SAN FRANCISCO – Bernard Curran, a former San Francisco Senior Building Inspector, pleaded guilty today to two counts of accepting gratuity payments as rewards for approving building permits, announced United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. 

Curran, 62, of San Francisco, was employed at the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection (DBI) from 2005 until he resigned from his supervisory position as Senior Building Inspector while on administrative leave in May 2021. Curran’s official duties included conducting physical inspections of buildings and construction sites in San Francisco. For a San Francisco property owner intending to shepherd a construction or remodeling project from inception to completion, the first hurdle is to obtain a permit from DBI. Once the permit is obtained and the work is underway, the next hurdle is to pass on-site physical inspections by DBI inspectors who determine whether the work completed complies with the work authorized by the permit. If a project passes all inspections and is deemed completed successfully, DBI inspectors “final” the permits and issue a certificate of final completion and occupancy (CFC), allowing the property to be used. 

In his plea agreement today, Curran admitted that he accepted illegal payments from two people in connection with his official duties. The first was a long time San Francisco real estate developer who Curran developed a friendship with in the 1990s. Over time, Curran inspected dozens of properties and projects connected to the developer. Curran admitted that during his DBI career, he received numerous financial benefits from the developer that he knew were improper. Upon Curran being promoted to Senior Building Inspector in 2009, he accepted cash payments as “rewards” from the developer in connection with final inspections and/or CFC issuances that Curran conducted at the developer’s properties. In one instance in March 2017, Curran accepted $260,000 from the developer to assist Curran in paying down his existing residential mortgage so he could obtain favorable refinancing rates. Though Curran intended to repay the money, he knew that accepting it was improper and created a forbidden conflict of interest. Moreover, though Curran paid most of the $260,000 back, he admitted the developer never required him to repay $30,000 of the outstanding balance. Curran understood that the $30,000 debt forgiveness was an improper reward for conducting past and future inspections at the developer’s building projects. 

The second person Curran admitted receiving illegal gratuities from was an engineer who worked with project owners and contractors seeking building permits in San Francisco. The engineer worked frequently with Curran and knew he was a volunteer coach and supporter of a San Francisco non-profit adult and youth athletic organization. Curran admitted in his plea agreement that the engineer arranged for the engineer’s clients to make charitable donations to the athletic organization as rewards for and in connection with inspections by Curran of the clients’ properties. The donations were typically made by check and several times were delivered directly to Curran, who in turn delivered the checks to the athletic organization. According to the plea agreement, in several instances the engineer advised Curran of a client’s donation while asking for a final permit or inspection on the client’s property. From May 2017 through April 2019 the athletic organization received 13 such checks from the engineer’s clients, totaling $9,600. Curran admitted that he took official action for each of the clients who wrote the 13 checks, knowing this conduct was not permitted.

Curran entered his guilty pleas before United States District Judge Susan Illston, who scheduled a sentencing hearing for Curran on March 31, 2023. Curran remains out of custody pending his sentencing hearing.

Curran pleaded guilty to two counts of accepting illegal gratuities in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B). Each count carries a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of 10 years. However, any sentence following conviction imposed by the court will occur only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553. 

The Special Prosecutions Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

This case is part of a larger federal investigation targeting public corruption in the City and County of San Francisco. To date, twelve individuals have been charged, including high-ranking San Francisco public officials Harlan Kelly and Mohammed Nuru. Nuru was sentenced to seven years in federal prison in August 2022. Multiple city contractors and facilitators have also been charged and several have been sentenced to prison. 
 

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SAN FRANCISCO – Bernard Curran, a former San Francisco Senior Building Inspector, was sentenced today to serve a year and a day in prison in connection with charges that he accepted cash payments and charitable donations from developers and property owners whose projects Curran had responsibility for approving, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. The sentence was handed down by United States Senior District Judge Susan Illston.

Curran, 62, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty to the charges on December 9, 2022. According to his plea agreement, Curran acknowledged that he was a Building Inspector for the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection (“DBI”) in 2005, and in approximately 2009, was promoted to Senior Building Inspector. As a Senior Building Inspector, Curran was responsible for conducting physical inspections of buildings and construction sites in San Francisco to verify that construction or renovation work had been completed according to approved permits and plans. Curran admitted that after he became a Senior Building Inspector, he received improper financial benefits in connection with his employment.

“San Francisco government officials must always work with the public’s best interest in mind and rebuff invitations for corrupt personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Ramsey. “Curran is not the first, and he will not be the last, defendant sentenced in rooting out corruption in San Francisco. Today’s sentence makes clear that officials who abuse the public trust will serve time in federal custody.”

“Bernard Curran chose to line his own pockets instead of performing his duties with integrity,” said Special Agent In Charge Robert K. Tripp. “That’s not a small lapse: building inspectors ensure our new construction is safe, and play a key role in creating new housing and businesses that make San Francisco a vibrant place to live and work. Curran’s time in prison should be a stark warning to all that if you’re a public servant who takes a bribe, you will be held to account.”

According to his plea agreement, Curran admitted that he received cash payments from a San Francisco developer “in connection with and as rewards for” the inspections that he conducted or for the approvals that Curran granted as an inspector. In addition, Curran admitted that he accepted what amounted to a $260,000 interest-free loan from the same developer, $30,000 of which was never paid back. Curran admitted that he understood the developer never required the outstanding $30,000 balance to be repaid, “in part due to our friendship, but also in connection with and as a reward for conducting past and future inspections,” on the developer’s projects. Further, Curran admitted that in 2021, the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office investigated potential conflicts of interest related to his employment and, in response, Curran falsely certified that the loan he received was not from the developer, but rather was from a relative and had been issued at a 6% interest rate. Curran admitted that he submitted this false statement in an effort to deceive the City officials.

In addition to the improper gifts from the developer, Curran also admitted in his plea agreement that he accepted illegal gifts from co-defendant Rodrigo Santos. Santos, a licensed civil engineer, worked with project owners and contractors seeking building permits in San Francisco. Curran admitted that between May of 2017 and April of 2020, Santos asked some of his San Francisco clients to make “charitable” donations in connection with inspections that Curran conducted. Specifically, Curran was a volunteer for, and supporter of, a non-profit organization and Santos instructed his clients to write checks for the organization. Curran admitted that on several occasions Santos discussed with Curran the checks that his clients donated while also asking for official action to be taken on specific projects. Curran admitted that the government could prove that between May of 2017 and April of 2019, Santos’s clients wrote $9,600 in donations from 13 clients and that Curran took at least one official action for all 13 of the donors.

On November 28, 2022, Curran was charged by superseding information with two counts of accepting illegal gratuities, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B). Curran pleaded guilty to both counts.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Illston sentenced Curran to two years of supervised release following his prison term. The court set a further hearing on September 8, 2023, to determine the amount of restitution that Curran must pay to DBI to compensate the agency for the costs of an internal audit of projects that Curran inspected. DBI initiated the audit after the charges in this case

The case is being prosecuted by the Special Prosecutions Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The case is being investigated by the FBI and the IRS-CI.

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