San francisco building department corruption

But now the scandal has taken a turn so that the alleged kickbacks and bribes might involve sketchy earthquake retrofit inspection approvals concerning gas lines. And as an exhaustive Mission Local investigation reminded us in April, sketchy earthquake retrofit inspections can lead to horrific and tragic results.

Stay up to date! Share this. Supervisor Aaron Peskin said the case is another example of why corruption flourishes in the DBI — those caught from the private sector get off with light punishment while crooked public sector workers simply leave their job with their fat pensions intact.

In an agency where the typical senior inspector would do 25 or 30 final inspections a year, Curran did as many as While other senior inspectors stayed within the geographical boundaries they were charged with overseeing, Curran was Zelig-like in his ability to pop up all over the city, consistently performing inspections for well-connected builders with a history of flouting building codes. Peskin said that other departments have improved or deteriorated during his two decades in public office, but that DBI has remained a bastion of corruption, rewarding those who turn a blind eye to favoritism and cronyism, despite periodic efforts to reform its culture.

Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen sfchronicle. Florida Gov. State records show that in March Curran neglected to disclose the loan in his annual Form , a state filing that requires public officials to disclose economic interests. Multiple veteran structural engineers called into question the practice — apparently widespread in San Francisco — of wrapping gas lines in foam rather than running them through a sleeve, as is required in state building code.

At the hearing, Supervisor Aaron Peskin said he had been hearing complaints about code violations in seismic work for several years. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen sfchronicle. Adblock test Why? Your email address will not be published. Notify me of follow-up comments by email.