Baltimore mayor's city hall office, home, raided by FBI

Ten years ago another Baltimore mayor, Shelia Dixon, was found guilty of charges surrounding the theft of gift cars meant for poor children.

Now the troubled city has another mayor with a cloud hanging over her.

Baltimore hasn't had a Republican mayor in over 50 years.

From the Baltimore Sun:

Federal law enforcement agents fanned out Thursday across Baltimore, raiding City Hall, the home of embattled Mayor Catherine Pugh and several other locations as the investigation into the mayor's business dealings widened.

Dave Fitz, an FBI spokesman, confirmed agents from the Baltimore FBI office and the Washington IRS office were executing search warrants at those locations Thursday morning, as well as at least three other addresses associated with Pugh. It was the first confirmation that federal authorities, as well as state officials, were investigating the mayor's activities.

Pugh remained inside her home during the raids, a police source confirmed.

Shortly after the raids began, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan called on Pugh, who has taken a leave of absence as mayor, to resign.

Some background, courtesy of the Washington Post, from three weeks ago:

The independent state agency that regulates Maryland’s insurance industry announced Friday that it is conducting a review of insurers that gave money to Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh's "Healthy Holly" children’s book company.

Pugh, a Democrat, is facing accusations of self-dealing, calls for her resignation and an investigation by the state prosector after revelations that she received nearly $800,000 for her books from groups with ties to state and local government.

The Baltimore Sun reported that Kaiser Permanente paid Pugh more than $100,000 for copies of "Healthy Holly" at the same time it was seeking a $48 million contract from a city board controlled by the mayor; CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield said it donated $14,500 to Associated Black Charities to buy 2,000 books; the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund gave a $7,500 donation when Pugh was a state lawmaker sponsoring legislation it favored.