Sections
Background
In January 2020 former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru was criminally charged with a scheme to defraud the City of his honest services by providing official action in exchange for bribes. In response to those criminal charges, the City Attorney and Controller launched a joint investigation into public corruption identified in the criminal complaint. While the City Attorney focused on employee and contractor wrongdoing across multiple departments, the Controller undertook a Public Integrity review of city contracts, purchase orders, and grants to identify red flags possibly indicating process failures. The Controller also created a Public Integrity Tip Line to facilitate the anonymous reporting of any information regarding the joint Public Integrity investigation. Since the corruption charges against former Public Works Director Nuru were filed in January 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has criminally charged 18 other city employees and contractors of the City. Among those charged are former GM Kelly, who had served in this capacity since 2012 and previously had been the SFPUC's assistant general manager of infrastructure since May 2003.
The Controller’s Office, in consultation with the City Attorney’s Office, will continue to perform these reviews and assessments when appropriate to assess criminal conduct by City employees, officials, and vendors, and to transparently describe the City’s efforts to root out and prevent corruption in all its forms. Future assessments will include an update on the status of City contracting with suspended entities affiliated with Dwayne Jones and a review of processes related to grant solicitation, monitoring, and oversight.