FBI probes lavish Memphis mayor parties

MEMPHIS, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Federal investigators are probing the finances of annual gala Christmas parties held to raise funds for Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, sources say.

An FBI agent and an investigator from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service have interviewed the organizers of the lavish parties at Memphis' Peabody Hotel as part of a federal probe focusing on Herenton's private business dealings, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal reported Sunday.

Among those who said they have been interviewed about the parties are the mayor's aide, Pete Aviotti, and prominent Memphis developer Henry Turley.

"The grand jury has all that information," Aviotti told the newspaper. "They told me what they wanted me to give them, and that's what I did. They're not leaving anything uncovered at all."

"They were very polite, and it was a brief meeting," added Turley. "They asked if I knew where the money went."

The Commercial Appeal said nearly every year since Herenton became Memphis' first elected black mayor in 1992, the city's powerful white business establishment has funded a lavish Christmas party for the mayor, each contributing $1,000 checks for his re-election efforts.