Federal agents raided Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh's home, part of City Hall, and another location Thursday. Pugh is currently being investigated for receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments for a self-published children's book from private companies that were subject to her influence.
An IRS spokeswoman tells NPR that the FBI and IRS carried out the early morning raid at Pugh's house, offices at City Hall and the Maryland Center for Adult Training — a nonprofit employee center whose board was once chaired by Pugh. The official would not confirm whether the raids are specifically related to Pugh's ongoing crisis over her book deals.
News of Thursday's raids was initially reported by The Baltimore Sun.
Pugh is currently on an indefinite leave of absence. When it announced that move three weeks ago, her office attributed it to health concerns — but the break from her official duties also came as questions intensified about her financial dealings.
The federal action comes two days after Baltimore's acting Mayor Jack Young told member station WYPR that he's been in the dark about Pugh's plans — but that he would "hate" to see her return. In the past, Pugh has insisted she will resume her term.
The scandal centers on how Pugh handled sales of her Healthy Holly book, and whether she disclosed those deals. One large sale was made to Kaiser Permanente, which paid some $114,000, as NPR's Brakkton Booker has reported.
That deal began in 2015. Two years later, Booker reported, "the city's budget board, which Pugh sits on, awarded Kaiser a multi-million-dollar contract to provide health coverage for city employees. And as far as we know, Pugh did not recuse herself from that vote."
Pugh also had a previously undisclosed business contract with the University of Maryland Medical System — a private nonprofit where she was a longtime board member.
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