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San Francisco Official Charged With Corruption in FBI Probe
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By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
January 29, 2020

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SAN FRANCISCO โ€” A top San Francisco public official and go-to bureaucrat to mayors over two decades was charged with public corruption Tuesday, upending City Hall as elected leaders scrambled to reassure the public that bribery and kickbacks would not be tolerated.

โ€œThe complaint alleges corruption pouring into San Francis co from around the world. San Francisco has been betrayed as alleged in the complaint.โ€ โ€” David L. Anderson, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California
The complaint unsealed against San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru and longtime restaurateur Nick Bovis focuses on an aborted attempt in 2018 to bribe a San Francisco airport commissioner for retail space.
It also alleges other schemes in which Nuru is accused of trying to help his friend score contracts to build homeless shelters and portable toilets, along with a restaurant at the cityโ€™s new $2 billion transit station.
Nuru is also accused of accepting free labor at his vacation home and a John Deere tractor as well as lavish gifts from a developer, including a $2,070 bottle of wine.
โ€œThe complaint alleges corruption pouring into San Francis co from around the world,โ€ said David L. Anderson, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California. โ€œSan Francisco has been betrayed as alleged in the complaint.โ€
Nuru, 57, appeared in federal court Tuesday along with Bovis, the owner of Lefty Oโ€™ Doulโ€™s, a popular sports bar in Fishermanโ€™s Wharf, and other city businesses. Each was released after posting $2 million bail.
Photo of Nick Bovis
File โ€“ In this Nov. 20, 2018, file photo, owner Nick Bovis prepares to cut a ribbon during the opening of Lefty Oโ€™Doulโ€™s Baseball Ballpark Buffet & Cafรฉ at Fishermanโ€™s Wharf in San Francisco. Looking on are state assemblyman David Chiu, second from left, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, second from right and city public works director Mohammed Nuru, third from right. A top San Francisco official in charge of cleaning up the cityโ€™s notoriously filthy streets and a champion of adding more portable toilets has been arrested, jail records show. San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru was taken into custody Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, along with Nick Bovis, the owner of Lefty Oโ€™ Doulโ€™s, a longtime sports bar popular with tourists. Records say only that the men were arrested for felony safekeeping, which typically indicates federal charges. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Nuru Was Initially Arrested in Late January

Nuruโ€™s attorney, Ismail Ramsey, said his client has been a dedicated public servant for decades and was grateful to have worked at Public Works. โ€œMr. Nuru welcomes and looks forward to addressing these charges in court,โ€ he said.
An attorney for Bovis, Gil Eisenberg, declined to comment.
Bovis, 56, runs a popular Christmas toy drive and Nuru, who goes by โ€œMrCleanSFโ€ on Twitter, oversees the design and construction of city facilities and 1,600 employees. The agency has a project portfolio of more than $5.6 billion.
As the top official since 2012 in charge of a city public works operating budget exceeding $500 million, Nuru is tasked with cleaning up San Francisco streets, which critics note remain cluttered with feces, trash and used needles amid a homelessness crisis.
In August, he launched a โ€œPoop Patrolโ€ tasked with power-washing high-risk streets. Critics say they canโ€™t understand how heโ€™s stayed in his job given the condition of city streets and construction.
Nuru was initially arrested in late January and agreed to cooperate with officials, but violated his agreement not to discuss the case and was re-arrested, Anderson said. He lied to officials about not discussing the case, Anderson said.
Nuru could face 25 years in prison while Bovis could face 20 years.

โ€˜The Politics Are Just Crookedโ€™

The allegations say the two participated in a scheme โ€œto defraud the public of its right to the honest services of a public official through bribery or kickbacksโ€ in violation of their duty.

โ€œSee, the problem, in San Francisco too, the politics are just crooked, you know what I mean?โ€ โ€” restaurateur Nick Bovis 
In the airport scheme, the 75-page criminal complaint says Nuru and Bovis had meetings over several months in which they discuss how to secure a lease space for Bovisโ€™ restaurant at the airport. Eventually, Bovis brought an envelope with $5,000 to a meeting with an unnamed airport commissioner who refused to take it, the complaint said.
San Francisco International Airport Director Ivar C. Satero said in a statement that he takes the allegations very seriously โ€œand we are deeply concerned by this effort to circumvent our selection process.โ€ He said he welcomed the mayorโ€™s contract review.
At one meeting recorded by an FBI agent, Bovis said all the public officials in San Francisco โ€œwork, like, side deals,โ€ the complaint states.
โ€œSee, the problem, in San Francisco too, the politics are just crooked, you know what I mean?โ€ he is quoted as saying in the complaint.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed said Nuru was placed on administrative leave Monday. She has asked the city attorney and controller to review city contracts that may have been affected.
โ€œI will do everything I can to ensure that those who fail to uphold (the highest) standard are held accountable,โ€ she said in a statement.
The complaint also references other unnamed city officials and deals made over the years. Anderson said others who have information about criminal activity should โ€œrun not walkโ€ to the FBI in San Francisco.
Photo of David L. Anderson, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California
David L. Anderson, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, gestures during a media conference Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020, in San Francisco. A top San Francisco official tasked with keeping the streets clean has been charged with public corruption in schemes that include offering a bribe for space at San Francisco International Airport, providing inside information to a friend seeking permits to build homeless shelters and accepting lavish gifts from a billionaire Chinese developer. San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru made an initial appearance in court Tuesday along with Nick Bovis, the owner of Lefty Oโ€™ Doulโ€™s, a popular sports bar in Fishermanโ€™s Wharf and other city businesses. Each was ordered held on $2 million bail. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

The Complaint Also Alleges That a Company With Numerous City Contracts

The complaint focuses on the failed airport scheme, but it also lays out other examples of the two collaborating to fool the public. Nuru tried to give Bovis a leg up in getting public contracts for portable toilets and small container-type portable housing for the homeless, it says.
Anderson said Nuru also repeatedly met with a Chinese billionaire seeking to build a large mixed-use building in San Francisco, accepting gifts of lavish hotel stays, travel and a $2,070 bottle of wine. He did not report any of the gifts as public officials are required to do.
โ€œThank you very much for all your generosity while we were in China. We had a great vacation and my daughter had a wonderful time. I will do my very best to see that your project gets completed,โ€ he wrote to the developer in November 2018, according to the complaint.
The complaint also alleges that a company with numerous city contracts, including a $2 million contract with public works in 2018, sent people to work for free or at greatly discounted rates on Nuruโ€™s Northern California vacation home.
City Supervisor Matt Haney, who represents an inner-city area at the heart of street waste complaints, said he has repeatedly pushed for accountability from a department that is run โ€œlike a one-person fiefdom.โ€
Supervisor Gordon Mar called the fraud detailed by the FBI โ€œappalling, and that such behavior went unchecked until now is inexcusable.โ€

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