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How I Bought My Job: After spending time in jail, plumbing supervisor Chayne Hampton discovered goal in a profession within the trades

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 19:37:43 +0000

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Chayne Hampton is the manager at Santa Cruz Plumbing Inc., operating the company’s residential plumbing department.

Plumbing was prominent in Hampton’s life growing up in Santa Cruz. His father has been working for the UA Local 38 Plumbers & Pipefitters union in San Francisco since Hampton was born. Around age 20, Hampton began to work alongside his father. But that soon ended because of what Hampton calls “bad life choices.” Hampton struggled with a drug addiction that ultimately led him in 2016 to serve three years at San Quentin State Prison for burglary. After his release in 2019, he entered rehab and sought employment. He reached out to Santa Cruz Plumbing owner Jason Allison, who gave Hampton a chance. He started out as a shop hand, eventually working his way up to manager.

Transitioning from incarceration to the workforce is no easy feat. Hampton says people “have to learn how to operate in a world that’s not the world that you’ve been in.” Many will pass judgment, he says, but if someone is a hard worker their past shouldn’t hold them back. Hampton relishes the simplicities of life, having gone through losing his freedom while in prison. He prides himself on maintaining a job long term, something he struggled with in the past. He enjoys what he describes as “normal-people stuff,” like traveling, working out and spending time with his wife.

Hampton also shared stories on the “Ear Hustle” podcast, as well as narrating parts of the audio version of the book “This is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life” by Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods. He hopes to be able to progress in his career, either growing the residential plumbing sector or working for himself and beginning a family business.

Education:

San Lorenzo Valley High School
Cabrillo College: construction estimating, plumbing code, blueprint reading

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Lookout: Can you walk me through how you became involved in the plumbing industry?

Chayne Hampton: My dad’s a plumber and he works for the [plumbing] union in San Francisco, and he’s worked there since before I was born. When I turned 20-something, I tried to join the union and I ended up getting in. I was commuting over the hill with my dad and that commute was just kind of a nightmare. I can see it now in retrospect how draining that drive is and just working in the city in general. They would pay you a lot but it’s a lot of time off your life. But that’s not why I left the union — I made some bad life choices that ended my career there.

I went to jail two times before I went to prison. Just little six-month stint[s]. I thought that would be the end of it, they would never send me away because I was such a petty criminal. The judge looked at what I was doing and saw that it was gradually getting worse and worse. I was taking bigger and bigger risks and that got me a prison sentence. I ended up going to prison for a little bit and when I got out I was in a rehab, New Life on the Westside.

I turned in an application [to] Anne Keating, who’s our HR person [at Santa Cruz Plumbing]; [she] got my application, showed it to [company owner] Jason [Allison]. One of my past employment [experiences] was at San Quentin, [at] the waste management plant. I was trying to make it look pretty without saying I’d been to prison. Jason, not being an idiot, put it together and gave me a call and he said, “I’m very empathetic to a guy in your position. Where are you at? I’m going to come talk to you.” So he came to where I was at. He was like, “All right dude, we’re going to start you at this [wage],” which in retrospect was exactly how much money I needed to make at that time. Now I make twice that.

I had minimal experience, at that point I think I was a [shop hand]. [Jason said,] “All right, we’ll get you digging some holes.” So that’s where I started, digging a little bit [and] organizing the truck, nothing too complicated because, I mean, I was like a baby. After a while, slowly more responsibilities [were] put on my lap. Jason is pretty hands-on and he saw where I had some strength, which was mostly relatability with people, deescalating situations [with] customers [or] other contractors, just general customer-service skills. My employment took a bit of a shift to more management, so I have guys working under me. I’ve been doing this now for about a year.

Lookout: What does a typical day look like for you?

Hampton: For me, I just started checking my emails. [But] whenever I get started I get parts [and] lay [it out for the] guys, like, “This is the job we’re doing today.” Then I’ll go to the job with them and get a material list for them so that they don’t have to drive back and forth to the supply house, kind of streamline things. [I’ll] check in with the customer to make sure they’re doing OK, no one is making a mess, everyone is parking where they should be parking, let them know if the water is going [to] be off. From there, I head back to the office [to] follow up on quotes that I had written and then from time to time I [find] myself in the field tying up loose ends, [like if] a customer needs to be walked through how their new tankless water heater works, then that’s the last thing I’ll do in the day.

Lookout: What was the experience of transitioning from prison back to the workforce?

Hampton: I mean, I didn’t think I had a snowball’s chance in hell. I’ve got tattoos. Even before going to prison I lived in a prison of my own making. Through lifestyle choices I created a very small world for myself, [it was] very limiting. I [could] never be too far away from the action. My life was confined to six or seven blocks in each direction. I was crippled by drugs and addiction, mentally and physically.

I didn’t have any proper skills. But Jason, once again, I [have] to give this guy all the props in the world. I don’t know what he saw in me, maybe he thought I’d only last a week or a year. I’ve never done anything [for work] for five years [and now] someone just took a shot on me. I have buddies who are in the same situation as me, and [it’s] “I can’t find work” and this and that. It’s not easy for a lot of dudes with tattoos on their face and a rough background or a record, but it’s not impossible. I also have a ton of friends who brought themselves into unions. You’ve just got to be willing to start from the bottom. I was trying to be very humble about it: You want me to dig holes? I’ll dig holes.

Lookout: What was it like working in the sewage treatment plant at San Quentin?

Hampton: So my sewage treatment job, when I first got it, I was like, “Cool, sewage treatment, I’m going [to have] a breaker and some chemicals, maybe some goggles.” Yeah, I had goggles, but my tools were a pitchfork and a hose. I would go into this thing they called the pit where all the sewage travels through it. I would have to unclog these drains with the pitchfork and the hose. When you make food in prison you make it in a spread bag [a plastic bag] and when you’re done with it guys will just tie it and then flush it. So when I’d be in there spraying off sewage, sometimes I’d hit one of those bags, it’d ricochet into my face. That’s why I was going to have the goggles and that’s when I stopped having a beard.

They tell you this is your job then you show up for it and if you [try] to refuse it, it’s going to be bad. There’s this weird illusion of free will [that] people think is so necessary, but after being incarcerated, I’ll tell you what, I miss sometimes having someone tell me when to do things. Like, sure, you’re free, but at the same time, that’s a lot of thinking, decision-making, responsibility [and] accountability.

When I applied for the job [at Santa Cruz Plumbing], of course with Jason I was all-in. I was in the union but I don’t necessarily want to tell this guy I’ve been to prison. I’m just going to be honest, but also say, I worked in the sewage treatment plant in San Quentin. San Quentin is not just a prison, I’m pretty sure it’s a town. He took one look at that and was like, “mm-hmm.” So he figured it out.

Lookout: What do you love most about your job?

Hampton: I like interacting with people. I like getting people set up and stoked. Maybe changing the narrative a little bit that you can’t trust your mechanic, you can’t trust your plumber. Everybody is trying to sell you something extra. It’s like no, man, I’m really not. You just have this active water leak I’m trying to get taken care of. My wife called me from the mechanic and she’s just, “Oh, they’re trying to sell me this fluid. I don’t know if I need it.” I was like, “Maybe you need it.” Everyone’s so scared and I get it. One of the things I like doing is [to] just surprise people by giving them what they want and maybe telling them what they need.

I’ve been able to hire guys too, Jason has allowed me to have that responsibility. There’s been guys that were like me, I’m like, “Let’s give you a chance.” Not all of them have worked out but like one of them did, [and] that’s great. Who doesn’t like a comeback story?

Lookout: What have been your biggest challenges in your career?

Hampton: Realizing what a lack of proper education I had going into this, whether it’s spelling, mathematics, writing an email properly, talking to people [professionally]. Those are these huge hurdles I’m working on every day. Those are things I’ve had to adapt to. Also being kind of a self-starter, my days aren’t always laid out for me. I’ve got to keep myself busy and productive.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Lookout: What advice would you give to someone who is interested in this type of career?

Hampton: Just be humble and ready to show up. I mean, just because you got paid $25 an hour under the table by Jimmy Jams Plumbing in Boulder Creek doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to get that somewhere else. And that’s OK, then you go and you learn. I’ve taken classes at Cabrillo that correlate with my career: construction estimating, plumbing code, blueprint reading. Those weren’t things I asked my boss to pay for, either. It’s not his responsibility, it’s your responsibility. If you want to get paid more, be worth more. I know that’s a tough thing. The trades are riddled with guys that have problems showing up on time or attitudes. Just be stoked you got a job, show up a little early, stay a little late. Don’t look [at] your time clock, [or write] every email like, “I actually [finished] work at 3:05, [so] I should get paid for those five minutes.” You should get paid for those five minutes but my dad always told me, “If you got to stay a little late to fix your mistake, don’t make Jason pay for it.”

Lookout: Who is the best person suited for the job?

Hampton: I mean, anybody. Man, women, [or] whoever, a worker [is] a worker. Maybe you’re working with a guy who doesn’t speak any English, but plumbing’s like a universal language, like mathematics. You watch YouTube videos on silent on how to cook things, you could watch a plumbing tutorial in Spanish while you only speak English and still learn something. Just bust ass, move fast and don’t make too big of a mess.

You have to be able to work with dispatch, guys who are ordering parts and you have to have some degree of communication skills and traveling up on your own. It’s a team effort.

Lookout: What can someone expect to be paid when they’re going into this career field?

Hampton: I don’t know, maybe $20-ish if you have a license? You’re not only getting a job but you’re also getting hands-on training that translates to other places. You could probably get a job for more starting at a restaurant, for example. It’s like, what’s your intention?

If you’re really good you can make like $75 an hour. If you’re doing your own thing you could charge $125 an hour, you could charge whatever you feel like you’re worth, as long as you’re being fair with the customer and honest. If you’re new to a company but you’ve done plumbing for 15 years, they may start you off at a certain dollar amount and then once you’re able to prove yourself then your price will go up.

Lookout: What’s the difference between a union and non-union plumbing?

Hampton: A lot, it’s a big question. [In a] union, there’s guaranteed work. It’s hard to say, because some people prefer the union, but you have to pay dues to the union. You’re not allowed to really strike out on your own, like your knowledge is essentially theirs. Prevailing wages, some projects are only union, like this is a union plumber job and it’s prevailing wage. That could be upwards of $75 an hour, but that prevailing wage job doesn’t necessarily last forever.

Lookout: What is something that most people misunderstand about your job?

Hampton: There’s a lot more to it than you think. It’s not just unclogging toilets, it’s also opening up walls, installing new plumbing systems [and] knowing how hot water works. I understand it’s just water, but [it’s] temperatures, also gas and gas pressure. Like what size should your gas line be if it’s servicing these three different fixtures? I’ve got to find out what’s on the fixtures and this degree of math to size something correctly because it’s going to go underground. I don’t think it’s a trade you would see depicted in a movie. Like I’m Mario and Luigi and we just got these plungers. There’s a lot to it. There’s a complement of electrical and HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems]. They all culminate into one.

Lookout: What kind of jobs do you think there will be out there in the plumbing field?

Hampton: I think the technology around plumbing is always changing, new applications, making it so jobs can be done quicker. There’s all kinds of routes that you want to take [because] plumbing is not just water and poop. It’s also gas [appliances]. There’s new water heaters that are electric — in California, we’re trying to go in that electric direction. That means your old gas water heaters have to go, and your new electric ones have to go in.

Lookout: What does the trajectory of your job look like?

Hampton: For me, I would like to grow [into] the service department and have more guys. Jason, the owner, is responsible for over 100 guys. If I could have my little department where I’m doing that in my own way, that’s the goal. Maybe one day be competent enough to do something on my own or have my dad involved and keep it in the family. Jason started his company from the ground up, out of his garage. I do more residential stuff at people’s houses, if I were able to grow that. Right now we have five guys. When we have 10 guys, we’d really have a thriving service department along with [a] thriving construction side.

Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Lookout: What would be your advice to someone who is getting out of jail or in a position where they ask, “What’s my next step?”

Hampton: Apply, apply, apply. Just apply and be forthcoming. I genuinely believe there are business owners out there [who] want to be that person that gave that dude [a] chance and he just crushed it. Understand though, too, other guys have come before you and they let people down. Understand that people are going to pass judgment. Don’t lie, be forthcoming. The bottom line is, none of that [stuff] will matter if you’re a really good plumber or you’re a really good hand [or] worker.

Lookout: What motivates you every single day to continue on considering all the hurdles you’ve gone through?

Hampton: Personally, it’s the security of having something to do every day. I know that idle hands [are] like the devil’s playground. Too much idle time, either you’re just on social media or you’re distracting yourself in one shape or form. At least this way, I’m driving around on this side of the hill. That’s the great part. I could be on the Westside, in Aptos or Felton all in the same day and that just keeps me busy. I also have a wife now, she works here cleaning vacation rentals. We’re a DINK [couple], dual income, no kids. So we like to go out to dinner, travel or whatever and those things cost money.

Lookout: What does the future look like for you?

Hampton: I would like to get a dog. Me and my wife want to go to Italy. It’s a lot of normal-people stuff that maybe to the average person is like, “Yeah, that [stuff] is cool.” But understand I came from a place where, like I said, I’ve never done anything for five years. I don’t know how else to describe it, I’ve had a job for five years, like I’ve been fired from everywhere I ever worked. The second I got off drugs and started trying, I was able to keep things. I think that was a pretty big constant in my life before, I was always losing things. Whether it was something as simple as losing the money I had in my pocket for the drugs, losing this and losing that, and losing my freedom. Now I try, and I genuinely put in the effort. It’s just my belief that when you put in the effort you get gifts.

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Handyman pleads responsible, sentenced to life in jail for homicide of Jensen Seashore lady present in septic tank

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 05:38:57 +0000

A handyman accused of killing a Jensen Beach woman and then hiding her body in a septic tank has pleaded guilty to murder and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Keoki Demich, 34, was sentenced to three consecutive life terms Tuesday for the murder of Cynthia Cole earlier this year.

By pleading guilty, prosecutors agreed to waive their notice to seek the death penalty.

Demich will serve three life sentences for first-degree murder, burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault or battery and sexual battery. He was also convicted of third-degree grand theft and grand theft of a motor vehicle.

Cole’s body was found March 5 submerged in the septic tank — about 4 feet underground — after hours of excavation.

The 57-year-old woman had been missing for more than a week after attending the Jammin’ Jensen event in downtown Jensen Beach.

Demich was a longtime handyman for Cole.

According to court documents, Demich hid inside Cole’s shower while waiting for her to return home.

Records show he attacked her, drowned her inside her bathtub and then proceeded to sexually abuse her before burying her inside the septic tank.

Sheriff William Snyder said investigators secured surveillance video that showed Demich walking away from Cole’s car on the night she disappeared.

The sheriff said Cole and Demich had known each other for years.

Scripps Only Content 2022

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Former San Francisco Public Works Director Sentenced To Seven Years In Federal Jail | USAO-NDCA

Sat, 22 Oct 2022 04:20:15 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO – Former San Francisco City Hall public official Mohammed Colin Nuru was sentenced today to 84 months (7 years) in federal prison for honest services wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan, and Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Mark H. Pearson. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge William H. Orrick.

Nuru, 59, was first arrested on January 17, 2020, following the filing of a 79-page federal criminal complaint against him. Nuru was then the Director of the San Francisco Department of Public Works (DPW) and had held that position since 2011, when he was elevated from the DPW Deputy Director of Operations position that he had held since 2000. The complaint charged Nuru with honest services Fraud in public office, alleging a long-running scheme of bribes and kickbacks during his DPW tenure. A second federal complaint filed January 28, 2020, charged Nuru for lying to a federal agent following his arrest.

On January 6, 2022, Nuru pleaded guilty to the charge of defrauding the public of its right to his honest services, in violation of 18 USC §§ 1343 and 1346.

“Mohammed Nuru’s prison sentence is punishment for more than a decade of public corruption,” said United States Attorney Stephanie Hinds. “As San Francisco’s Department of Public Works Deputy Director and then its Director, Nuru owed the people of San Francisco a duty of faithful, honest services. Instead, he betrayed that duty. For at least twelve years, Nuru shook down contractors eager for city business, trading his authority and influence for millions of dollars in cash, construction work, travel, meals, and gifts. His abhorrent conduct erodes the public’s trust in its government, and this case demonstrates the justice system can and will punish corrupt public officials.”

“Mohammed Nuru’s long-running scheme of bribes and kickbacks ultimately earned him seven years in prison. Today’s sentence sends a clear message that public officials who abuse their power for personal gain will be punished,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan. “The FBI’s investigation into this case is not over. We will continue to unravel and disrupt corruption within the city of San Francisco.”

“Corruption happens in the shadows, often with the help of professional enablers who perpetuate fraudulent schemes and the corrupt who launder and hide their illicit wealth. The Oakland Field Office of IRS Criminal Investigation has dedicated resources to unraveling the truth behind the extensive web of corruption, which Mohammed Nuru presided over, during his tenure leading the San Francisco Department of Public Works,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Mark H Pearson. “Today’s sentencing is a true reflection of the collaborative commitment between IRS-CI, the FBI, and the USAO-NDCA to protect public welfare, the people in our communities, and bring justice to light.”

In his plea agreement, Nuru admits to a pervasive corruption scheme involving bribery, kickbacks and fraud that spanned at least his last 12 years in office. During that time, Nuru sat not only as Deputy Director of Operations and then Director at DPW but also as a member of the Board of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA). Appointed to the TJPA board in 2014, Nuru eventually became his Chair. From these positions, Nuru exercised substantial power and influence over San Francisco (the City) business and policy, including its public contracts, permits, and construction projects. Nuru’s authority made him a powerful public official in the city.

Nuru’s admissions detail his broad array of graft in office, and a sample of them are below:

Walter Wong: Nuru’s corrupt relationship with San Francisco-based contractor Walter Wong began in 2008. Nuru accepted envelopes of cash containing as much as $5,000 at a time from Wong, and Wong bribed Nuru with more than $260,000 in construction labor and materials provided to Nuru’s San Francisco home and his vacation ranch property located in Stonyford in Colusa County. Wong also paid for Nuru to travel to China multiple times and to South America, footing the bill for international flights and a stay at the Ritz-Carlton in Santiago, Chile, for Nuru and his then-girlfriend Sandra Zuniga, another city official. In exchange, Nuru helped Wong secure City contracts by structuring the City’s Request for Proposals (RFPs) to ensure Wong’s company secured the contract, by providing Wong with confidential information on competitors’ bids, and by helping Wong expedite permit approvals.

Recology: Recology Inc. is a waste management company headquartered in San Francisco and the parent company of Sunset Scavenger Company, Golden Gate Disposal & Recycling Company, and Recology San Francisco (collectively referred to as Recology) that provided collection and disposal services for residential and commercial customers located in the city and for the city itself. In his DPW Director’s position, Nuru presided over the process governing the rates that Recology could charge, including “tipping fee” rates that Recology charged DPW when DPW dumped materials at a Recology facility. In exchange for favorable treatment from Nuru, Nuru describes that Recology bribed him with soil delivered to his Colusa County ranch, expensive meals, and a two-night trip to New York in December 2017. At Nuru’s request, Recology also donated hundreds of thousands of Dollars to a San Francisco non-profit for a cleaning program that Nuru could access and use for other purposes, and Recology further funded DPW holiday parties with $60,000 in donations. Recology also arranged and funded the hiring of a Nuru family member.

Nick Bovis: Nuru received multiple bribes from restaurateur Nick Bovis, including free meals and entertainment for Nuru, his family, and associates at restaurants owned by Bovis and thousands of dollars in free appliances for Nuru’s ranch property. Nuru also expected tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks from proceeds that Bovis would earn from City concessions or contracts awarded to Bovis. In exchange, Nuru used his official acts and influence to assist Bovis in obtaining public business and contracts with the City.

Florence Kong: Nuru accepted a gold Rolex watch valued at $36,550, cash, and an iron fence installed at Nuru’s ranch from businesswoman Florence Kong. In exchange, Nuru used his official position to benefit Kong’s businesses, including a recycling business owned by Kong.

Balmore Hernandez, William Gilmartin, & Alan Varela: In a series of bribes and kickbacks from Balmore Hernandez, William Gilmartin, and Alan Varela, Nuru received a brand new tractor for his vacation ranch, free meals, and cash. Nuru also expected to receive a portion of the proceeds from anticipated City contracts awarded to them. In exchange, Nuru exercised his official authority and influence to benefit their City business ventures.

These are just examples of some of the bribes Nuru admitted in his plea agreement. Multiple other individuals paid Nuru in exchange for favorable official acts from him.

In addition to the sentence of imprisonment, United States District Judge William H. Orrick ordered a three year term of supervision of Nuru upon his release from prison. He also ordered the forfeiture to the United States of Nuru’s vacation ranch property in Stonyford, California. Nuru will surrender to begin serving his sentence on January 6, 2023.

This case is part of a larger federal investigation targeting public corruption in the City and County of San Francisco. To date, twelve individuals and multiple corporate entities have been charged, including another high-ranking San Francisco public official, the former San Francisco Public Utilities Commission General Manager Harlan Kelly. Charges against Harlan Kelly remain pending. Multiple city contractors and facilitators have also been charged.

The case is being prosecuted by the Corporate and Securities Fraud Section of the US Attorney’s Office. The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS-CI.

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Ex-San Francisco official sentenced to 7 years in jail

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 12:43:19 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco’s former public works director, who pleaded guilty to steering public contracts and taking pricey gifts, was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison in a corruption case that ensnared several City Hall officials and insiders.

Mohammed Nuru in January pleaded guilty to what federal prosecutors described as “a staggering amount of public corruption” during his time leading the city’s Department of Public Works. Federal prosecutors said that over a 12-year period, Nuru accepted more than $1 million in money, international trips, jewelry, restaurant meals and other goods and services from city contractors and developers in exchange for preferential treatment and confidential information about city business.

“This is a tale of greed as old as time,” federal prosecutors said in a court filing requesting that Nuru, who they described as the “quintessential grifter,” serve at least nine years in prison, get three years probation upon his release and pay $35,000 in fines to deter other officials from doing the same. Nuru’s attorneys had asked for a three-year sentence, which Judge William Orrick said didn’t “come close to recognizing the gravity of this case.”

Orrick agreed with prosecutors saying it was important for the sentence to “make clear that public corruption cannot be tolerated in a democratic society. When it’s discovered, it should come at a high cost for its practitioners.”

Orrick said he considered the good things Nuru has done in life when issuing his seven-year sentence in a packed courtroom. He also sentenced Nuru to three years of probation and ordered him to pay $35,000 in fines.

Authorities said that much of the bribe money paid to Nuru went to fund his ranch in Colusa County where he planned to retire. As part of a plea agreement, Nuru forfeited the ranch that federal prosecutors called “a monument to his grifting.”

The mortgage on the sprawling property “was partly paid by laundered bribes from city contractors, with a large home custom-built and furnished by city contractors, on grounds maintained with the help of equipment and soil provided by city contractors,” federal prosecutors said.

In exchange for his guilty plea on the fraud charge, prosecutors agreed to drop additional charges, including lying to the FBI and money laundering.

The sweeping City Hall corruption probe topped prominent leaders, including Harlan Kelly, the former general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, who is accused of receiving thousands of dollars in travel expenses, meals, jewelry and repair work on his house.

Mayor London Breed, who dated Nuru more than 20 years ago, was not charged with any crimes but admitted to receiving $5,528 for car repairs and a rental car in 2019 from him.

More than 100 family members, friends, and former colleagues sent letters of support for Nuru, who was known as Mr. Clean because of his efforts to clean San Francisco’s dirty streets, praising his dedication to his five children, who he raised as a single father, and his work for the residents of San Francisco, and describing him as kind and hard-working.

Public Works Deputy Director for Operations DiJaida Durden wrote to the judge asking for leniency for her former boss, explaining that she worked for Nuru for 19 years starting as a cement mason.

“He wanted us to take pride in how our city looks,” she wrote. “Mr. Clean certainly fit his style of working because not only did he encourage staff to take care of the city, he did it himself.”

In a four-page letter to the judge before sentencing, Nuru apologized for violating the trust of the people of San Francisco, saying his behavior left him in constant anxiety but still, he did not stop. He highlighted his health problems and asked for leniency and a second chance.

“I accept full responsibility for violating the public trust,” he wrote. “I hope and pray that the sentence will allow me to demonstrate afterwards that I have learned my lesson.”

Nuru, 59, was among the first of 12 people and three corporate entities to face federal charges due to the Department of Justice’s probe into public corruption in the city and county of San Francisco. After he was arrested in January 2020, he agreed to cooperate with the investigation and not disclose his arrest but shortly after told multiple people being investigated about the probe. He then lied to the FBI about his disclosure.

Last year, a recycling plant owner was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison after stating in a plea agreement that she plied Nuru with gifts that included a $36,500 gold Rolex watch. Florence Kong, who owned SFR Recovery Inc., was the first person to be sentenced as part of a federal probe into citywide corruption. Contractor Alan Varela, who along with two fellow businessmen gave Nuru a $40,000 tractor and accessories to do work on his ranch, was sentenced to two years in prison.

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Ex-San Francisco official sentenced to 7 years in jail

Fri, 26 Aug 2022 13:39:37 +0000

FILE – Mohammed Nuru, then-director of San Francisco Public Works, is interviewed at the Tenderloin Pit Stop mobile bathrooms in San Francisco on March 19, 2015. San Francisco’s former public works director, who pleaded guilty to steering public contracts and taking pricey gifts , was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison in a corruption case that ensnared several City Hall officials and insiders. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Jeff Chiu

In exchange for his guilty plea on the fraud charge, prosecutors agreed to drop additional charges, including lying to the FBI and money laundering.

Mayor London Breed, who dated Nuru more than 20 years ago, was not charged with any crimes but admitted to receiving $5,528 for car repairs and a rental car in 2019 from him.

Public Works Deputy Director for Operations DiJaida Durden wrote to the judge asking for leniency for her former boss, explaining that she worked for Nuru for 19 years starting as a cement mason.

“I accept full responsibility for violating the public trust,” he wrote. “I hope and pray that the sentence will allow me to demonstrate afterwards that I have learned my lesson.”

The post Ex-San Francisco official sentenced to 7 years in jail appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Former San Francisco Public Works Director Sentenced To Seven Years In Federal Jail | USAO-NDCA

Fri, 26 Aug 2022 01:30:11 +0000

On January 6, 2022, Nuru pleaded guilty to the charge of defrauding the public of its right to his honest services, in violation of 18 USC §§ 1343 and 1346.

Nuru’s admissions detail his broad array of graft in office, and a sample of them are below:

These are just examples of some of the bribes Nuru admitted in his plea agreement. Multiple other individuals paid Nuru in exchange for favorable official acts from him.

The case is being prosecuted by the Corporate and Securities Fraud Section of the US Attorney’s Office. The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS-CI.

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San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin was 3 when his dad went to jail. Cuomo simply granted his father clemency.

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 15:18:22 +0000

In the wake of a sexual harassment scandal, it was Cuomo’s last day in office, a time when outgoing governors typically grant commutations. Boudin continually refreshed the governor’s press page, hoping for news.

But the news did not come from the governor’s website. At about 2:30 pm in San Francisco, he received a text from his mother, Kathy Boudin, who had also served prison time in the same incident.