Boxes are stacked up in Taylor Mayor Rick Sollar’s office Feb. 19, which FBI agents raided this morning and began removing documents.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
TAYLOR – FBI agents and other unnamed government agencies raided the city hall office of Mayor Rick Sollars Tuesday morning, filling boxes with papers.
The Detroit News reported that raids also were conducted at Sollars’ house, and at a vacation home in Cement City.
Mara Schneider, a special agent of the FBI task force and public affairs officer, said Tuesday the FBI was conducting a number of search warrants related to an ongoing investigation.
“We have a number of agents and task force officers who are conducting search warrants at city hall,” she said. “We arrived here at about 10:30 a.m. There are a number of different agencies involved in our task force.”
She said there had been no arrests due to the investigation.
Political insiders have speculated on what might have prompted the raid against Sollars. One is that the no-bid contract award to Chuck Rizzo which Sollars negotiated for city trash hauling might have triggered an investigation, but there is nothing to substantiate it. Rizzo is believed to have donated to Sollars’ recent mayoral campaign. Other rumors have speculated about city towing contracts, but nothing has been substantiated.
(Sue Suchyta can be reached at [email protected].)
An unidentified FBI agent involved in the raid walks in a hall at Taylor City Hall.