The mayor’s office at city hall in Muncie, Ind. didn’t open up as scheduled at 9 a.m. Monday.
“Out to lunch,” a sign on the door read.
But there was no lunch at all.
Democrat city mayor Dennis Tyler was arrested early that morning.
Tyler received a brutal wake-up call at his home on Monday morning, the Muncie Star Press reports, after FBI agents raided his home.
Tyler, at the center of a four-year-long FBI probe, was handcuffed at 7:30am.
Christine Bavender, a spokesperson for the FBI, confirmed the arrest to the Muncie-based newspaper. “I can confirm an arrest warrant was executed at the home of Mayor Dennis Tyler this morning and he is currently in custody.”
Tyler had been under investigation since 2016 for corruption, according to The Star Press.
His arrest is just the latest in a slew of other connected associates in the federal corruption probe.
Last year, Tyler’s associate, Craig Nichols, pleaded guilty in January to wire fraud and money laundering, according to New York Post. The probe started with Nichols, The Star Press writes.
“Others charged in the probe include Nikki Grigsby, the Muncie Sanitary District administrator; Tracy Barton, another official with the Muncie Sanitary District; and local businessmen Jeffrey Burke, Tony Franklin and Rodney Barber,” according to The Post.
As for Tyler, his final term as Muncie mayor is over at the end of this year.
Prior to his arrest, he announced he would not seek reelection. He faces
The Horn editorial team