[FBI] Probe hits [San Francisco] mayor's office by Chuck Finnie and Lance Williams San Francisco Examiner, Feb 15, 2000 A U.S. grand jury has subpoenaed records of Mayor Willie Brown's meetings with a long list of contractors and officials who are the focus of an FBI probe of suspected city contracting abuses, The Examiner has learned. The subpoena marks the first time that federal investigators have mentioned the mayor by name in their probe of alleged criminal wrongdoing in a program that steers city contracts worth millions of dollars to minority-owned businesses. In the subpoena, which was served on the mayor's office Jan. 31, the grand jury demanded records of all meetings, phone calls and video teleconferences since 1995 between Brown and: *Ron Tutor, whose Tutor-Saliba Inc. is lead contractor on the massive $2.4 billion airport reconstruction project now under way. In the early 1980s, Tutor was implicated but not charged in a scheme to subvert The City's minority contracting program through the use of phony "front" companies, court records show. *Charlie Walker, trucking contractor and longtime friend of the mayor. In 1984, Walker was imprisoned for bilking The City's minority contracting program, but he has obtained more than $800,000 in new city contracts since Brown was elected mayor. *Stephen Besser and his wife, Jacqueline Besser, Brown friends from Los Angeles who have emerged as a powerful new force in public contracting in The City, winning a share of $102 million in municipal deals. The grand jury is scrutinizing how a consulting firm run by Jacqueline Besser obtained a $3.68 million contract to run a city parking garage, the subpoena indicates. *Scott-Norman Mechanical, a tiny Hunters Point firm that obtained $56 million in airport construction contracts by claiming to be a minority-owned firm. According to records filed in a 1998 lawsuit, the firm is actually controlled and financed by a white-owned firm from San Leandro. The subpoena also sought records of meetings involving mayoral aide Jonnie Robinson. She advises Brown on minority contracting issues, as well as other officials including Marivic Bamba, who heads The City's Human Rights Commission, which administers the minority contracting program. In all, the grand jury asked for records of Brown's meetings with 22 different business executives and city staffers and 16 different firms that have sought contracts with The City. The grand jury ordered the mayor's office to deliver the records to the federal courthouse on Feb. 24. Brown declined comment, press secretary Kandace Bender said. In the past, the mayor has urged full cooperation with the federal probe. In a phone interview, Tutor said his firm has complied with all The City's contracting rules and had done nothing wrong. He criticized the FBI probe, saying, "It seems to have a life of its own. It would be humorous if it wasn't so sad." Walker has refused to be interviewed by The Examiner. The Bessers, Bamba and Robinson didn't return a reporter's phone call. The set-aside program is supposed to combat discrimination in public works contracting. Minority- and women-owned businesses certified by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission as local and economically disadvantaged qualify for bid preferences. Construction firms on large public projects also must meet affirmative action goals by using certified companies as subcontractors. For more than a year, FBI agents have been conducting a wide-ranging city contracting investigation. No one has been charged with wrongdoing. But FBI agents have turned up unannounced at the Human Rights Commission, the airport and a long list of other departments, seeking city documents regarding firms that have been awarded hefty city contracts. In July, the FBI even shut down the commission offices for the weekend, reportedly in response to fears that staffers were shredding documents being sought by the grand jury. The grand jury also has subpoenaed more than a dozen people, including airport Director John Martin, to testify. According to documents and interviews, one focus of the probe is Walker, a campaign contributor and former law client of Brown. In 1984, he was convicted of abusing city minority contracting programs through the use of an illegal "front" company, but after Brown was elected mayor, the commission gave Walker permission to participate in the program again. The FBI also has sought records on Tutor, whose Sylmar-based firm is among the biggest contractors in the nation. Tutor has made political donations to Brown and last year, amid reports that the proposed 49ers football stadium project was facing cost overruns, the mayor declared that Tutor had offered to do the job, which was once estimated at $525 million, for $75 million under budget. Tutor also has a long association with Walker. A state appeals court said in 1985 that Tutor himself had participated in the affair that sent Walker to prison - a scheme to subvert The City's minority contracting program by steering contracts to a "front" company. However, Tutor was not charged with wrongdoing. The FBI also sought records regarding Scott-Norman Mechanical, whose president, Al Norman, has been imprisoned on convictions for murder and assault, according to public records. Last year, the city attorney contended in a lawsuit that Scott-Norman had illegally obtained $56 million in airport subcontracts by claiming to be minority-owned. Actually, the city attorney said, the firm was run by the Scott Company, a white-owned firm from San Leandro. The grand jury subpoena was the first sign that the federal investigators were interested in the Bessers. Stephen Besser was a partner in a powerhouse Los Angeles law firm called Christensen, White that had employed Brown while he was Assembly speaker and bought Brown's law practice after he became mayor in 1996. Besser then moved to The City and registered as a lobbyist. His wife, Jacqueline, who is African American, formed a firm called DAJA Inc. In 1997, DAJA won a $3.68 million bid to manage The City's St. Mary's Square Garage on Kearny Street and a second parking facility at Hoff and 16th streets after a pair of crucial decisions by the Human Rights Commission. In one, the commission certified that DAJA was a local, economically disadvantaged minority-owned business enterprise, or MBE. This gave the firm a preference when bidding on city contracts, city records show. Then, on June 3, 1997, Executive Director Bamba disqualified Universal Parking Resources, DAJA's competitor for the contract, from the minority set-aside program, the records show. Since then, DAJA, in partnerships with other firms represented by Jacqueline Besser's husband, has won a $66.4 million contract to provide van service to disabled people and a $29.5 million pact to manage curbside taxi and limousine traffic at San Francisco International Airport, records show. -------------------- City seeks ways to cut legal claims by Rachel Gordon San Francisco Examiner, Feb 15, 2000 Settlements cost S.F. $17 million in '99, far more than bigger counties Supervisor Gavin Newsom on Monday called for legislation that would, among other things, force individual departments to pay the settlements from their own budget, rather than from The City's General Fund. "Right now there's no incentive for a department to save money because it doesn't come out of their budget," he said. Other ideas include forcing department heads to appear before the Board of Supervisors to offer explanations for large settlements; instituting a centralized tracking system of claims to give city officials a better idea of what's happening; and stepping up efforts to prevent accidents and other liabilities. Other cities and counties throughout the nation have taken similar steps and seen their payouts decrease. In San Francisco, six departments have consistently cost The City the most money in legal settlements, with Muni topping the list. Last year, Muni accidents cost The City $9.7 million in legal claims. The year before it was $9 million. The other budget busters include the Department of Public Works, the Police Department, the Sheriff's Department, the Recreation and Park Department and the Fire Department. The claims cover everything from police brutality accusations and sidewalk hazards to fire truck fender-benders and dangerous playground equipment. Newsom pointed to other California counties that have larger populations, but a considerably lower settlement budget. For example, he said, San Diego County, with 2 million residents, and San Bernardino County, with 1.6 million people, each had $7 million in settlements last year. The city of Los Angeles, however, which has 3.5 million residents, handed out $40 million to settle claims.
