City officials have delivered to federal officials four boxes of information, presumed to be NOAH documents, from Anthony Faciane of the Office of Recovery.

It's a major step for investigators with the FBI, Housing and Urban Development and the New Orleans Inspector General's Office as they look into the city's embattled remediation agency, New Orleans Affordable Housing. 

The documents, which were from elected officials and contractors, were turned over to the federal government as part of a deadline outlined in a handful of federal grand jury subpoenas.

"Whatever cooperation the feds need from us, we're there," said Mayor Ray Nagin.  "We're going to provide and have provided whatever documents that we have.”

Each member of the New Orleans City Council, the Nagin administration and many of the NOAH contractors received subpoenas, requiring them to deliver information to federal agents.

"This is the beginning of the formal investigative process," said former U.S. Attorney Harry Rosenberg.  While the subpoenas only ask for documents, such as wire transactions, political contributions and bank records, Rosenberg believes the federal government could soon subpoena individuals to testify in court.

"It's a two-part step: let’s get the documents, look at the documents, see what's in them, then make a decision which individuals to bring before a grand jury."

Last Monday, federal agents seized about 20 boxes worth of files from the NOAH headquarters.  Over the past several weeks, 4 Investigates has uncovered information showing NOAH contractors may have been paid for thousands of dollars of work that wasn't done.

Nagin says his administration has found 46 properties that seem to raise questions as to whether contractors actually did the work they were paid for.

"If they owe us money, we're going to recover it," Nagin says. The same goes for NOAH contractor Cedrick Smith, Nagin’s brother-in-law.

"Even a brother-in-law," Nagin said, “especially a brother-in-law. I'm disappointed that he was involved in that. I made it very clear to him on a number of occasions, so he has the same standard as everyone else.”

In the meantime, the federal government may not have gotten all the information on Thursday it was hoping for.  The grand jury subpoenas only gave individuals two weeks to come up with the information.

"The government typically will allow an individual or a business anywhere from four to six weeks to produce documents," said Rosenberg.

The lack of time could give those subpoenaed some extra wiggle room to request an extension.  Rosenberg says the federal government will likely work with contractors or elected officials who need more time, but he says agents will be sure to put strict time restrictions in place. 

Chad Bower contributed to this report.