Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said it was his administration that initially discovered the theft of thousands of dollars in parking meter money.
56-year-old James Bagarozzo and 39-year-old Lawrence Charles were arrested at their Buffalo homes Monday by the FBI. Bagarozzo is accused of taking more than $200,000 from the parking meters, including more than $40,000 stashed in his bathroom ceiling.
Mayor Brown said they turned the case over to federal authorities.
"These employees work as meter mechanics and they were tampering with meters for years. They thought that they could get away with it, but from the internal review of my administration we identified this theft was occurring we kept an eye on these employees and were able to build a substantial case and turned that case over to the federal government," said Brown.
The Mayor told reporters this abuse will not be tolerated.
Both have been suspended and face potential termination.