Former plan checker pleads guilty in S.F. corruption saga

A former plan checker from the Department of Building Inspection pleaded guilty Friday to accepting bribes from a local developer to rubber-stamp building designs.

Cyril Yu, 41, faced one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, with penalties of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of as much as $250,000.

His guilty plea marks the latest action in a sprawling anti-corruption investigation into San Francisco city government that started with the arrest of former Public Works Chief Mohammed Nuru four years ago.

The guilty plea came just a day after a federal judge sentenced Nuru’s co-defendant, restaurateur Nick Bovis, to nine months in prison.

Yu and another former plan checker, Rudy Pada, were arrested in November. Prosecutors said they accepted bribes from local developers Siavash Tahbazof, Bahman Ghassemzadeh and Reza Khoshnevisan. A third former DBI employee, senior inspector Bernie Curran, also pleaded guilty to bribery charges. He is serving time

in a federal prison in Lompoc.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Ward said in court that if Yu’s case had gone to trial, prosecutors would have been able to prove he accepted free meals, drinks and cash payments of $1,200-$1,500 numerous times from Ghassemzadeh.

Ghassemzadeh and his colleagues have pleaded guilty to fraud charges and await sentencing.

Yu appeared in court in a black puffy vest and did not speak with reporters.

During the brief hearing, which lasted less than 15 minutes, Judge Susan Illston asked him a series of perfunctory questions: his age, did he speak English, did he understand the

charges against him. Was he satisfied with his attorney?

“One-hundred percent,” Yu replied.

Illston wasn’t sure of the sentence she would ultimately hand down, she warned.

After listening to the government’s case, she had one more question for him.

“Are those things true?” she asked.

“Yes, Your Honor,” he replied.

Moments later, Yu and his attorney filed out of court.

His sentencing is set for June 28.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press 2018 Mohammed Nuru, former S.F. Public Works chief, is seen in 2015. A former plan checker in the scandal-plagued department pleaded guilty Friday.