'Day of shame’: Ex-SFPD sergeant gets prison in scandal

Still declaring his innocence, a longtime San Francisco police officer is headed to federal prison for more than three years, the first punishment imposed in a corruption scandal triggered by surveillance videos that appeared to show officers as thieves.

Sgt. Ian Furminger’s four felony convictions marked “a day of shame for law enforcement,” U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said Monday in sentencing him to 41 months in prison. He also imposed a $25,000 fine.

Furminger, 48, spent nearly two decades on the force. He told Breyer and reporters that he had done nothing wrong and that his only regret was in not testifying during his trial. He is scheduled to report to prison April 3, but he will seek bail while he appeals his convictions.

“I would never take a penny from anybody, ever,” Furminger said after the sentencing at the federal courthouse in San Francisco. Blaming wayward subordinates for the crimes, he said he had supervised 18 officers from Mission Station and “I couldn’t keep track of everybody all the time.”

A jury convicted Furminger and Officer Edmond Robles in December of taking and dividing thousands of dollars that police found during searches of drug dealers and their homes.

Others await sentencing

Former San Francisco police Sgt. Ian Furminger (center) leaves after speaking to reporters behind the Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Courthouse after being found guilty of four felony charges. less Former San Francisco police Sgt. Ian Furminger (center) leaves after speaking to reporters behind the Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Courthouse after being found guilty of four felony ... more Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close 'Day of shame’: Ex-SFPD sergeant gets prison in scandal 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Robles is likely to receive a similar prison term when Breyer sentences him March 18. A third officer, Reynaldo Vargas, pleaded guilty to similar charges and testified against Furminger and Robles. He is awaiting sentencing.

Furminger and Robles were fired after being convicted. Vargas was fired in 2012 for making false overtime claims.

The trial took place more than three years after San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi released videos that appeared to show officers walking out of single-room-occupancy hotel rooms with bags of residents’ possessions.

The resulting investigation led to the indictments of six officers in February 2014. Last month, another jury convicted Officer Arshad Razzak of violating a tenant’s civil rights by illegally entering her room in a South of Market hotel during a drug search. A second officer was acquitted, and prosecutors put another case on hold.

The wrongdoing probably never would have come to light if the public defender’s office hadn’t obtained the videos, Adachi said Monday. He said Furminger’s sentencing “sends a strong message that officers who break the law will be held accountable.”

Video evidence

The trial of Furminger and Robles hinged on the testimony of Vargas. He described a series of incidents in 2009 in which he and Robles, his partner, often accompanied by Furminger, their supervisor, swiped money and property from dealers and their residences and kept it rather than book it into evidence.

On one occasion, Vargas said, the officers searched the home of a drug dealer in Newark, where Vargas found $30,000 in cash buried in the backyard. He said he, Robles and Furminger divided the loot on the drive home. He said they also had taken thousands of dollars that a dealer had stashed in a storage unit.

Defense lawyers called Vargas a self-serving liar. Furminger described him Monday as “a crooked cop.” But prosecutors said other witnesses and evidence supported his testimony.

Middle ground

Breyer delivered a mixed verdict on Furminger’s sentence, upbraiding the officer for violating his duties but rebuffing prosecutors’ request for a sentence of 6½ to eight years.

The judge rejected two prosecution arguments for longer sentences: that the Newark theft had been a planned burglary and that the officers should be penalized for committing crimes while armed.

Carrying guns on the job is “part of their duty,” the judge said. “They provide security.”

But Breyer also rejected defense lawyer Brian Getz’s argument that Furminger should get no more than two years and nine months in prison, the lowest sentence available under federal guidelines.

Furminger and his cohorts preyed on “the most vulnerable victims you can find in society,” drug-addicted dealers, and Furminger bears extra responsibility as a supervising officer, Breyer said.

In a statement from the Police Department, Deputy Chief Sharon Ferrigno told Breyer that the department had “no room ... for dishonest police officers” and was taking steps to ensure the crimes were never repeated.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: begelko@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @egelko