2 Computer Servers Taken Out With Trash

Two large computer servers belonging to the Washington D.C. tax office have been found in an alley next to a commercial trash compactor. The office is at the center of a corruption scandal.

A building maintenance man found the three-foot-high servers, which are labeled "Property of D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue."

The Washington Post reports that federal investigators want to examine the servers for possible evidence in a case involving the embezzlement of more than $20 million in bogus property tax refunds.

Two former tax office employees are among 10 people arrested in the case.

Authorities also want to know if the servers contain any personal information about the city's taxpayers. Servers are powerful computers that can store large quantities of data.

"It's outrageous," Leslie Harris, president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, told the Post. "This is a tremendous failure in respecting privacy and security."