The Latest: Mayor probe expands with searches of associates

Associated Press

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Latest on investigations involving Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh (all times local):

11:00 a.m.

Federal agents have expanded their searches related to embattled Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh to include the work address of one of her attorneys, and the home of one of her aides.

FBI spokesman Dave Fitz said agents had searched Thursday at a building where Pugh's attorney Steve Silverman works. People at the law office declined to comment but said Silverman would issue a statement.

Fitz also confirmed that agents had searched the home of Gerald Brown, a former Pugh aide recently fired by the interim mayor. He said agents also searched the Maryland Center for Adult Training, which provides job training for unemployed people.

Earlier, authorities said they were searching two of Pugh's homes and offices inside City Hall.

The searches are part of widening probes to determine whether Pugh used sales of her children's books to disguise government kickbacks.

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10:30 a.m.

The governor of Maryland is calling for the resignation of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh.

Gov. Larry Hogan says "Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust" and is "clearly not fit to lead."

Hogan cites the state probe he directed into Pugh's financial dealings with the University of Maryland Medical System, and Thursday's federal raids of her homes and offices as well as the office of her attorney.

He says Baltimore needs strong and responsible leadership now more than ever, so "for the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign."

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7:48 a.m.

Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall.

FBI spokesman Dave Fitz says multiple agents are "executing court-authorized search warrants" at "both residences and City Hall."

The mayor's spokesman, James Bentley, said he has no immediate comment on the Thursday raids. Her attorney Steve Silverman, did not immediately return calls.

Pugh and five of her staffers are now on paid leave amid a scandal over her book sales.