SF’s former head of the Office of Neighborhood Services Sandra Zuniga, also known as “Girlfriend 1” in the infamous FBI indictment of Mohammed Nuru, will skate with just three years probation after a very favorable sentencing Thursday.
In the early days of former SF Public Works director Mohammed Nuru's public corruption scandal, the FBI released their 79-page FBI criminal complaint detailing Nuru’s bribery and kickbacks schemes. That criminal complaint identified a “Girlfriend 1,” and scandal fans were salivating over how that girlfriend may have been Mayor London Breed. But alas, it was not Mayor Breed, but instead Office of Neighborhood Services (a.k.a.Fix-It Team) head Sandra Zuniga.
Another piece of the Mohammed Nuru puzzle: We now know that Sandra Zuniga, head of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, is “Girlfriend 1” in the FBI complaint. She traveled with Nuru and warned him, “Don’t run your mouth.” (He didn’t listen.) https://t.co/ZZAe0k9PKQ
— Heather Knight (@hknightsf) February 21, 2020
Zuniga pleaded guilty about a year later to laundering about $26,000 of Nuru’s bribe money through her own bank account, by taking Nuru’s money under the table and paying the monthly mortgage payments on his Colusa County ranch. She also laundered more than $100,000 through other Nuru-affiliated schemes, and got to go on lavish international trips with Nuru that we now know were financed by disgraced former permit expediter Walter Wong.
Zuniga was of course fired from her city job, and was sentenced Thursday. But since she cooperated with the feds and testified against other figures in this scandal, Courthouse News reports that Zuniga got three years probation, and no jail time.
The lack of jail sentencing is not a surprise. Per Courthouse News, federal prosecutors were only asking for a six-month sentence of home confinement, not prison, and 200 hours of community service. Zuniga’s attorney Galia Amram also noted that Zuniga did not personally benefit from any of the criminal activity.
“Her crime was not saying no to a man that she loved,” Amram said before the sentencing. “You don’t need to punish her further. No one needs to punish her further.”
Judge William Orrick seemed sympathetic, and did not see Zuniga as the criminal type. “I’m confident I’m not gonna see you again,” he said during the sentencing.
Thank you Mayor Breed and Director Nuru for you leadership! Let's get out there tomorrow and put a polish on our amazing City!
— Paul Giusti (@sfrecycler) September 7, 2018
Former Recology executive Paul Giusti, who bribed Nuru to the tune of about $1 million, was also sentenced Thursday. The Chronicle reports that Giusti avoided jail too, being sentenced to three years of probation, six months of home detention, and was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine.
Related: ‘Girlfriend 1’ Identified in Mohammed Nuru Scandal, And It’s Not London Breed [SFist]
Image: Office of the Mayor Fix-It Team
