It was a surreal scene outside Palm Springs City Hall Tuesday, as a dozen federal agents and investigators with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office descended on the building with federal search warrants in hand. After sending staff home, the investigators removed boxes of items connected to what the FBI has confirmed is a public corruption probe.
Tuesday’s raid did not end at City Hall. That same day, investigators visited the home of Mayor Steve Pougnet and seized evidence that was also listed in federal search warrants, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. The search of City Hall took some 9 hours to complete, with investigators hauling away everything from paper files to computer equipment.
Authorities are remaining tight-lipped about the details of the case. But the raid comes three months after the Fair Political Practices Commission said it would investigate a vote by the mayor that awarded land to a developer at a dubious price. Pougnet did not recuse himself from that vote despite the fact that he was working as a consultant for the developer at the time.
Eimiller has confirmed that the investigation involves an Inland Empire public corruption task force that includes the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office and the Internal Revenue Service. She said she could not comment on the items listed in the warrants, as they remain sealed.
Council Member Paul Lewin called Tuesday “a very unfortunate and sad day for Palm Springs” and vowed to take all the right steps going forward. In a statement, Mayor Pougnet simply said people should not allow the matter to distract them from the progress Palm Springs has made, nor from current efforts “to make the future even brighter.”
Read more about the ongoing investigation here.