SFO International Terminal Departures Hall named after the late Mayor Ed Lee is unveiled during a ceremony at SFO in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. (Ching Wong/SFBay.ca)
San Francisco International Airport Commissioner Linda Crayton has resigned from her position citing health concerns, airport officials confirmed late Wednesday.
Crayton’s resignation comes just a day after it was revealed that San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, 58, of San Francisco, and Lefty O’Doul’s restaurant owner Nick Bovis, 57, of San Mateo, were each charged with one count of honest services wire fraud in a federal criminal complaint filed Jan. 15, and unsealed on Tuesday.
The complaint alleges both Nuru and Bovis conspired to bribe an unnamed female airport commissioner in 2018 for help in obtaining a restaurant concession. The commissioner ultimately declined a $5,000 cash bribe offered to her by Bovis and the scheme never came to fruition, according to the complaint.
In a letter to Mayor London Breed, Crayton announced her decision to resign due to “multiple, severe medical conditions,” which she said she’s been struggling with for years.
Crayton said in the letter:
“The demands of my medical treatment have increased to the point that I cannot continue to serve on the commission.”
Crayton, who served on the commission for over 20 years, has had her biography already removed from the commission’s website.
In the wake of the charges against Nuru and Bovis, Nuru has been placed on administrative leave, with Acting Director Alaric Degrafinried taking over the Department of Public Works for the time being.
Breed has called for an internal review of any implicated city contracts or decisions.
Supervisor Matt Haney has called for Nuru’s resignation. He’s also calling for an independent investigation of DPW and any other city departments implicated in the scheme.
FBI officials arrested both Bovis and Nuru Monday and each was released Tuesday on $2 million bond by a federal magistrate in San Francisco. In addition to the honest services wire fraud charge, Nuru has also been charged in a second criminal complaint with lying to the FBI.
The charge of honest services wire fraud carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years upon conviction and the charge of lying to the FBI has a penalty of five years, if Nuru is convicted.
Nuru and Bovis are due to return to court on Feb. 6 for a bail review.
Last modified January 29, 2020 8:16 pm
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