SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Two San Francisco city contractors became the latest to plead guilty in connection with a City Hall corruption scandal linked to former public works director Mohammed Nuru.

According to acting Northern California U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds, 59-year-old Alan Varela of Orinda and 60-year-old William Gilmartin III of San Mateo both pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of conspiracy to commit honest wire services fraud. Varela and Gilmartin were the president and vice president, respectively, of a civil engineering and construction firm.

Prosecutors said the pair provided gifts and benefits to Nuru over the period of seven years to secure a lucrative public contract. The items offered to Nuru included, cash, free meals and entertainment, along with equipment for Nuru’s ranch in Northern California.

“Contractors with San Francisco like Alan Varela, William Gilmartin, and their ilk are not off the radar of our San Francisco City Hall corruption investigation just because they are not public officials,” Hinds said in a statement. “If you bribe a public official and our investigation uncovers it, you will face justice.”

Prosecutors said Varela admitted conspiring with Gilmartin, construction company CEO Balmore Hernandez, along with others, to pay bribes and kickbacks to Nuru between 2013 and 2020. Hernandez previously pled guilty to his role in the scandal earlier this year and is cooperating with the FBI.

Varela admitted that he and his co-conspirators sought a contract to operate an asphalt recycling plant and a concrete plant. In exchange for cash and valuables, Nuru sent early drafts of the city’s request for project proposals. Nuru also met with Gilmartin and Hernandez to discuss the plans over expensive dinners, according to prosecutors.

Gilmartin then compensated the former Public Works director by asking an unnamed company to award a $100,000 contract to Hernandez, who in turn used the proceeds to benefit Nuru, prosecutors said.

After winning the contract in 2015, prosecutors said Nuru continued to meet with Varela and the co-conspirators to supply more inside information. The meetings were all over meals paid by Gilmartin, which totaled $20,000, according to the plea agreement.

Varela also admitted in February 2019 that he coordinated with Gilmartin and Hernandez to deliver a tractor to Nuru’s ranch, after he requested it during discussions.

Nuru was arrested in early 2020, while the asphalt recycling plant agreements were being finalized with the Department of Public Works and the Port of San Francisco.

Gilmartin has also agreed to cooperate with the FBI, according to the terms of his plea agreement. Details about the criminal conduct he admitted to remain under seal, prosecutors said.

At least a dozen people have been charged in connection with the federal probe so far.

“The investigation into San Francisco city government continues and we believe there are even more city employees and contractors who may have pertinent first-hand knowledge of the insidious corruption plaguing San Francisco,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig Fair said in a statement.

Fair urged those who have knowledge about the corruption to come forward.

Both Varela and Gilmartin face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Varela will be sentenced on September 16. Meanwhile, Gilmartin is scheduled to appear in court on December 2.

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SAN FRANCISCO – Companies who bribed former San Francisco Public Works director Mohammed Nuru are barred from doing business with the city, City Attorney David Chiu announced Tuesday. 

The debarment prohibits Alan Valera and William Gilmartin — president and vice president of civil engineering and construction firm ProVen Management Inc. — from receiving city contracts. The two previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.  

Valera has been sentenced to two years in federal prison, and Gilmartin has yet to receive his sentence.

According to an investigation by the FBI, ProVen provided Nuru expensive dinners and farming supplies for his ranch to win more public contracts. The company was vying to operate an asphalt plant on land owned by the Port of San Francisco, Chiu said. 

The San Francisco City Hall Public Works scandal surrounding Nuru’s actions led to numerous convictions.

The executives were two among others who attempted to bypass the city’s competitive contracting process, as revealed by a federal investigation. Nuru pleaded guilty to fraud in 2021 and is serving a seven-year prison sentence.

Other companies allegedly affiliated with the Nuru scandal that have also been debarred include Baylands Soil Processing LLC, Comsa Emte USA Inc., Egbert Enterprises LLC, and Proven Comsa JV. 

Chiu has also initiated debarment proceedings and suspension orders against Azul Works Inc. and its vice president, Balmore Hernandez, Nick James Bovis of SMTM Technology LLC, and Florence Kong and her companies SFR Recovery Inc. And Kwan Wo Ironworks Inc.

The city also secured a settlement worth $1.7 million that prohibits Wing Lok “Walter” Wong and his companies W. Wong Construction Co., Inc., Green Source Trading LLC, and Alternate Choice LLC from doing business with San Francisco for the next five years.

“Anyone who attempts to compromise our public contracting process will face consequences,” said Chiu. “The City Attorney’s Office remains committed to rooting out corruption wherever it exists and maintaining the integrity of our city government.” 

Debarment is traditionally a lengthy process, though Chiu utilized 2020 legislation that suspends bad acting contractors from city funding immediately. Varela, Gilmartin and their company was previously suspended in 2021 prior to the debarment.  

The debarment order secured Tuesday will be in place until March 2026 — five years after ProVen was suspended from working with the city.

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