Philadelphia Mayor Subject of U.S. Probe
Two days after Street told the news media that he was not a "target" of any investigation, the newspaper quoted two unidentified law enforcement sources as saying the mayor was a "subject," a term investigators apply to people they are pursuing without sufficient evidence to file charges.
The mayor's office had no immediate comment on the report.
The FBI has refused to confirm or deny the existence of any investigation.
The Inquirer said the federal corruption probe has been under way for two years. Street's administration this year has been rocked by a ticket-fixing scandal and uproar over a city contract awarded to a firm linked to his brother.
The probe made headlines this week after city police discovered a sophisticated electronic surveillance device in the ceiling of Street's City Hall office. Law enforcement officials later said the "bug" had been planted by the FBI.
Federal investigators confiscated Street's three personal hand-held BlackBerry computers, which he uses to e-mail staff and schedule meetings. There have also been FBI searches of the offices and homes of several people with political ties to the mayor.
Street is battling Republican challenger Sam Katz in a dead heat in this heavily Democratic city and the mayor and his supporters have suggested that the investigation could be part of a Republican Party ploy to undermine his incumbency.
The race has national implications, according to analysts who say a Republican mayoral victory in Philadelphia could help President Bush capture Pennsylvania in the 2004 presidential election. Bush lost the state to Democrat Al Gore in 2000.
The Inquirer report came a day after leading Democrats including Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell and local members of Congress voiced concern about the investigation's handling by Republican-appointed federal officials in the city.