Prince George’s County FBI raids have FD connection
The Washington Post reports the FBI raided two Prince George’s County, MD government office buildings on Saturday as part of a probe into a very large new development planned near the Metro stop in Greenbelt.
Grand jury subpoenas have been distributed and it appears one of the people investigators are interested in is a part-time employee of the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department. Among the places raided by the agents is 9201 Basil Court in Largo. That building is the headquarters for the fire department and another agency.
Here are experts from the article:
Two law enforcement sources said agents used a search warrant to enter the offices of J. Michael Dougherty, the county’s director of finance. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the raids.
A government source, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said agents also raided a government building that houses offices of the fire department and information technology systems.
The scope of the FBI investigation was not clear. However, the source with knowledge of the subpoenas said they sought information about contacts with prominent lobbyists and developers. They included Michael Arrington, who has been a lobbyist for one of the partners in the Greenbelt project, and developers Patrick Ricker and Daniel Colton, the source said.
Colton, who was released from prison in 2004 after serving three years for bank fraud, and Ricker did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Arrington said he was unaware of a probe and had no comment. Dougherty also could not immediately be reached.
The subpoenas also sought information about former County Council member Thomas R. Hendershot, who in December was hired as a temporary, part-time employee with the fire department. Hendershot declined to comment yesterday.
Before leaving office in 2006, the New Carrollton Democrat pushed zoning legislation that benefited the development. Although the property around Greenbelt station was zoned for industrial use, Hendershot’s 2001 legislation allowed mixed-use development as long as it is of “high quality and sophistication.”
County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) did not return a call for comment. James Keary, a spokesman for Johnson, said FBI agents “positively did not” go into his offices yesterday. He said he could provide no other information about the raid, but said that neither Johnson nor his top aides have engaged in any wrongdoing.
“This is, what, the third fishing expedition?” he said, referring to other investigations in the county that have not resulted in indictments. “They have not yet caught even a minnow.”
