FBI searches home, office of Dallas Commissioner John Wiley Price
(CBS/DFW) DALLAS - The FBI conducted searches Monday at the office and home of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, who describes himself on his website as "our man downtown."
Federal documents obtained by CBS station KTVT allege possible violations including theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal dollars; attempt to evade taxes; fraud and false statements; structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements; laundering of money instruments; and conspiracy.
Speaking from his attorney's office late Monday afternoon, Price said he didn't know until he got to work this morning that anything was going on and that the entire thing has taken him by surprise.
"I'd been to a meeting. I came in [and] there were individuals both on the bottom floor and on the second floor. And so, they had search warrants and I accommodated," he said.
Federal investigators also had search warrants for Price's home in Oak Cliff, the DeSoto house belonging to his assistant Dapheny Fain and other locations, personal and professional, linked to him.
The station learned that three search warrants - two for Price's cars and one for his person - concerned any electronic storage devices, including things like personal computers, mobile phones, personal data assistants, iPhones, iPads, disks and thumbdrives. The warrants covered all those items and computer cookies and passwords dating back to 2001, in addition to safety deposit box keys and sums of cash found worth $500 or more.
When asked about the impact of the federal investigation Price said, "I mean I've been up against this once before. This is not the first time I've been up against adversity, so I look forward to that day in court," he said. "For 27 years I've represented my constituents and I plan on being around for the next 27 years. I have no idea what this is all about. I've seen the search warrants and that's as far as it goes. I have not seen the affidavit. I have no clue as to where they're going."