San Francisco's commitment to ethical governance was underscored today as former Department of Building Inspection employee Van Zeng was convicted on two counts of conflict of interest. Zeng, 36, found himself on the wrong side of the law after a jury trial revealed he approved construction projects contracted to his father's company, violating city codes.
The case, prosecuted by the SFDA's Public Integrity Task Force, highlights the legal boundaries to deter government employees from indulging in self-serving acts. As per the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, Brooke Jenkins praised the jury, "San Franciscans entrust public employees to do their jobs responsibly with integrity and not engage in self-serving behavior."
During his time with the Department of Building Inspection, Zeng was caught signing off on inspections for Mutual Seiko Construction, the company he had worked for before starting his public service. According to the San Francisco campaign and governmental conduct code detailed in evidence at trial, his actions directly breach San Francisco law that bars city employees from involving themselves in governmental decisions where they hold a financial stake.
Assistant District Attorney Erin Loback, leading the prosecution, emphasized the gravity of the rules Zeng broke, having been assisted by paralegal Chloe Mosqueda. In the pursuit of ensuring that no employee is believed to have an "inside track" to city services, Loback said, as per the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, "The City's conflict-of-interest rules are meant to ensure there’s no appearance of an inside track to obtaining City government services," during the process of fairly enforcing the law by the jury.
