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ACORN computers seized in La. probe
Agents from the state Attorney General's Office executed a search warrant Friday on ACORN's local headquarters, seizing roughly 100 computers and files as part of an ongoing state embezzlement and accounting fraud investigation.
Attorney General Buddy Caldwell has been investigating the community organizing agency since June.
The seizure on Friday focused on computers and "electronic media," such as e-mails and files, said David Caldwell, an assistant attorney general and son of the attorney general.
"The search was pretty broad," said the younger Caldwell, who heads a state public corruption unit. "Now we don't have to start worrying about them (computers) walking off."
About 100 computers were taken in a seizure that lasted most of the day.
David Caldwell said the probable cause cited in the search warrant stemmed from ACORN's acknowledgement that one or two recently terminated employees may have taken computers or other pertinent materials from the office.
In the state investigation, ACORN attorneys are citing an accountant/client privilege as the basis for withholding financial files, Caldwell said.
The Attorney General's Office issued subpoenas in August seeking documents related to former ACORN International President Wade Rathke and his brother Dale Rathke, who kept the group's books. Those subpoenas were focused on possible ACORN violations for nonpayment of employee withholding taxes, obstructing justice and violating the Employee Retirement Security Act.
Early last month, Caldwell's office issued other subpoenas for records from ACORN's New Orleans office in the 2600 block of Canal Boulevard, where the organization -- now moving its national headquarters to Washington -- has long been based. The seizure on Friday was an outgrowth of those subpoenas, according to Caldwell's office.
ACORN Deputy Director of National Operations Brian Kettenring released a statement Friday noting that the agency has been cooperating with a "variety of governmental entities across the country to provide" requested information and documents.
