SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — Harlan Kelly, the former general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, was sentenced to four years in prison Monday morning by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg.
A jury convicted Kelly this past summer of participating in a corruption scheme that has ensnared many leaders in San Francisco’s municipal government, leading to numerous convictions and plea deals.
“He engaged in very serious criminal conduct. He engaged in a yearslong bribery scheme, and in the process he betrayed the public trust,” Seeborg said of Kelly.
Outside of former Public Works chief Mohammed Nuru, who is serving seven years in prison for his role in the corruption scandal, Kelly was one of the most prominent officials accused of misconduct. He faced trial on eight charges last summer related to two different schemes, and was convicted on six charges after a 12-day jury trial.
In one scheme, Kelly was accused of accepting gifts from permit expediter Walter Wong in exchange for city contracts. Wong pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges in 2020 and agreed to cooperate in the federal investigation into city corruption. As part of a settlement agreement with the city, Wong and four of his companies will pay $1.45 million for problematic contracts he received from the city, as well as an additional $318,000 in ethics fines and fees.
At Kelly’s trial, Wong testified that he performed discounted construction work on Kelly’s home, including the installation of a wine cellar and other amenities, in the hopes of getting a lucrative streetlight contract from the city.
During the trial, prosecutors also claimed that Wong gave other benefits to Kelly, including a paid trip to China for Kelly and his family.
The other scheme involved Kelly defrauding Quicken Loans by misrepresenting his debts in a loan application in an attempt to secure a $1.3 million loan with the help of real estate investor Viktor Makras. Makras was convicted of bank fraud and sentenced to three years’ probation.
During the trial, Kelly’s attorneys argued that none of the conduct harmed San Francisco taxpayers or Quicken Loans financially and that Wong did not win the streetlight contract, despite the bribes.
Before being sentenced by Seeborg on Monday morning, Kelly told Seeborg he accepts responsibility for what he did and that a recent heart attack has given him a “new lease on life.”
“I’m truly sorry for what I did and I have nothing further to add,” Kelly said.
Seeborg called the case a “double-edged sword.” He noted that over 70 people had written heartfelt letters asking for leniency for Kelly, including former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, and that Kelly had also done substantial good in his community during his life.
“But that raises the question: why did you do this?” Seeborg said.
Seeborg added that he was most troubled by Kelly sharing confidential Public Utlities Commission information with Wong in an attempt to win Wong the streetlight contract. Seeborg said that the fact that Wong did not win the bid did not matter.
Along with the four years in prison, Kelly will be on supervised release for three years after his release, serve 100 hours of community service and pay a $10,000 fine.
Prosecutors sought a 6 1/2-year prison term for Kelly, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
Kelly’s attorney Brian Getz asked that Kelly serve his sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary Lompoc, a medium-security prison in Santa Barbara County where Nuru is serving his sentence. Seeborg granted the request.
Kelly’s surrender date is June 19. Neither Kelly nor Getz offered comments to reporters as they left the courthouse.
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