San Francisco District Attorney Gascón (center), with City Attorney Dennis Herrera (left) and FBI Special Agent In Charge David J. Johnson (right) by his side, today filed corruption charges against former city officials with ties to Mayor Ed Lee. Photos by Luke Thomas.
From the Office of San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón
Editor’s Note: For more background on today’s announcement, read Joshua Sabatini’s exposés in the SF Examiner, here and here.
January 22, 2016
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón announced today the filing of felony bribery and money laundering charges against former Human Rights Commission (HRC) Commissioner Nazly Mohajer, former HRC employee Zula Jones, and political consultant Keith Jackson. Jackson faces additional charges of grand theft and campaign finance fraud.
“Any perversion of the public trust will be met with severe consequences,” said District Attorney George Gascón. “Corruption casts a long shadow on our institutions and the public’s notions of fairness. This is a sad day for San Francisco, and we have a lot of work to do to repair the people’s confidence in city government.”
“For public law offices like the ones George and I lead, we have no more important duty than to punish betrayals of the public trust aggressively and to the law’s fullest extent,” said City Attorney Dennis Herrera. “To do anything less would diminish San Franciscans’ faith in the integrity of their local government, and send a terrible message to would-be scofflaws in similar positions of trust. I am grateful to District Attorney Gascón for his leadership on this case, and for the opportunity my office has had to work closely with the excellent lawyers and investigators of his office. I’m also grateful to be working with FBI investigators who are similarly outstanding. Apart from our investigative collaboration, my office stands ready to assist the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System on the possible forfeiture of benefits, should an eligible defendant be convicted of a crime of moral turpitude.”
“Combating public corruption at all levels is one of the FBI’s top priorities,” said FBI Special Agent In Charge David J. Johnson. “The charges announced by the district attorney today illustrate the unity and commitment of the FBI and San Francisco District Attorney’s Office to bring corrupt officials to justice.”
According to court documents, Jackson, Jones, and Mohajer are charged with soliciting and accepting $20,000 in bribes from an undercover FBI agent in exchange for promised political access and preferential treatment in connection with city contracts. The three defendants are also charged with money laundering. Jackson is additionally charged with six misdemeanor counts of campaign finance fraud for using straw donors to unlawfully funnel bribe money to political campaigns.
Former Human Right Commission employee Zula Jones (left) and former Human Rights Commissioner Nazly Mohajer (right). Photos by Luke Thomas.
In a separate scheme, defendant Jackson – who was a board member of the San Francisco Board of Education between 1995 and 1998 – is charged with grand theft for falsely promising a woman in 2012 that he could place a child in a preferred San Francisco public school in exchange for money.
Former SF Board of Education President Keith Jackson. Photo via Lowell High School.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the San Francisco District Attorney Bureau of Investigations, the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The following charges have been brought against the following defendants:
Keith W Jackson
Felony Counts: Bribery, PC 68 (4 counts); Money Laundering, PC 186.10(a) (1 count); Grand Theft of Public Money, PC 487(a) (1 count) [six felony counts in total]
Misdemeanor Counts: 91000/84301Govt Code (5 counts); 1.170(a)/1.114(a) SF Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code (1 count) [six misdemeanor counts in total]
Exposure: 11 years and 4 months in state prison.
Bail: $208,000
Zula Mae Jones
Felony Counts: Bribery, PC 68 (4 counts); Money Laundering, PC 186.10(a) (1 count) [five felony counts in total]
Exposure: 7 years and 8 months in state prison.
Bail: $175,000
Nazly Mohajer
Felony Counts: Bribery, PC 68 (4 counts); Money Laundering, PC 186.10(a) (1 count) [five felony counts in total]
Exposure: 7 years and 8 months in state prison.
Bail: $175,000
The Hunger Site
January 24, 2016 at 8:05 am
Wonder if one of the three defendants will make a deal by providing testimony against Mayor Lee?
February 10, 2016 at 9:51 pm
If that’s a bet, my money’s on Keith Jackson.