Is Palin Facing Embezzlement Charges?

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - When Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin abruptly announced Friday that she would leave office more than a year early, many wondered what she would do and why she was resigning. Now we may have some answers.

Reports have surfaced that Palin may have quit her job because she was trying to avert a major, yet-to-be-disclosed corruption scandal.

The crux of the rumor is that Alaska building company Spenard Building Supplies (SBS) was awarded a contract by Palin to build a hockey arena in Wasilla, Alaska, and in return, SBS helped construct the Palins' home.

According to Huffington Post blogger Shannyn Moore , "Both structures, it is said, feature the same windows, same wood, and same products."

Max Blumenthal of The Daily Beast wrote that federal investigators have been seizing paperwork from SBS in recent months, searching for evidence that Palin and her husband Todd steered lucrative contracts to the well-connected company in exchange for gifts like the construction of their home on pristine Lake Lucille in 2002.

A 2008 Associated Content report states that though Todd Palin told Fox News he built the home with the help of a few "buddies," public records revealed that SBS supplied the materials for the house.

In her press conference Friday, Palin said she had decided against running for re-election as Alaska's governor, and believed it was best to leave office even though she had 1.5 years left to her term.

"Many just accept that lame duck status, and they hit that road," Palin said. "They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that.

Andrea Mitchell reported on MSNBC that, according to "people very close to Sarah Palin," she has "told her supporters that she is out of politics, period. She is fed up with politics. She doesn't like her life. She feels that she needs to raise her family."