STATter 911 update: Top fire department official’s home and office searched in Prince George’s County FBI raids. Many other locations searched.

Prince George’s County photo of Lt. Col. Karl Granzow Jr.

STATter 911 has learned the home and office of Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Lt. Col. Karl Granzow Jr. was searched by agents with the FBI. It was part of a series of raids conducted Saturday targeting the work places and homes of county officials, developers and others in an effort to uncover information about an investigation that appears to be centering on development and political influence in the county.

The Washington Post first reported some details about the raids on Sunday, including that a building housing fire department offices was targeted. Numerous sources familiar with the actions on Saturday tell STATter 911 the search warrant served at fire department headquarters was specifically for the fourth floor office occupied by Col. Granzow. Granzow’s Bowie home was also entered by a team of agents.

According to the sources, agents also gathered evidence from computers inside the Office of Information Technology in the same building at 9201 Basil Court in Largo. The office operates computer systems for county government.

Karl Granzow, reached by phone, referred all comments to the public information officer for the department. Chief Spokesman Mark Brady tells STATter 911 he is unable to comment on the developments. Granzow runs the department’s management services command, which includes fiscal affairs, fleet management, human resources, information technologies and occupational safety and health.

Sources familiar with the search warrants tell STATter 911 the information being gathered by agents is connected to lobbying, campaign finance and building construction projects. STATter 911 has no information to indicate criminal charges have been filed against any individuals mentioned in this story. Grand jury subpoenas have also been issued in the investigation.

According to sources, the home of developer Patrick Ricker was also searched. Ricker and Granzow have been long time associates. Granzow’s brother, Bernard, is married to Ricker’s daughter. Sources say their home was also searched.

The Post reports, and other sources confirm, a large development near the Greenbelt Metro station is part of the investigation. The project is called Greenbelt Station and is located on the old A.H. Smith Jr. property, a sand and gravel operation. The land is just inside the Capital Beltway, east of the CSX railroad tracks and north of Greenbelt Road.

Ricker and Daniel Colton have been involved in the project. According to The Post, Daniel Colton had served time in prison for bank fraud.

Sources say there had previously been concern within county government about Karl Granzow’s ownership of a small percentage of a firm connected to the development of the property. According to the sources, Granzow had properly disclosed his interest and his involvement was approved by ethics officials in the county.

One part of the development was to include a new fire station.

According to the sources, others connected to Saturday’s raids include lobbyist Michael Arrington, Office of Finance Director J. Michael Dougherty, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Government Operations/Environmental Services David Byrd and former council member Thomas Hendershot.

Hendershot was hired last December as a part-time employee of the fire department. Hendershot was initially assigned as a one-thousand hour employee to review case files for fire investigators. Sources say he was then moved to headquarters. While some in the department defend Hendershot’s hiring, others have viewed it as a political patronage job that does not require any heavy lifting.

In Monday’s paper, The Washington Post reports a lobbyist for the county council, David Jacobs, has also been mentioned in the subpoena. Jacobs is married to the chair of the Prince George’s County School Board, Verjeana Jacobs.

From the late 1990s until 2001, David Jacobs ran the Prince George’s County Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP). At the same time, Karl Granzow was assigned by the fire department to work with Jacobs.

Jacobs was forced to leave OEP after a series of charges of driving county vehicles under the influence of alcohol. Jacobs has an extensive traffic record, including a 2007 ticket for driving on a suspended license. Jacobs has also served as the lobbyist the county firefighters union, IAFF Local 1619.

Contacted Sunday evening, James Keary, a spokesman for County Executive Jack Johnson, confirms FBI agents did not enter Johnson’s offices. Johnson, Dougherty and Byrd’s offices are all in the County Administration Building at 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive.

Keary stands by his statement to The Post that this is a fishing expedition. He says despite at least three attempts by the FBI, “They have not yet caught even a minnow”.

Attempts to get comments from Hendershot, Arrington, Ricker and Colton have not been successful.