NEW ORLEANS — Federal authorities are looking into allegations made in a civil lawsuit accusing the New Orleans Saints of trying to cover up a senior staff member's theft of prescription pills from the club's training headquarters.

Special Agent Roberto Bryan Jr., a New Orleans-based spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration, says the agency was referred the case and an investigation is pending.

The civil suit was filed Friday by former Saints security director Geoffrey Santini, a retired FBI agent who gave federal authorities evidence he collected before resigning from the team last August.

The accusations also could constitute state offenses. However, local authorities say they have yet to begin a probe of their own.