FBI Raids Detroit Public Library Offices
DETROIT (WWJ/AP)- The FBI is staying quiet for now about a raid at the main office of the Detroit Public Library.
Library spokeswoman A.J. Funchess said agents aren't sharing much information about the search, but they arrived Tuesday with warrants Tuesday morning. Agents were in and out of the building before it opened at noon.
An FBI spokesman declined to comment to WWJ Newsradio 950, but sources said agents were looking for financial records.
Library patron John Miller said it looked like business as usual. "I don't know. I was trying to find out, but I couldn't see anything and they kept everything basically, you know, low key, quiet," he said.
A little later in the day, reporters were told to wait at the door for a supervisor but when she arrived she only said, "no comment."
A Library Commission meeting that had been planned for Tuesday has been postponed until Wednesday and, according to a sign on the door, that meeting will now begin with a closed session.
The Detroit library, like other arms of city government, has suffered financial problems. In 2011, there was a plan to close 18 of 23 branches. The plan was dropped after officials took a new look at revenue projections and figured in the savings from a smaller staff.
Two branches were closed, and 80 of 364 employees were dismissed. Most of the library's budget comes from a property tax.
UPDATE 11/21: Detroit Library Official Says FBI Raid Over Contracts
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