Federal prosecutors and the Office of Inspector General have also been investigating the department, and prosecutors secured on guilty plea from a worker who admitted taking tens of thousands of dollars in bribes.
According to a city spokesman, the mayor's office reatained Polite's law firm, Morgan Lewis, to assist in the mayor's office's internal investigation.
What's not known is if there is any connection between the issues at Safety and Permits and the collapse of the under-construcion Hard Rock Hotel. The mayor's office says it hired Polite's firm before the collapse happened.