Photos: FBI search Trenton Mayor Tony Mack's house 27 Gallery: Photos: FBI search Trenton Mayor Tony Mack's house

TRENTON -- The FBI investigation at Trenton City Hall is expected to take "a couple of days, maybe more," as agents scour filing cabinets and collect documents as part of the ongoing probe into Mayor Tony Mack, Business Administrator Sam Hutchinson said today.

Hutchinson addressed employees in various offices this afternoon to offer his encouragement to the workers and inform them that the FBI search will span a few days.

“What I’ve been doing is trying to, as much as possible, trying to assure you all the governance and services that are expected by you and the residents will continue,” he said in his talk workers in the City Clerk’s office this afternoon.

Though the agents did not tell him what they may take from the building, Hutchinson instructed all employees to cooperate fully with the authorities.

“I urge that you be totally and completely open, honest, and candid in any discussion you have with them,” Hutchinson said, saying they should not fear assisting the agents.“Retaliation, harassment, or interference of any sort will not be tolerated by me at all. If at any point you’re feeling that from anybody, come to me and I will address it.”

Hutchinson also told the workers to keep all documents intact.

“Right now, don’t shred a thing until further notice,” he said.

Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr. did not speak to the employees, but said he joined Hutchinson on the talks because they both were vetted by the state Department of Community Affairs to take their posts, and because he supports Hutchinson and wanted to offer his help.

The director said he received “a couple minutes” notice from the FBI that they were coming to City Hall this morning, and to his knowledge there had been no other raids in the city today.

Mayor Tony Mack has not been seen at the building and during an impromptu press conference outside City Hall this afternoon, Hutchinson said he did not know the mayor's current whereabouts.

Hutchinson said he spoke to the mayor by phone this morning when FBI agents arrived at around 10 a.m.

"I let him know that they were here and that I was going to urge the employees to be totally open, candid and cooperative with respect to the information," Hutchinson said.

He said the FBI is searching an "number of different departments" in City Hall.

"They are looking at documents and obtaining some information with respect to different departments," Hutchinson said. "It's business as usual under the circumstances. There is an investigation going on and we will be cooperative and considerate with respect to some disruptions, but there should be as little interruption of services as possible."

Complete coverage of the Trenton Mayor Tony Mack investigation:

• Trenton Mayor Tony Mack federal probe: FBI raids homes of mayor, brother, supporter

• No break for Trenton Mayor Tony Mack: County investigations continue amid FBI probe

• A timeline of Mayor Tony Mack's two years in office

• Times of Trenton editorial: FBI raid of Trenton Mayor Tony Mack's home caps two years of troubled administration

• Trenton Mayor Tony Mack denies wrongdoing after FBI predawn raid at his home

• From Facebook friends to blogger foes, reaction to Mayor Tony Mack investigation plays out online

• Trenton notables, critics, and supporters react to the Mayor Tony Mack FBI investigation

• Trenton Mayor Tony Mack's house is searched by FBI agents

• Trenton Mayor Tony Mack says city officials, prosecutor's office is probing recreation department

• Former Trenton employee sues Mayor Tony Mack alleging corruption, cronyism in hiring

• Committee to recall Mayor Mack fails to collect 9,860 needed signatures to force special election

• Four Trenton council members express "no confidence" in Mayor Tony Mack

FBI agents swarmed City Hall at 10 a.m. this morning and fanned out through the building, including the second floor office of Mayor Mack.

By 4:15 p.m. this afternoon, the last of the FBI agents left City Hall for the day. They carried out three standard size cardboard boxes, a larger box, and two plastic tubs. They also loaded binders, folders and large envelopes with documents into their cars before departing.

The building was closed to the public at around noon. Only the health department remained open for business, according to a security guard.

Agents were seen searching filing cabinets in the first floor offices of the Department of Administration's Division of Purchasing. Additional agents were searching the recreation department on the third floor of City Hall while employees sat outside on chairs.

One employee, who asked not to be identified because of the ongoing probe, said workers were barred from using their computers while the FBI agents conducted the search.

FBI spokeswoman Barbara Woodruff confirmed that a search of various offices inside City Hall is ongoing, but could not identify which specific offices are being searched.

The raid on City Hall comes a day after federal agents searched the home of Mack for more than five hours. The left with two boxes. Mack has not been charged with any crime and federal officials have declined to say who is the target of the probe.

FBI agents also searched two other houses Wednesday morning in Ewing and Trenton. The Trenton house is the residence of Mack's brother Ralphiel Mack, the head football coach of the Trenton Central High School football team.

The Ewing house is the residence of Joseph “JoJo” Giorgianni, who is a convicted child molester who gave thousands of dollars to Mack’s 2010 mayoral election campaign.

Mack has denied any wrongdoing and no one has been charged in the expanding federal probe.

“We have not violated the public trust in any way, nor have I violated any of my public duties, and I have no further comment on this matter,” Mack said in a brief statement, before decline to answer questions to a group of reporters.

During an afternoon bill signing at the Trenton Rescue Mission less than a half mile from the ongoing City Hall search, Gov. Chris Christie said he did not have any advance notice of the FBI raid.

When asked if Mack should resign amid the widening federal probe, Christie said he believes public officials should step down after an indictment has been issued.

"I think that would apply to any offiical indicted by a grand jury," said Christie, who last month called on Hamilton Mayor John Bencivengo to resign after he was indicted on federal charges of extortion and money laundering.

Council President Phyllis Holly-Ward said it remains unclear what FBI agents were targeting in the search.

"We're still trying to find out what this is about, just like everyone else. We're here to check on the business of the day and making sure all of the employees are okay," Holly-Ward said. "At this point, that's all we can do--show our moral support and make sure everybody's cooperating."

Mack’s administration has been plagued with accusations of cronyism and corruption since he took office in July 2010. He has cycled through business administrators and police directors and seen appointees step down when they were charged with crimes, or when their criminal histories or personal financial troubles came to light.

City Councilman George Muschal, a frequent critic of Mack's management of the city, said he was not surprised when he received a text message notifying him that the FBI was raiding City Hall this morning. He only asked one question:

“What took them so long to get there?” Muschal said when reached by phone this afternoon. "There is full blown corruption in the city of Trenton. We have to go to a rock bottom low before we can rebuild. This might be a rock bottom low.”

Among those prosecuted have been Mack’s half-brother, a city water utility employee, as well as a former business administrator and a former chief of staff. A number of employees have sued the administration, including a former recreation employee who alleged that a close Mack associate, acting public works director Harold Hall, acted to bypass public bidding requirements and hired unqualified friends and relatives.

The FBI has investigated a political action committee that funneled donations to Mack, but the mayor has not been known to be under investigation personally.

Separately, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office also continues its investigations into the city government, Prosecutor Joe Bocchini said Wednesday.

"This is an unfortunate thing that is happen," said Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer). "The government must go on."

By Mike Davis, Alex Zdan, Jenna Pizzi/The Times of Trenton

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