FBI agents raid offices of California state senator, Latino caucus

Rich Pedroncelli / AP

FBI agents are let into the office of Democratic California state Sen. Ron Calderon on Tuesday.

By John Newland, Staff Writer, NBC News

FBI agents raided the offices of California state Sen. Ron Calderon and the Latino caucus Tuesday afternoon at the Capitol in Sacramento, but the agency would not disclose the reason or the nature of its investigation.

?Those warrants are sealed by order of the federal court; therefore we have no further information,? Tony Beard, the state Senate sergeant-at-arms said in a statement. ?The Senate has and will continue to fully cooperate with the agents in this matter.?

An FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, Laura Eimiller, said the warrants were served at about 3 p.m., as members of the Latino caucus were meeting with reporters to discuss their legislative priorities, The Associated Press reported, adding that six to eight agents left the Capitol more than six hours later carrying at least a half-dozen boxes and what appeared to be a computer hard drive.

Eimiller said the investigation was being led by federal authorities in Southern California but the search warrants were issued in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, according to the AP, which quoted her saying that the investigation involved ?allegations of criminal activity.?

"This is an ongoing investigation," she added. "Searches are typically done in the early stages of an investigation, so it would be premature to say that charges will be filed."

Calderon, a Democrat, represents a district in Los Angeles County and is chairman of the state Senate?s Insurance Committee, as well as three select committees: Film and Television Industries, International Business and Trade, and Economic Development.

He was first elected to the state Senate in 2006, having served two terms in the State Assembly.

His oldest brother, Charles Calderon, served in the state Senate from 1990 to 1998, and his older brother, Thomas Calderon, served in the assembly from 1998 to 2002, according to his Senate biography.

Before being elected to public office, he had worked as a mortgage banker, real estate agent, manufacturing manager and marketing firm owner, the biography states.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2cde8953/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C0A50C18771910A0Efbi0Eagents0Eraid0Eoffices0Eof0Ecalifornia0Estate0Esenator0Elatino0Ecaucus0Dlite/story01.htm

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