San Francisco Department of Public Works corruption scandal
The scandal was uncovered through audits, legal proceedings, and investigations by city authorities and federal prosecutors, ultimately leading to the exposure of widespread corruption within the department.[5][6] The City Attorney also accused Nuru of "...surviving a series of ethical scandals that include repeated instances of misappropriating public funds for personal uses."[3] From 1992 to 2001, Nuru was executive director of San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG), a non-profit organization that provided job-training opportunities for low-income youth.[19] The bribes included cash, trips, expensive wine, jewelry and other goods and services from Nick Bovis, Florence Kong (who owns a construction firm), and contractors Balmore Hernandez, William Gilmartin and Alan Varela.[30][31] Additionally, there were instances where he approved work on his own family's property and intervened in the inspection process, raising concerns about potential impropriety.[32] In addition to his conviction on federal charges, Curran was sentenced to two years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to concealing monetary payments and violating California conflict of interest laws.[25] Harlan Kelly, a former general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC), was found guilty of multiple charges.The charges stemmed from a scheme in which Kelly accepted bribes from Walter Wong in exchange for influencing the public bidding process and steering contract awards,[34] as well as lying to a lender to acquire a $1.3 million loan.Yu was charged with taking bribes, including cash, meals, and drinks, from Ghassemzadeh and his associates in return for expediting and approving permits.[44] Prosecutors alleged that between 2013 and 2019, Sanguinetti failed to disclose over a quarter million dollars in income from SDL Merchandising, which received payments from Public Works employees through sub-accounts of the local non-profit organization San Francisco Parks Alliance for the purchase of custom-made items, including t-shirts and baseball caps.[49][47] Hui was accused by Herrera of accepting bribes in the form of gifts, meals, and personal favors from billionaire developer Zhang Li and his associates involved with the 555 Fulton project, in exchange for giving them preferential treatment at DBI.[47] Hui was placed on leave by Mayor London Breed in March 2020 pending his removal by the Building Inspection Commission, after Herrera's report concluded he likely committed ethical and legal violations.[58] In 2021, Mayor London Breed paid a $12,000 fine for violation of campaign finance laws for failing to record excessive donations from Bovis and another restaurateur.[72] Three executives of the San Francisco design and engineering firm SIA Consulting were charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.[81] Alan Varela, William Gilmartin and Balmore Hernandez collaborated in a conspiracy to bribe Nuru to secure favorable treatment for their business interests.They bribed Nuru with expensive dinners and $25,000 cash payments to influence the selection of their proposal to build an asphalt recycling plant on Port of San Francisco land.[92] Former parole officer Ken Hong Wong was part of a plot to bribe Nuru $20,000 to get an engineering graduate a job in the city so she could remain in the country.The complaint by U.S. attorneys alleged that Nuru arranged to illegally increase trash hauling fees paid by San Francisco's residents and businesses.[105] During their respective court appearances for sentencing, both Porter and Giusti implied that senior executives were aware of the bribery scheme, although no other Recology employees have been charged.[108] In June 2022, Mayor London Breed and all San Francisco supervisors supported a ballot measure to overhaul the oversight and process of setting trashing collection rates.[111] In October 2024, the Refuse Rate Board, that was created by the ballot measure, identified an additional $24 million overcharge by Recology, resulting in a refund to customers.The company also prohibited political contributions from its leadership to San Francisco officials and submitted annual reports detailing its compliance measures.[113] As a result of the DOJ filing, Judge Orrick dismissed the pending bribery charge against Recology after determining that the company met the terms of the DPA.Proposition D will amend the city's Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code to bolster transparency and accountability in within San Francisco's governance structure.[119] The proposition seeks to address corruption loopholes, revamp conflict-of-interest regulations, and enforce additional ethics training for public officials.This measure is crafted to enhance conflict-of-interest laws by imposing clearer restrictions on gifts to public officials and fostering greater transparency and accountability in governance.[121] The investigations by the FBI and the SF district attorney into the fraud and corruption scandal involving Nuru led to exposure of other alleged bribery schemes.[124] Ellicott was later accused of invoicing the city for earthquake supplies but instead purchasing high-value tech items like virtual reality headsets, cameras, tablets, and more, which he then resold on eBay for personal profit.Ellicott manipulated the city's workers' compensation system to funnel payments to this fake entity, which he controlled, and then redirected these funds into his personal checking account.The Inspector General is an attempt to establish a stronger, more independent watchdog that might be able to stop corruption schemes like the ones Nuru engineered or rapidly expose them thus reestablishing public confidence by guaranteeing strict monitoring and responsibility.