PITTSBURGH -- Questions had already been raised about Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's personal use of a sport utility vehicle from the Pittsburgh Police Bureau that was paid for with a federal grant.

Now, WTAE Channel 4's Bob Mayo reported that there are questions about whether the city was allowed to buy that vehicle, a GMC Yukon, in the first place.

A review by WTAE Channel 4 Action News of the city's grant and the federal Homeland Security guidelines shows that the money used to buy the vehicle appears to have strings attached -- specifically, for protecting infrastructure from terrorists.

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Bob Mayo's Blog: Read More About "Digging Deeper: The Money And The Car"

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Ravenstahl stopped using the vehicle for personal and city business after he took it to a Toby Keith concert in Washington County, which triggered complaints of violations of a federal agreement. He said he didn't know the SUV was paid for with federal money. (Watch the raw video of his Q&A with reporters.)

The city's federal grant makes it clear that the funding is meant to "make it more difficult for terrorists to conduct surveillance or launch attacks" and to "protect and secure critical infrastructure and key resource sites across the country."

City officials signed a pledge that says "the city of Pittsburgh agrees that all equipment received shall be used only for the purposes set forth."

U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said her office will review the situation.

"Allegations of the mayor's alleged misuse of the vehicle have just come to the attention of my office. We're going to take a look at the purposes for the grant," U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said.

WTAE's review of Homeland Security guidelines shows examples of the suggested types of equipment and uses intended for the money.

Those examples include:

Biological, chemical, radiation detection

Explosives mitigation

Security systems

The Homeland Security guidelines for the car go a step further and spell out "unallowable costs," specifically saying that unauthorized program expenditures include "general use vehicles."

That raises questions as to whether police Chief Nate Harper can assign the Yukon for anything other than protecting infrastructure from terrorism.

Homeland Security warns that "failure to comply may result in the withholding of funds, termination of the award, or other sanctions."

Mike Huss, the city's public safety director, told Channel 4 Action News that the Yukon was in the federal application and bought for the city by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, and he said the state wouldn't do that if it wasn't allowed.

PEMA told Channel 4 Action News that it's just a "channel'" for the money, and it said other policing cannot share the car with the anti-terrorism effort, as Harper is suggesting.

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Now, Republican mayoral challenger Mark DeSantis is calling for Ravenstahl to suspend his chief of staff and police chief pending federal review of the mayor's use of the Yukon.

"Ultimately, this stops with the mayor," said DeSantis. "He's saying he didn't know. I don't know that's true. Second of all, if he didn't know, if the three of them didn't know, somebody really screwed up."

"I think we're grasping for straws here, and I think it's clear that individual is running against me in the November election and is willing to say or do anything and make more of a story that's already been well documented and well referenced," Ravenstahl said.

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