Vendor accused of selling more than food from RV

salesperson.

Two women, ages 48 and 34, were charged as accomplices.

San Francisco’s streets have become parking places for hundreds of RVs in recent months, most of them housing people who don’t have longterm shelter. But one Treat Street employer alleged to us that the RV was no homeless camper: “This was a place of business.”

The employer, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said Perkins would run the “business” by day and have someone else staff it after dark. A gas generator outside the RV hummed loudly both day and night, he said.

To add to the aggravation, Perkins kept a van, a station wagon and a late-model Cadillac parked on the street, the man said. Someone could often be seen polishing the cars, apparently to keep an eye out for the cops, he said.

Police did occasionally show up, sometimes in response to calls from neighbors. One time, we’re told, police busted the operation after finding a stolen bike inside the RV. But prosecutors declined to press the case.

“The RV came back with its horn blaring and slowly going down the street, like it was a victory lap,” the neighboring employer said.

When neighbors finally put up surveillance cameras, he said, the RV crew split — moving over a couple of blocks in an apparent attempt to avoid detection.

But police, who had been doing their own surveillance of the RV activity, raided the RV Tuesday and made their arrests. The charges against all three defendants include possession for sale of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.

Perkins pleaded not guilty and is due back in court for a preliminary hearing Jan. 2. His attorney, Paul Dennison, declined to comment.

No quick fix: It could be six months before the Transbay Transit Center’s cracked beams are fixed and the megabus terminal in San Francisco reopens.

“The work progressing over the next month will help determine the eventual scope and schedule of the repair,” said Randy Rentschler, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

The commission is reviewing plans for fixing the beams, where cracks were discovered just six weeks after the $2.2 billion transit center opened in August.

Investigators are zeroing in on welding problems in the two 4-inch-thick steel beams as the possible cause of the cracks. But they still aren’t certain, and even if they eventually confirm it, fabricating and installing a fix is likely to take months.

There’s also the question of whether other beams need to be tested. That will be up to an outside peer review committee. Asked whether six months was a likely time frame, Rentschler said, “It’s simply too early to speculate.”

On Broadway: Voter records for Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom’s father, retired appeals court Judge William Newsom, who died last week at age 84, had him registered at an address on Broadway in San Francisco — which is odd, since he lived several blocks away at Fillmore and Pacific.

And it wasn’t just any Broadway address — it was the mansion of his good friends, socialites Gordon and Ann Getty.

The elder Newsom had a long personal and professional relationship with the couple. He and Gordon Getty attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory together, and Getty even lived for a time with Newsom’s family in the city. Later, Newsom became the tax attorney for Getty when he came into a $2 billion oil inheritance.

According to Newsom family friends, the judge suffered from a variety of illnesses over the past decade. During one particularly rough patch three or four years ago, he wound up living with the Gettys.

In recent years, however, William Newsom had been back living on his own — even if he never took the time to update his voter registration. He died at home Wednesday morning, surrounded by family and friends.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email matierandross@ sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross

Andrew Ross / The Chronicle Prosecutors say this RV, labeled “Rock Star” on the side, was being used by drug dealers in the Mission District under the guise of operating as a food truck.