FBI searches Lancaster City Hall, homes of vice mayor and council member in corruption probe

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The homes of Lancaster’s vice mayor and a council member — along with City Hall and a home in Bel-Air — were served with FBI search warrants Wednesday morning.Details on what authorities were investigating were not immediately clear, but they began searching Lancaster City Hall in the early morning and by the afternoon, were also at the homes of Vice Mayor Marvin Crist, Councilmember Raj Malhi and a third home in Bel-Air, according to law enforcement sources.All four locations are tied to the same investigation.An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment on the nature of the search, citing sealed warrants.Crist and Malhi could not be immediately reached for comment.

Lancaster Mayor R.Rex Parris, reached by phone on Wednesday, told a reporter, “I don’t know what is going on.

I have served with these two for years, and they have always been honorable.” He urged residents not to rush to judgment.“Let’s all wait and see,” he said.Jennifer Seguin, a spokesperson for the city of Lancaster, issued a statement saying the city “is not aware of the details related to FBI actions conducted in the city today.A search warrant was lawfully executed at City Hall, and we are cooperating with federal authorities.

City Hall operations and our work for the community continues as normal.’”Law enforcement sources, not authorized to discuss the matter, told The Times the searches are part of a long-term federal public corruption probe.The searches followed a City Council election on Tuesday, in which Crist, a former firefighter turned insurance broker, did not seek reelection after 16 years on the council and as a fixture in Antelope Valley politics.Malhi, first appointed to the council in 2015, lost his seat narrowly to a challenger Tuesday, according to unofficial election results.Malhi had served on the City’s Planning Commission since 2008 before he was nominated to fill...