"There's an ongoing investigation taking place involving the FBI and Internal Affairs," he said. "I can't get into the nature of it, but it was enough for us to remove him from his assignment before we see what it is. . . . I don't know what the outcome will be."
Ramsey took Bee off the street on Tuesday and placed him in the Administrative Services Building.
Sources said the investigation centers on allegations that Bee steered business to an abandoned-car towing company - referred to as a "salvor" - in exchange for money.
Contacted yesterday, Bee politely told a Daily News reporter that he couldn't comment.
"I'm really not allowed to comment on anything," Bee said. "I'd like to, believe me. But I can't."
Ramsey said he met with the FBI last week about the probe. Ramsey said he wasn't sure whether the investigation began in Internal Affairs or the FBI.
Ramsey alerted Nutter about the raid Tuesday morning. "I brought this to his attention," Ramsey said. "I told him a warrant was going to be executed.
"Any allegation of misconduct concerns me greatly," Ramsey said. "We've got a lot of things going on. We're committed to making sure the integrity of the department is above reproach."
Bee had been in charge of Nutter's security detail during his mayoral campaign and in the early days of Nutter's administration.
Ramsey said Nutter asked him to "do a review" of his security staffing levels shortly after taking office, particularly given the city's budget crunch.
"My sense was he had too many people, and I thought it could be trimmed down," Ramsey said. "Also, someone of higher rank than a sergeant is typically in charge."
So Ramsey put a lieutenant in charge of Nutter's security detail and transferred Bee back to Neighborhood Services, where he had been widely known for ridding the streets of ugly, battered, stripped and shot-up abandoned cars.
When the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services receives a report of an abandoned car, a staffer contacts the owner and gives him 11 days to remove it before the office is authorized to tow it.
The Police Department contracts with private salvors to tow the cars.
