Father, son charged with bribery for allegedly giving councilmember mug with $5K in cash
An Antioch father and son are being charged with bribery for allegedly giving a councilmember mug with $5
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ANTIOCH, California (KGO) — Another East Bay city is facing an FBI investigation into alleged bribery. But this time, the elected official turned out to be an FBI informant.
In an indictment unsealed on Tuesday, documents show a red coffee mug filled with thousands in cash in an attempt to bribe an Antioch city councilmember for a favorable vote on a stalled housing project.
“Why would they offer a bribe when they already have, I am assuming, so many projects, in the pipeline because they seem to be a big developer?” says Tamisha Torres-Walker, Antioch City Councilmember for District 1.
The controversy is centered around the Aviano housing development. The FBI indictment alleges that last year, property developers David Sanson and his son, Trent, with Concord-based DaNova Homes, tried to bribe a city council member with $15,000 cash, who then turned into an FBI informant.
Torres-Walker says she is not the unnamed city council member. But she is glad that her colleague refused the bribe.
“I think what shocked people was the elected official who was offered the bribe, reported the developer,” says Torres-Walker.
According the indictment, the company didn’t complete all of its required public infrastructure improvements. And that a video-recording of one encounter allegedly shows the son asking the city council member to place the issue on the city council agenda and vote in favor moving the project forward so they could get paid.
“Attempting to bribe a public official is a blatant attack on the integrity of our government and the trust of the communities we serve,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani. “The allegations in this case reflect a clear attempt to manipulate the system for personal gain.”
“It is a little scary to see what be happening to our city in the background, especially coming out of the text message scandal,” says long-time activist Frank Sterling, Jr. “Kind of leaves you wondering if this is the first time this has happened.”
He and others are calling for more transparency on future projects.
“So that we know what’s going on. We know whose coming in, who the developer is. How many places are they developing? What was their track record?” says Erika Raulston with the group Re-Imagine Antioch.
In statement to ABC7 News, DeNova Homes acknowledged the investigation, adding that David Sanson “semi-retired in 2020… and he is no longer involved in the leadership or daily operations. Importantly, DeNova Homes is not implicated in the government’s investigation. DeNova remains financially sound and fully focused on delivering for our customers, partners, and communities without disruption.”
In statement from David’s lawyer, they write: “My client Dave Sanson is a respected business leader and philanthropist with a 30-year track record of building homes and supporting communities across Northern California. We are reviewing the government’s allegations closely and caution against any rush to judgment based on mere allegations that present a one-sided story. We are confident the facts will show that Dave is innocent, and that he was unfairly targeted without cause.”
Torres-walker is not calling to terminate contacts with DeNova Homes. But is meeting with the city manager to investigate further.
“Get a deep dive into how many projects were actually brought to the council through DeNova Homes. What were the votes on those projects,” said Torres-Walker.
If convicted, the pair face a maximum of 15 years in prison. They’ll be back in court in June.
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