Mayor Charged in FBI Probe of Corruption

A central Indiana mayor has been arrested by FBI agents in an ongoing federal investigation that's already resulted in the city's former building commissioner pleading guilty to money laundering and wire fraud. An FBI spokeswoman said Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler was arrested at his home Monday morning and was in custody, the AP reports. Tyler is charged with theft of government funds, accused of accepting or agreeing to accept $5,000 from a company in return for a city contract, per WTHR. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Trial was scheduled for late January.

Tyler is a Democrat who’s been mayor for eight years after serving in the Indiana House and didn’t seek reelection this year. Prosecutors alleged the city’s building commissioner steered work to companies he owned and then billed the city more than $376,000 for demolition work that was either never done or performed at inflated prices. "It's another black eye on the city," one city council member said Monday of Tyler's charges, per the Star Press. "I hate that this is happening."

(More Muncie stories.)