The city's corruption scandal investigation is ongoing. is the city's financial engine and it is sputtering. Since the FBI arrested and charged Nuru for allegedly attempting to bribe an airport commissioner in January 2020, the investigation has also indicted the former director of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, two heads of trash company Recology, a former senior building inspector and a city building commissioner. This corruption is part and parcel of the sell off of Golden Gate Park. The BLA (Budget and Legislative Analyst) report that you will see later today will actually validate what we thought all along; that there was a lack of adequate controls against the possibility of corruption and financial transparency between the Parks Alliance and the Rec. Just last week, two city contractors pleaded guilty to bribing Nuru with the construction of his vacation home and a $36,000 gold Rolex watch in exchange for help in obtaining city contracts. Newly disclosed documents sought under subpoena by city supervisors critical of the Alliance -- detail transactions involving a different fund related to the Parks Alliances annual Crab Fest event. Required fields are marked *. The San Francisco city attorney's office issued subpoenas for eight companies and nonprofit organizations Wednesday as part of the ongoing government corruption scandal launched in the wake. A new report from the San Francisco City Controller's Office, in conjunction with the City Attorney's Office, skewers a system where city departments like Public Works form relationships with nonprofit organizations that raise philanthropic dollars for issues related to that department, saying it's rife with opportunity for corruption. In that span, the non-profit took in $44 million, including an estimated $3.5 million in anonymous donations, the audit concludes. But its more of a potentially problematic relationship, as the report found no smoking gun, and the alliance has since agreed to not accept anonymous gifts of $100 or more. elsewhere. A California man is forced to live in a country hes never known, Warriors lean into championship DNA, beat Kings behind sublime Curry, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). The report's authors came away with more questions than answers. While it's gotten a lot of love for its glowing lights at night, the contract to build it wasn't issued competitively, Brousseau said. Stay up to date! San Francisco's Parks Alliance and Recreation and Park Department are both facing scrutiny from District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan about their use of donations, after subpoenaed records were made public in an NBC Bay Area news report. They have long operated in a largely unregulated behind-the-scenes capacity as power brokers controlling the purse strings to the pet projects of their donors," Peskin said. "Like everyone, we were outraged to learn of the public corruption in our local government, Becher said, in a statement. Following the release of the report, Mayor London Breed announced an executive order to address the recommendations in the report. investigation into public corruption has led to a new round of subpoenas. This report has validated our suspicion all along that Parks Alliance has a problematic relationship with our city departments, she said. I've long had questions about the Parks Alliance and their practices Peskin said. These payments either went to vendors for the purchase of goods and/or services, or were payments to individuals, primarily city employees, who were reimbursed for costs they had incurred, she said. . Some of the concerns have already been addressed after the two entities created a memorandum of understanding earlier this year to safeguard against potential corruption, but that agreement needs to be strengthened, the report said. She said from July 2015 through January 2020, we found that Public Works paid eight contractors a total of $572 million through contract purchase orders or other voucher payments. For a Richmond neighborhood playground, for instance, the $3 million budget was completely opaque, said Fred Brousseau, from the Budget and Legislative Analyst's office. The nonprofit San Francisco Parks Alliance directed $66,000 to entities whose figureheads were arrested by the FBI in connection with disgraced former Public Works director Mohammed Nuru's corruption scandal, a new report has found. Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay. The audit has confirmed a very problematic relationship between the San Francisco Parks Alliance and city departments, Chan told NBC Bay Area, particularly with the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department.. And, wouldn't you know it, 88 percent of the money comes from just two sources: $131,948 from Recology and $721,250 from the San Francisco Clean City Coalition, a nonprofit. As a result, they were not subject to the same review and control that would otherwise exist to comply with the Citys accounting and procurement policies and procedures, Sobrepena said. That's a standard practice governments use to ensure they get the best deal. It will be interesting to see what information is uncovered. How long has it been since May started off this cold in Bay Area? Or email us at Editor@RichmondSunsetNews.com. Ongoing FBI Corruption Probe Hits Three More SF City - SFist The Parks Alliance said in a statement Monday that it appreciates the citys work to strengthen transparency and accountability between nonprofit organizations and the City of San Francisco. Along with many other nonprofit groups, we continue to work with city departments to meet or exceed these good government controls, the Alliance said. Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). A new audit calls for greater controls over the San Francisco Parks Alliance, the major non-profit group named by federal prosecutors last year as helping to foster the city's public. At the same time, the non-profit reaped $11.9 million in city payments. The Planning Department, Department of Public Health, and the City Administrator's Office have all been hit with subpoenas stemming from the sprawling federal investigation into corruption in San Francisco government. Those nonprofits have looser transparency requirements, creating a "pay-to-play" environment where city department heads could potentially ask city contractors they oversee to donate to the nonprofit, creating a risk that department head would be influenced by that spending when deciding to award multi-million-dollar city contracts. Often these organizations are called "friends" organizations, like Friends of the Library, or Friends of City Planning. Although the wheel was eventually able to open in the fall at limited capacity, a surge in cases halted operations after just five weeks. Despite the progress, the audit found there remains a lack of adequate controls on the contracts the Alliance makes to provide services for the city. Probe also leads to cancellation of $171,000 portable toilet contract with company tied to restaurateur Nick Bovis; more contracts are under review SAN FRANCISCO (Feb. 12, 2020) City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced today that he has issued eight subpoenas as part of a joint public corruption investigation with City Controller Ben Rosenfield. The recent report delved into inadequate controls in multiple areas, including an agreement to run the Conservatory of Flowers that expired in 2012 and hasnt been renewed. Garbage time: Recology was the major donor to Mohammed Nuru's nonprofit But the board says more transparency is necessary to ensure another type of green money isn't changing hands improperly. 20002023 San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center. The supervisor and the organization have clashed before. and Park, the expenses and transactions with those subaccounts dating back five fiscal years and identifying the funding sources for the subaccounts. Those same contractors were awarded more than $570 million in city contracts by the Public Works Department, according to the report. Although the wheel was eventually able to open in the fall at limited capacity, a surge in cases halted operations after just five weeks. That is why I am calling for an investigation focusing on this agreement and SF Parks Alliance practices," she said. Now after nearly a year, the wheel is scheduled to be removed at the end of March, but a proposal seeking to extend the wheel's stay for four more years in order to help SkyStar "offset financial hardship" has yet to be decided by the city's Historic Preservation Commission. SF supervisor subpoenas parks nonprofit in wake of report that calls for stronger controls, S.F. The report further alleged the San Francisco Parks Alliance accepted some $1 million in donations from contractors under investigation by the City Attorney's Office and the money was then funneled back to DPW to pay for lavish parties. That corrupt slush fund really just a minor piece of the wider public corruption scandal put a dark cloud over the Golden Gate Park's SkyStar Ferris wheel, because the Parks Alliance gets. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Feb. 23, 2021 SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) As a discussion by city officials around whether to keep a 150-foot tall Ferris wheel at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park continues to go in circles, two. Chan said she was disappointed with the reports about Nurus and the Public Works relationship with SF Parks Alliance, plus she was concerned that instead of pausing that type of agreement between Rec. No budget was presented to the commission providing the details of what would be spent before the agreement got commission approval, Brousseau said. In an aerial view, the SkyStar Wheel in the Music Concourse carries riders at Golden Gate Park on June 14, 2021, in San Francisco. A memo from the park department sent Thursday to the report author said staff appreciate the need for transparency and already follow the city controllers guidance on accepting grants and gifts. While no formal accusations have been made, Chan's subpoena comes in the wake of an ever-unfolding corruption scandal that has ensnared four city department heads since early 2020. . They also look at the lack of transparency and the growing curruption scandal in San Francisco as more officials investigated an jails for corruption directly connected to the "non-profits" involved in privatizing City resources. "Certainly, some of these groups are operating above board. Let'sPlaySF! And what about the Ferris wheel in Golden Gate Park? "Instead of going directly to our city's general fund, the revenue generated from SkyStar is going to a non-profit that is still under FBI and public corruption investigations," said Chan, whose supervisorial district includes Golden Gate Park. Financial transaction records between the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and the non-profit San Francisco Parks Alliance are now the focus of a subpoena, after a unanimous vote by the Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. The SF Parks Alliance is a Friends of-type outside nonprofit that raises money or provides philanthropic services on park-related matters, donating money back to the city's Parks and Public Works departments for various projects. While the Parks Alliance raises money to build park infrastructure across the city in a private-public partnership, it's usually primarily interested in one type of green planting trees, for instance. At the time, U.S. Attorney David Anderson commented on the allegations by saying, "corruption is pouring into San Francisco from around the world." . The Department of Building Inspection issued 218 building permits to seven of those entities. Drew Becher, CEO of the San Francisco Parks Alliance, expressed shock at the city's findings. Supervisor Chan was bullied by the Parks Alliance for calling for an audit of this corrupt agency which is privatizing Golden Gate Park. But critics say substantial sums ended up being spent elsewhere. We are happy to invest in their learning and morale, which helps them deliver great services every single day, the department said in a statement. "This is a city of riches," she said during Thursday's committee hearing. Thank you to Mr. Pendergast for this article. She joined The San Francisco Chronicle in 2019 to report on business and has also written about wildfires, transportation and the coronavirus pandemic. "In this case, are we now setting ourselves up for a two-tier parks system for those who can pay to play, literally, and for those who cannot afford access to our public space?". and Park to see if they actually have subaccounts with Parks Alliance or not, Chan said. Near the end of the hearing, Chan said the driving force behind her line of questioning was to ensure that anyone, regardless of the amount of money they can donate to a nonprofit, gets their say in how parks across San Francisco are shaped. These subaccounts really operated like a city account, she said, because invoices were directed and approved by Public Works employees and tracked by both Public Works and the Parks Alliance. Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox. SF Rec and Parks is a city department that manages and maintains our parks. SF Restaurateur Nick Bovis Admits Corruption Charges At the behest of Nuru, the Parks Alliance also directed $66,000 to entities whose figureheads were also arrested by the FBI in connection with Nuru's corruption scandal, permit expediter Walter Wong and Nick Bovis, the owner of Lefty O'Doul's. As the Chronicle reports, Bovis's foundation is named along with Recology and the San Francisco Parks Alliance as entities the feds are seeking mentions of in all meeting notes, minutes, and communications from these city departments. Supes Call For Investigation Into Sf Park Alliance Contracts - SFGATE "When it comes to equity in our public parks, San Francisco doesn't even rank top ten. But the supervisors were concerned that the public simply doesn't have enough information from the Parks Alliance to verify that fact on their own. Web of corruption: Explore the cronyism, lies, and - San Francisco, CA Meet the team of park lovers and advocates who work to ensure that all parks and public spaces in San Francisco are vibrant, welcoming, and accessible to all, from Little Hollywood to Lands End. Prosecutors say Nuru used the fund to pay for everything from T-shirts to gift bags, from funeral expenses for a worker to event entry fees for public works teams. Sign up for NBC Bay Areas Housing Deconstructed newsletter. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench. But Supervisor Chan is not done with the Parks Alliance yet. A Recreation and Parks Department spokesperson told the supervisors that the agency follows all codes and laws. and Park, but we only assessed Public Works subaccounts, Sobrepena responded. Federal investigators say the alliance maintained a $1 million off-the-books fund that then Public Works director Mohammed Nuru frequently tapped to pay for employee parties, events and swag. Her businesses, Kwan Wo Ironworks and SFR Recovery, are among several businesses that do lots of business with the city including PG&E and Recology about which the feds are seeking a decade's worth of documents and correspondence. Records reviewed by NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit show that thousands of dollars raised by the San Francisco Parks Alliance scholarship fund, ended up paying for the city's Recreation and Parks staff retreats instead. Peskin worries that the Crab Fest event could allow for an end run around city ethics rules that otherwise restrict direct contributions to city officials by firms doing business with the city. City officials studied the nonprofit last year after it came to light that former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, now charged with fraud, funneled donations from would-be city contractors into an account at the organization that he used to pay for staff perks. Your email address will not be published. We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts! Do you know when can we expect that information?. She previously covered immigration and local news for the Albany Times Union and the Alabama state legislature for the Associated Press. Supervisor Matt Haney also plans to introduce legislation next week that will go further than the mayor's order, explicitly banning department heads from asking any person or party doing business with their department for donations, among other changes. The organizations employees havent been charged with any crimes, and the recent report found no evidence of wrongdoing, although the report author said the purpose wasnt to investigate corruption but the processes in place to minimize its possibility. How are the contractors who build out our green spaces chosen? The audit says those contracts need to adhere to basic city contract standards to prevent conflicts of interest. Although last week the Recreation and Park Commission approved the contract with SkyStar to continue operating the Ferris wheel at the park for four more years, the Historic Preservation Commission has the final say around whether the wheel will stay up. and Park.. An auditor with the City Controllers Office, Amanda Sobrepena, told the Committee that from 2015 through 2020, the SF Parks Alliance received $11.9 million from multiple city departments and serves in this role for both SF Public Works and Rec. A memorandum of understanding between the city and the Parks Alliance lays down some requirements for how they operate, and was retooled to strengthen some reporting requirements in 2020 in the wake of the citywide corruption scandal, but the Budget and Legislative Analyst still recommended it be strengthened. This report makes it clear that pay-to-play has been happening in our city. Money was deposited into the account by Recology executives as part of a bribery scheme and was allegedly used to fund lavish parties. The report further alleged the San Francisco Parks Alliance accepted some $1 million in donations from contractors under investigation by the City Attorney's Office and the money was then funneled back to DPW to pay for lavish parties. Nuru and others would direct staff to pay for goods and services for staff appreciation, volunteer programs, merchandise, community support and events from specific vendors, "circumventing city purchasing controls," the report found. We did collect a lot of information from all the departments, including Rec. Stay in touch. But this audit seems like the latest chapter of her ongoing feud with the Parks Alliance, wherein she alleges potential corruption, and the Alliance threatens to pull money out of projects in her district. Chan says she hopes to ask more about the cash flow for the non-profit at a hearing she will hold on Thursday. Those scholarships pay the fees or other costs for low-income youth and seniors to enjoy summer programs and other activities at city parks. Breed's order also requires more transparency from city officers in accepting gifts. A report issued just this month from the San Francisco Budget and Legislative Analyst, an arm of the city tasked with researching questions posed by the Board of Supervisors, took a look at the Parks Alliance's financial relationship with SF Rec and Parks. It was one of more than 20 firms. Also, notably, this is the first-ever use of a new subpoena power the board crafted for itself in 2020, in a law written by Supervisor Aaron Peskin. The development of the tennis courts went over $400,000 which the City has to pick up. But recent revelations have demonstrated that the opaque nature of several organizations, including the SF Parks Alliance, has aided and abetted corruption within San Francisco government.". And that is precisely the sort of structure that allowed Mohammed Nuru to bilk a $1 million slush fund out of the Parks Alliance, as the City Controller discovered in September 2020. After Nuru Scandal, SF Anti-Corruption Proposal Seeks to Prevent Bribes The nonprofit San Francisco Parks Alliance is being scrutinized again in the wake of the citys corruption investigation, and a supervisor whos criticized the group in the past now wants to look more closely at its operations. Those city contractors include the SF Clean City Coalition, Recology, PG&E, Clark Construction, Webcor Construction and Pankow Construction. is a partnership between the San Francisco Recreation & Park Department and SF Parks Alliance to transform 13 of San Francisco's most timeworn playgrounds into dynamic hubs for creativity and family life. That general fund had paid more than $5,000 in costs associated with the parks department staff retreat held in 2018 at Cavallo Point, The Lodge at the Golden Gate. The nonprofit could then disburse those funds to be used for city staff appreciation parties in ways that would have otherwise violated city law if done transparently or on pet projects of that department head. The San Francisco Parks Alliance has declined several interview requests from NBC Bay Area but said in a statement it was cooperating with investigators. but even at the lower levels it can lead to more of a culture of corruption where contractors have cozy . Chan, who commissioned the report, said the results demanded reform. 3 more SF city departments hit with subpoenas in expanding Nuru We are putting a stop to it, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said, in a statement. The ongoing federal investigation into corruption at San Francisco City Hall has reached into the City Administrator's Office, the Planning Department and the Department of Public Health,. Chan then called on the Committee to issue a subpoena to the SF Parks Alliance for more information, including the number of subaccounts they have with Rec. Sign up for NBC Bay Areas Housing Deconstructed newsletter. But that leaves some of their methodologies in the dark, the Budget and Legislative Analyst's report found. The net encircling former Public Works director Mohammed Nuru has now ensnared more entities in The City's ever-growing corruption scandal. The City Controller's Office and City Attorney's Office report into city ethics is the second to be released this year. Looking to get in touch with our Supervisors delayed voting Thursday on three city agreements to accept and spend more than $7 million from the Parks Alliance until Chans questions are answered. S.F. Parks Alliance threatens to pull funding for Richmond District Our track record is clear. Big shift in weather is headed to California. Selling Off Golden Gate Park: Privatization & Corruption Destroying However, it has since agreed to new restrictions on fundraising activities that require it to disclose all contributions of more than $100. The Alliance has not been accused of wrongdoing in the city corruption scandal and did not get paid for its account management. The nonprofit has not been charged with any crime, but according to federal prosecutors, Nuru used the Parks Alliance to funnel alleged bribes to his department, in the form of donations from. SAN FRANCISCO - As a discussion by city officials around whether to keep a 150-foot tall Ferris wheel at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park continues to go in circles, two city supervisors on Tuesday called for an investigation into the San Francisco Parks Alliance -- the nonprofit group that oversees the Ferris wheel's contract. "We also found that there was no requirement for how the contractor was selected in this case. Former City Attorney Dennis Herrera first issued subpoenas investigating the Parks Alliance in early 2020, also in connection with the ongoing corruption scandal. "It raises the question of whether this is a good government practice and whether such practices contribute to the 'pay-to-play' culture among city agencies. This is just confirming all of the suspicions that Ive had for a number of years.. In a statement, Recreation and Parks officials denied wrongdoing. Chan is exploring every legislative tool possible to implement recommendations. The Historic Preservation Commission is expected to vote on whether to extend the contract through 2025 at its next meeting on March 3. The Controller's Office found at least one of these organizations, the San Francisco Parks Alliance, took roughly $1 million in donations from a number of city contractors which were under investigation by the City Attorney's Office for funneling money to the Public Works department for lavish parties, at the behest of former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, who was arrested by the FBI in January on corruption charges. 1 in its park investments in the nation, dollars per capita," Chan said. About Us - San Francisco Parks Alliance The latest set of subpoenas, obtained by the Chronicle, sound both onerous in their scope and familiar in dealing with the sort of low-level corruption the feds have uncovered thus far primarily padding the pockets of some longtime city officials and contractors through sweetheart contracts and such. The San Francisco Parks Alliance. Nuru recently pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing. No Parks Alliance officials have been implicated in the probe. Press Release: Supervisors Chan and Peskin Call for Investigation on SF This program looks at the "non-profits" that are being used to facilitate the transfer of public lands at the park to privatizers. $20.00 donatedin the past month. "We will implement any additional common-sense policies that provide greater transparency and allow us to continue to support and improve San Franciscos parks and public spaces," the organization said in a statement.

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