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S.F. Supervisor Ed Jew Targeted In FBI Investigation

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

May 21 - KGO (KGO) -- San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew seems to be in a lot of trouble, or not. The FBI seems to be investigating Jew, but the precise details of what's going on remain murky. We do know that it involves a large sum of money the supervisor accepted. The question -- was there a political quid pro quo?

Ed Jew has now hired an attorney -- a former federal prosecutor with years of experience working with the FBI. Today, that attorney issued a statement calling the supervisor's troubles, "this apparent misunderstanding."

The business of city government carried on today, without Supervisor Ed Jew. He was a no-show at his office, leaving staff to handle the high volume of calls.

On Friday, the FBI raided Jew's City Hall office, private properties and business. Jew told The Chronicle the feds are investigating $40,000 thousand dollars in cash he accepted from owners of Quickly Tapioca franchises. He says the money was to pay a consultant he recommended to help them navigate the city permit process.

A spokesman for the businesses told ABC7 News the franchises "never approached Supervisor Jew with any problems with city permits. He came to them." The spokesman adds, "they've been fully cooperating with the subsequent FBI investigation."

ABC7's Carolyn Tyler: "Is there anything you can tell us or you would tell your constituents about this?"

Ed Jew, San Francisco Supervisor: "I think everything will be out in the open very soon."

That was yesterday. Today Jew is not talking to us on advice of his attorney who has issued a statement saying, "a search warrant is a common investigative technique to determine if there has been any wrongdoing. It is not a barometer of guilt."

Reaction is mixed among fellow supervisors.

Aaron Peskin, S.F. Board of Supervisors President: "Elected officials should not be taking tens of thousands of dollars in cash from anybody."

Michela Alioto-Pier, San Francisco Supervisor: "I think that we just have to be very careful that we don't place judgment before we have all the facts."

Jew can use the support. He also faces questions about whether he really lives in a house in San Francisco. City law requires supervisors reside in the district they represent. Some neighbors say Jew doesn't. There are ways that can be verified.

Dennis Herrera, S.F. City Attorney: "For example, you look at where one pays their taxes from, where they are registered to vote, where their vehicle is registered. You wouldn't just look to say, okay, how many days is one at that residence or not."

We looked at records at the Elections Department and Jew did register to vote using his home address in District 4. We checked property records at the County Assessor's Office and Jew is listed as partial owner of three different properties in the Bay Area as part of a family trust. One of those properties is the house in his district.

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