The San Francisco corruption scandal took yet another turn Thursday with the indictment of a major city developer for allegedly bribing three former city building inspection officials to obtain permits and expedite inspections.
According to documents filed in federal court, Siavash “Sia” Tahbazof, 72, who founded a design and engineering firm in the city and ran a separate development company, allegedly paid $1,500-per-inspection bribes, totaling $30,000, to Bernie Curran, a former senior inspector at the San Francisco Department of Building Inspections, who left the city in 2020.
Authorities say the alleged bribes came out of a $260,000 loan Tahbazof provided Curran through relatives, in the form of forgiveness of $30,000 of that debt.
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Tahbazof allegedly also provided an $85,000 interest free loan to former DBI plan checker Rodolfo “Rudy” Pada. Pada left the city in 2017.
Authorities allege Tahbazof paid for free meals and drinks to former DBI plan checker Cyril Yu, who left the city in 2021.
Also charged in the scheme are the co-owner of Tahbazof’s SIA Consulting firm, Reza Khoshnevisa and Tahbazof's nephew, Bahman Ghassemzadeh. Prosecutors say both of those men conspired to bribe former city plan checkers Yu and Pada, while the nephew allegedly helped bribe Curran.
The allegations are the latest in a string of indictments targeting top public and private figures that date back to 2020, including the former head of San Francisco Public Works, Mohammed Nuru, who pleaded guilty and is serving time in federal custody.
