FBI raid of Lordsburg Police Dept. targeted ex-chief, detective for fraud, theft
Lakana file
The FBI seal hangs in Washington, D.C.
UPDATE, May 12: LORDSBURG, New Mexico -- Two brothers, Lordsburg's former police chief and a current police detective, are suspected of defrauding the federal government by submitting bogus time sheets to receive grant payments.
Those allegations are contained in federal court documents filed in support of a search warrant that led to Tuesday's FBI raid on the Lordsburg Police Department's headquarters as part of a "public corruption investigation."
Former chief Arthur De La Garza and Det. Eliza De La Garza allegedly claimed to have performed work as part of Operation Stonegarden, a joint federal-local effort to secure the U.S. border. However, the FBI said its own surveillance along with cell phone records show the two men were actually at home or visiting relatives during much of the time they were supposedly working.