Four Newspaper Circulation Offices in NYC Raided in Union Corruption Probe

By: Colleen Long A law enforcement official says the New York Police Department raided circulation offices at four of the city's largest newspapers as part of a union corruption probe.

The official says the offices of The New York Times, the New York Post, El Diario and the Daily News of New York were raided Tuesday. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

It is the newspaper delivery system around the city is under investigation and the news organizations are not involved.

The 1,600-member union that delivers papers was previously accused by the Manhattan district attorney's office of being run by organized crime.

Calls to the four newspapers weren't immediately returned Tuesday.

The New York Times' City Room blog also reported on the raids, stating: "A warrant was served at the printing plant of The New York Times in College Point, Queens, by New York City police officers working in conjunction with the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, as investigators sought paperwork related to the work of the Newspaper and Mail Deliverers Union, which bundles and trucks newspapers across the region.

"The offices of The New York Daily News on West 33rd Street, The New York Post on Avenue of the Americas and the offices of El Diario, a Spanish-language newspaper, in the MetroTech center in Brooklyn, were also searched, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing."