Details emerge in FBI’s case against SF Director of Public Works, Lefty O'Doul’s owner

Mohammed Nuru, the director of San Francisco Public Works. Mohammed Nuru, the director of San Francisco Public Works. Photo: San Francisco Public Works Photo: San Francisco Public Works Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Details emerge in FBI’s case against SF Director of Public Works, Lefty O'Doul’s owner 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A top San Francisco official and a well-known restaurateur were arrested and charged with public corruption by the FBI, officials said Tuesday.

San Francisco's Director of Public Works Mohammed Nuru, 58, and Lefty O’Doul’s owner Nick Bovis, 57, were charged in a criminal complaint with honest services wire fraud in connection with an alleged scheme to attempt to bribe a San Francisco Airport Commissioner, United States Attorney David Anderson announced at a press conference.

“The complaint describes a web of corruption involving bribery, kickbacks, and side deals by one of San Francisco’s highest-ranking city employees,” Anderson said in a statement. "The public is entitled to honest work from public officials, free from manipulation for the official’s own personal benefit and profit.”

The defendants both appeared in federal court today and were arraigned and released, each on a $2 million bond. If convicted, they face a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison.

Nuru was initially arrested on this charge on Jan. 21, and said he would cooperate with FBI officials and agreed to not tamper with or disclose the investigation. He was arrested again yesterday for violating those terms.

The main scheme described by the FBI involves the attempted alleged bribery of an unnamed SFO commissioner in exchange for a restaurant contract at the airport. According to the complaint, Nuru and Bovis schemed to give the unnamed commissioner $5,000 and free travel so that she would vote to approve a contract for Bovis' restaurant Spinnerie. The complaint records multiple conversations between Bovis and an undercover FBI employee who was posing as a friend of a lender. The criminal complaint against Nuru states the unnamed commissioner declined the money, and the contract was never awarded to Bovis.

There is at least one indication Bovis was getting suspicious of this "friend."

"Well, in my brain, what if this is some sort of FBI sting or something?" Bovis reportedly said to the undercover FBI employee.

READ THE FULL FEDERAL COMPLAINT HERE

These allegations against Mohammed Nuru are extremely serious, and we will cooperate fully with any investigation.



The City Administrator placed Nuru on administrative leave effective Monday evening, and she will soon announce an interim leadership strategy for @sfpublicworks. — London Breed (@LondonBreed) January 28, 2020

Anderson outlined four other alleged schemes included in the complaint as examples of the Nuru's corrupt intentions: First, the complaint alleged Nuru benefited from a Chinese billionaire developing a multi-use project in the city, accepting gifts such as free travel and a bottle of wine valued at over $2,000. He did not report any of the gifts as public officials are required to do.

Second, the FBI alleges Nuru used his position as chair of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority to attempt to secure a desirable restaurant space for Bovis in the Transbay Transit Center. In addition, the complaint alleges Nuru provided Bovis with inside information to give him an unfair advantage in winning contracts for city public restroom projects, including portable bathroom trailers and small container-like housing units for use by the homeless.

Finally, the complaint claims Nuru used a company, which has been awarded city contracts, to work on his Colusa County vacation home at a discounted rate. The complaint also alleges the contractor delivered a John Deere tractor to the home in Stonyford and planned to provide Nuru with training on the machine.

Nuru has been the head of San Francisco's Public Works since 2011, and made $269,000 in base pay in 2018 according to Transparent California. According to the Public Works site, the department has a "$312 million annual operating budget and an active capital project portfolio exceeding $5.6 billion."

"These allegations against Mohammed Nuru are extremely serious, and we will cooperate fully with any investigation," Mayor London Breed said in a statement. "The City Administrator placed Nuru on administrative leave effective Monday evening, and she will soon announce an interim leadership strategy."

City Supervisor Matt Haney said he has repeatedly pushed for accountability from a department that is run “like a one-person fiefdom."

“The result has been a recipe for corruption and a complete failure to keep our streets clean," he said in a statement.

Supervisor Matt Haney has released the following statement regarding charges against @MrCleanSF pic.twitter.com/1Jtqa2vlEV — Melanie Woodrow (@MelanieWoodrow) January 28, 2020

ALSO: Market Street is closing to car traffic: What you need to know

The news comes the day before San Francisco bans private vehicles from a two-mile stretch of Market Street. The so-called Quick Build phase of a project to transform the main downtown thoroughfare is being led by the city's Public Works department.

San Francisco's Public Works did not respond to comment for this story.

Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.