A group of San Francisco Supervisors is calling for an independent special investigator to scrutinize the city’s Department of Public Works, after the agency’s director, Mohammed Nuru, was arrested this week on corruption charges.
Supervisor Matt Haney is leading the call saying that internal reviews and audits by the City Attorney of San Francisco and the Controller’s Office, as called for by Mayor London Breed, are insufficient.
“It is both necessary and appropriate to identify a completely independent investigator without any pre-existing contracts or relationships with the city to conduct investigations,” Haney says.
On Tuesday, Nuru and San Francisco businessman Nick Bovis were indicted on several corruption schemes, including allegedly attempting to bribe a San Francisco International Airport commissioner. The commissioner, Linda Clayton, resigned on Wednesday, citing health reasons.
Haney says an outside investigator would be tasked with looking into the extent of corruption within the departments of Public Works, Public Health, the Airport Commission and any other city departments implicated in the federal complaint.
Supervisors Gordon Mar and Dean Preston are joining Haney in demanding an outside review.
“We absolutely cannot rely on the executive branch of government⦠to investigate itself,” Preston says.
The mayor’s office says an outside investigator is unnecessary. A spokesman for the mayor says in an email that the city attorney and controller are “independent entities responsible for employee misconduct, investigations and audits. They will be tasked with making recommendations for reforms to ensure the highest standard of integrity is met.”
In the wake of the scandal, Haney is intensifying his call for a complete overhaul of the Department of Public Works, creating a commission with oversight responsibilities of the agency, which commands a $500 million annual budget.
“The power of this department is massive,” says Haney.
Haney says heâs especially indignant that the streets in his Tenderloin District have remained filthy as Nuru was “lining his own pocket.”
Meanwhile, the federal investigation is ongoing and several supervisors say they wonât be surprised if more indictments are forthcoming.
Haney says that since Monday, his office has received multiple calls from former and current DPW employees who say theyâve been reluctant to report improprieties for fear of retribution by Nuru and others.
“This did not happen in a vacuum,” says Haney.
The 75-page federal complaint identifies several people using acronyms, indicating others may have been involved or known about the alleged corruption.
In light of what else could be coming down the pike, Preston says the scandal should not be a reflection on all DPW employees, “there may be bad apples that need to be dealt with, but we cannot attribute their conduct to the folks who are working beneath them and for them.”
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