By Robert Haugh
Indicted Santa Clara City Councilmember Anthony Becker looks like he violated another law – the California state law prohibiting gifts to elected officials.
In July, Becker starts his trial for felony perjury for allegedly leaking a Grand Jury report to the 49ers and lying about it under oath.
Former 49er executive Rahul Chandhok and Santa Clara City Councilmember Suds Jain have testified that Becker committed the crime.
Last month, Grant Fondo, a partner of the Goodwin Proctor law firm, was appointed as Becker’s co-counsel.
Having a private attorney work with a public defender surprised a lot of people in the local political and legal community. No one remembers if it’s ever happened.
On Tuesday, Santa Clara News Online (SCNO) published a special investigative report that Fondo is working for Becker pro bono. That’s a clear violation of the California Fair Political Practices (FPPC) law on gifts.
After the story, former FPPC Chair Ann Ravel confirmed the violation.
“I do think that your article has the correct interpretation of the FPPC provisions,” wrote Ravel in an email when contacted by SCNO.
“A gift to local elected officers and officials is defined in Government Code section 87200, and any payment or other benefit that confers a personal benefit for which a public official does not provide payment or services of equal or greater value,” said Ravel.
“Here, the fair market value at the time the gift is received, as you indicated, is now limited if valued at $590 or more. In this situation, it is clear that this benefit violates the law on gifts.”
Another attorney familiar with the facts of the case agreed with Ravel and asked for anonymity to comment for professional reasons.
“If the 49ers are paying Fondo directly or indirectly to represent Becker, then Becker has a duty to disclose the source of the gift and to recuse himself from any participation,” said the attorney.
Becker has not publicly commented on how he found Fondo. Or if Fondo approached him to help and why. Becker’s case doesn’t fit the profile of the law firm’s pro bono work.
According to the FPPC guidelines, Becker is the party responsible for the illegal gift, not Fondo.
Becker was made aware of a possible gift violation in early April by Santa Clara business leader Kirk Vartan who addressed Becker during the public comment period at the City’s Priority Setting Session.
“There could also be administrative or civil monetary penalties which could be assessed at three times the amount illegally obtained,” said Ravel.
“The FPPC should investigate but they are extremely slow in responding to complaints. It would be preferable to expedite the investigation, but they appear to be short of enforcement lawyers.”
The attorney familiar with the Becker case agreed.
“Although the FPPC has noncriminal enforcement authority, they are so backed up right now that it would be years before they would get to this.”
“Receipt of such a gift can be prosecuted as a crime by the District Attorney or the Attorney General. Most likely this would be a separate prosecution, not within the current case against Becker,” said the attorney.
This is a developing story.
Becker is the most corrupt public official in the history of Santa Clara. $5 million was spent to elect him Mayor. He is an embarrasment and a morally defective clown.
Why are we here?
No ethics Commission.
Googins was notified of potential FPPC violation. Fondo also has Santa Clara businesses as clients.
Another question here is: Where is City Attorney Googins? He has a duty to ask the question and do som due diligence in an effort to disclose if there are any gifts involved. I don’t recall if I asked it in council or if another did, but it was asked. His answer was something to the effect:
I haven’t asked or know knotting about it. But it also appears that he hasn’t even tried to find out. My understanding is it is his duty to find out, or at least ask the councilmember.
Kirk,
I have the same question. I do not know what duty or power the city attorney has to independently look into such issues or to bring them up as a concern as opposed to needing to be instructed to do so by the city council or perhaps the city manager. And I a similar vein I do not know where the city manager’s duties and powers lie in matters such as these either.
Becker has a case against the Goodwin Proctor law firm. They knew — or know now — that they are providing him with an illegal gift. He can sue them for whatever fine that he pays. To avoid the public embarrassment of such a lawsuit, they’ll probably just pay it.
It is Becker’s responsibility to report the gift and it is a gift if anyone but himself is paying for the services of Grant Fondo. Grant Fondo has the right to represent Becker either pro bono or with his services paid for by anybody and has no duty to report that he is gifting this to Becker or that anybody else is.
Becker seems to be over his head on this just as he has been in over his head when he allegedly committed a felony in trying to hide his leaking of the grand jury report to the Forty Niners and the Silicon Valley Voice and probably also the San Jose Spotlight. He has also been in over his head as a city councilperson.
He simply is not a very intelligent person and I almost pity him for being in this situation. Yes of course it is true that he put himself in this situation but the Forty Niners have benefitted the most from his leak and if it is true that he has been one of their inside men on the council then they also benefitted from that much more than he has. When a useful idiot is an actual idiot then the party I judge most harshly is the powerful one that used that useful idiot for their own ends.
I also think that his council allies also probably share blame in not influencing him more positively. We know that Suds Jain did a lot of childish gossiping with Becker about Gillmor and Watanabe and political rivalries since this has become public record but I have not seen anything that indicates that Suds tried to warn his younger and more simple minded council ally about not playing the Forty Niners lapdog so completely that he would put himself at risk of being convicted of a felony criminal offense.
Another party I see the same way is Carolyn Schuk of the Silicon Valley Voice. She was reportedly also leaked the grand jury report by Becker and it is obvious that they have had a lot of direct communication about goings on at city hall. I see her and others at Silicon Valley Voice as more people who benefitted from using Becker but who will not suffer the consequences he will.
The preoccupation with the illegal gift buries the real story:
1. Becker knows why Fondo is helping him and/or who asked (paid?) Fondo to do so.
OR
2. Becker doesn’t know and doesn’t want to know.
In either case, Becker would be foolish to trust Fondo. He’s likely there to make sure Becker doesn’t try to cut a deal for himself to help the prosecution expand the investigation to others who, no offense to Becker, are bigger fish.
You are right that it does not really matter if Becker knows who is paying Fondo or if Fondo is doing this pro bono. Either way it is a gift to Becker and he needs to report it.
The bigger thing as you allude to is that Becker might have had a quid pro quo relationship with someone in the Forty Niners to provide information or even votes in exchange for political campaign spending by “independent” committees. I bet that if there was such an arrangement that it was not ever put in ways that will allow Becker to prove this but I perhaps am being too confident in Forty Niners executives being smarter about this than Becker.
if he can’t pay the fine, does he do the time
serious question, robert. maybe some lawyers can answer for a future story
Triple WOW!!! How much money if fines will Becker owe? Even if he gets prosecuted years from now it’ll be expensive. Becker is not a smart cookie.