MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) - The Latest on the arrest of a central Indiana mayor by FBI agents (all times local):
4:10 p.m.
A central Indiana mayor has been indicted on a federal charge of theft of government funds for allegedly taking a $5,000 bribe in exchange for a public contract.
An indictment unsealed Monday alleges Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler accepted the bribe from an unidentified company in exchange for the awarding of public works projects in Muncie. The indictment handed down last week says the 76-year-old mayor received the cash through Tracy Barton, who is in charge of sewer maintenance for the Muncie Sanitary District.
An FBI spokeswoman says Tyler was arrested at his home Monday morning and was in custody. FBI spokeswoman Chris Bavender referred questions to the office of U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler in Indianapolis. Minkler scheduled a Monday afternoon news conference to discuss the case.
Tyler is a Democrat who has been mayor for eight years after serving in the Indiana House and didn’t seek re-election this year. It wasn’t immediately known whether he had a lawyer.
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1:11 p.m.
A central Indiana mayor has been arrested by FBI agents amid an ongoing federal investigation that’s resulted in the city’s former building commissioner pleading guilty to money laundering and wire fraud.
An FBI spokeswoman says Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler was arrested at his home Monday morning and was in custody. FBI spokeswoman Chris Bavender referred questions to the U.S. attorney’s office in Indianapolis, which said it would release information about charges against Tyler later Monday.
Tyler is a Democrat who’s been mayor for eight years after serving in the Indiana House and didn’t seek reelection this year. It wasn’t immediately known whether he had a lawyer.
Prosecutors alleged the city’s building commissioner steered work to companies he owned and then billed the city more than $376,000 for demolition work that was either never done or performed at inflated prices.
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