents used multiple moving dollies to take away several boxes from the office. Those were loaded into the trunk of an SUV.  Agents would not say what the boxes contained or what the search was looking for.

In a short written statement, Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler says the city will cooperate fully with the investigation. The FBI has not confirmed it is investigating the city of Muncie.  But in May, Tyler confirmed such an investigation was taking place.