San Francisco airport official resigns in wake of FBI report
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A member of the board that oversees San Francisco International Airport resigned Wednesday, a day after the FBI and U.S. attorney announced charges against a senior city bureaucrat and a restaurateur alleging they offered bribes to a board member for a restaurant lease at the airport.
Airport Commissioner Linda Crayton said in a statement that she is resigning due to “multiple, severe medical conditions" she's had for several years. She noted that she has been a commissioner for more than 20 years “and it would have been my honor and pleasure to continue to serve."
The complaint unsealed Tuesday against San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru and longtime restaurateur Nick Bovis focuses on an aborted attempt in 2018 to bribe a female airport commissioner, who has not been named. Nuru is described as being close to the commissioner.
The complaint details several meetings with the commissioner that would be illegal under California ethics rules, culminating with Bovis bringing an envelope with $5,000 cash to a meeting. But it says she refused to take it.
The two also discuss offering her free travel and making charitable contributions to a nonprofit of the commissioner's choosing.
"We'll let you know which groups she wants," Nuru allegedly said during a meeting attended by an undercover FBI agent, “indicating that he understood any such donations would be in exchange for Airport Commissioner 1's assistance."
Crayton's resignation was first reported by KGO-TV in San Francisco.
San Francisco International Airport Director Ivar C. Satero said in a statement Tuesday that “we are deeply concerned by this effort to circumvent our selection process." He said he welcomed the mayor's contract review.
