SFO Official, Target of Alleged Nuru Corruption Scheme, Resigns Post

The San Francisco International Airport Commissioner whom federal officials allege Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru and restaurateur Nick Bovis sought to bribe resigned Wednesday.

Linda Crayton cited a struggle with “multiple, severe medical conditions for several years” in her resignation letter to Mayor London Breed.

Nuru and Bovis were charged with wire fraud Tuesday in connection with schemes that involved trying to exchange cash and gifts for contracts at SFO and the Transbay transit center. The complaint alleges the men tried to bribe Crayton in exchange for voting to approve an airport lease for Bovis’ chicken restaurant.

Her resignation could mark the beginning of a broader fallout from the corruption scandal. Despite the arrest of Bovis and Nuru, the FBI considers the investigation to be ongoing.

“In the hours and days ahead, we are going to learn the names of who various players were that are anonymously named in the U.S. attorney’s complaint. Today, one of those individuals resigned and we’re going to find out whether this goes further and wider,” said Supervisor Aaron Peskin. The Board of Supervisors would likely call for hearings into the scandal next month, Peskin said, “and we’ll see where that trail leads.”

FBI agents on Tuesday also raided the offices of Walter Wong, a well-connected business and permitting consultant closely connected to Nuru and Bovis, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

Wong was not named in Tuesday’s federal complaint and has not been charged with a crime. A phone message left for Wong Wednesday wasn’t immediately returned.

Crayton, who was first appointed to the Airport Commission by then-Mayor Willie Brown in 1996, is listed only as “Commissioner 1” in the Justice Department’s criminal complaint against Nuru and Bovis. But Crayton’s attorney, Randall Knox, confirmed Wednesday that Crayton was the target of their alleged bribery scheme.

Knox said Crayton’s frail health combined with Tuesday’s revelations “is a little more stress than she wants to bear right now.” Recent questions have also emerged about whether she lives in San Francisco — a requirement for airport commissioners and other public offices.

In their complaint, federal officials lay out in meticulous detail the evidence collected from confidential informants, wiretaps, undercover officers and surveillance that they allege shows Nuru and Bovis concocting a plan to buy off Crayton. The complaint also alleges that Bovis expected Crayton’s approval would bring along the votes of two additional commissioners who “vote in a block” with Crayton.

The complaint indicates that Crayton knew Nuru — going so far as to say that Nuru helped get her a spot on the commission.

Federal officials say that Bovis thought Crayton was receptive to their overtures. According to the complaint, Bovis told an informant that Crayton had confided that “she was confident she could help them secure the lease after she got all the information.”

The complaint accuses Nuru and Bovis of conspiring to bribe Crayton with a trip and $5,000 in cash.

“Bovis and Nuru then took concrete steps to implement the scheme by arranging a private dinner with (Crayton) and bringing an envelope full of cash to the meeting,” the complaint said. Federal officials suggested that Crayton’s interactions with Bovis may constitute a violation of the rules governing the bidding process.

Bovis allegedly told an undercover officer that he had offered the cash to Crayton after the dinner, but she rejected it. He later decided against the lump-sum and thought instead to “take care of” Crayton by offering a small portion of the licensing fees he would receive from the restaurant lease.

But that plan unraveled after Bovis and others involved in the alleged scheme became suspicious that they were being watched by the FBI. The complaint also says Crayton did not accept the cash bribe.

“If you look at the recorded conversations in the complaint, it’s clear that Ms. Crayton is saying, ‘I’m trying to do the right thing,’” Knox, the commissioner’s lawyer, said. “She’s innocent. She’s neither the target or the subject (of the investigation). At most, she’s a potential witness.”

The alleged airport scheme is one of five separate instances of public corruption Nuru and Bovis are accused of being involved in.

Nuru was also charged with lying to the FBI. He was arrested on Jan. 21 but agreed to work with investigators on the ongoing public corruption case. But he reportedly revealed he was cooperating with law enforcement to an unnamed “senior city official,” and allegedly lied about doing so to the FBI, which triggered his rearrest on Monday.

Both men are free on $2 million bonds and both face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Nuru was placed on paid administrative leave, in accordance with city policy, on Monday. They are expected back in court on Feb. 6.

Scrutiny over Crayton’s role in the alleged scheme also raised questions about her eligibility to work as an airport commissioner based on where she lives. Publicly available records indicate that while Crayton is registered to vote in San Francisco, she has a residence in San Leandro.

A Chronicle editor visited the San Leandro address, inside a gated neighborhood, Tuesday and Wednesday. No one responded to calls to a home listed on the security system at the entrance as “Crayton L.” And on Tuesday, a reporter spoke with residents at the address where Crayton is registered to vote in San Francisco. They said they had never heard of her.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @dominicfracassa

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