District Attorney's Office, FBI Seize Documents, Computers From Beaumont Civic Center
BEAUMONT (CBSLA.com) — Local and federal investigators seized documents, computers, and other items Wednesday from the Beaumont Civic Center, authorities said.
Investigators from the Riverside County District Attorney's Office and the FBI arrived at the city building at 550 E. Sixth Street and began packing hundreds of boxes into a trailer and hauling them away, according to District Attorney's office spokesman John Hall.
The activity lasted several hours before investigators left, and the building was locked back up, Hall said.
Search warrants were also served at the office of the Urban Logic Consultants Group, 871 W. Fourth St., as well as at several private residences, the city of Beaumont said in a statement.
Beaumont further said Urban Logic has provided the city with "engineering, planning, and economic development services" for 20 years.
"According to investigators, the warrants were served in conjunction with an investigation into Urban Logic's business relationship with the City," Beaumont said in its statement.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller confirmed agents participated in "warrants being served at multiple locations" Wednesday morning.
The Riverside County District Attorney's Office, which is the lead agency on the investigation, has not said what triggered the raids nor what they are looking for. The District Attorney's office says no arrests have been made.
Beaumont residents said they've been suspicious for some time about the relationship between Urban Logic and Beaumont.
"The allegations of corruption in this community for a long time with the City Hall here and you know, I just say it's about time that they've actually finally looked into it," Debbie Leah, a Beaumont resident, said.
"The City is fully cooperating with the District Attorney's investigation and will continue to update the public as information is made available by the DA's Office," Beaumont further said in its statement.
Urban Logic has not responded to a request by CBS2/KCAL9 for comment.
The city of Beaumont is located about 30 miles east of Riverside.
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