Jew charged with felony perjury, voter fraudBy Steven T. Jones
District Attorney Kamala Harris has filed nine felony charges against Sup. Ed Jew. A release from that office indicates that Jew is being charged with perjury, falsifying government documents, and voter fraud, all related to his allegedly false claims to be a San Francisco resident (voting and running for office here) when he listed Burlingame as his primary residence of federal tax forms.
A warrant has been issued for Jew's arrest and bail has been set at $135,000. This will likely remove Jew from office even before we get word from the FBI about whether they will recommend criminal charges for the raid on his office last month in which they reportedly recovered $40,000 cash that Jew had requested from a constituent with regulatory issues.
Harris press release follows:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2007
Contact:
Bilen Mesfin, DA Harris’ Office, 553-1226
Debbie Mesloh, DA Harris’ Office, 553-1596
District Attorney Files Criminal Charges Against Supervisor Ed Jew
Perjury and Elections Violations Alleged in Complaint
The San Francisco’s District Attorney’s Office today filed criminal charges against Supervisor Ed Jew.
According to court documents, Mr. Jew allegedly lied under oath and falsified documents regarding his residency in order to obtain a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. It is alleged that he committed perjury, filed false documents and that he did not live in District 4 when he ran and won a seat to represent District 4.
The DA’s Office has charged Mr. Jew with four felony counts of perjury, a violation of Penal Code Section 118; one count of filing a false document, a violation of Penal Code Section 115; one count of violating Elections Code Section 18201; two counts of violating Elections Code Section 18203; and one count of violating Elections Code Section 18560, all felonies.
Immediately after the FBI executed search warrants on May 18th, the District Attorney’s Office began an investigation of potential violations of state law relating to Mr. Jew’s claims of residency at 2450 28th Avenue. Based on the District Attorney’s investigation, the charges allege that when Mr. Jew filed the papers necessary to run for Supervisor he did not reside at 2450 28th Avenue or any other residence in District 4. The San Francisco City Charter requires that each member of the Board of Supervisors must reside in the District that he or she seeks to represent.
A District Attorney’s arrest warrant has been issued for Mr. Jew. The attorney for Mr. Jew has been contacted and he has been given the opportunity to self-surrender. Bail is set at $135,000. Mr. Jew will be arraigned at the Hall of Justice in the coming days.
The District Attorney’s Office filed charges relating to the various documents that Mr. Jew allegedly filed and signed with the City and County in connection with his candidacy for the office of Supervisor in 2006, including:
Declaration of Intent to Solicit Campaign Contributions on February 28, 2006
Nomination Paper filed on August 11, 2006
Declaration of Candidacy filed on August 11, 2006
Also, he has been charged with perjury in connection with using the 2450 28th Avenue address to register to vote in March 2003 and in connection with a DMV application in February 2006.
In addition, the District Attorney’s office has charged Mr. Jew with voter fraud, as he allegedly voted in the November 2006 election using the same false address at 2450 28th Avenue.
“This case goes to the heart of the integrity of the electoral process in our city,” said District Attorney Kamala D. Harris. “When San Franciscans go to cast their vote for the candidate of their choice, they should not have to question the eligibility of their candidate to hold office.”
The case will be prosecuted from the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit. DA Harris launched the Public Integrity Unit in 2004 to prosecute those who abuse a position of public trust or influence. The Unit has prosecuted cases involving campaign fundraising violations, bribery and misappropriation of public funds.
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Comments (3)
I live in district 4 and have repeatedly written to the individual members of the Board of Supervisors requesting that they take some action re: Ed Jew. Other than an auto reply message from one supervisor, I have not received a single response. Apparently, the Board does not consider it a crisis that the citizens of district 4 are without any political representation. The very least that they could have done (by this late date) would have been to ask him to resign. They didn't even do that.
All of this just shows how ineffective the Board is and the extent to which the "reform" of district elections was not about so-called "local" politics but a political principle of radical exclusion and separation (the most regressive and conservative poltical principle of our time). I'm disgusted with the Board and SF's so-called "progressive" politics.
Posted by Robert Thomas | June 12, 2007 10:25 PM
Robert,
Frankly, I'm not sure what one conservative supervisor's corruption has to do with district elections, progressive politics, or his board colleagues. Mayor Newsom has more authority under the charter to deal with the Jew situation than the board, so I think that your frustration may be misplaced.
-stj
Posted by Steven T. Jones | June 13, 2007 11:27 AM
Thank you for this update. I read this earlier this week and appreciate the update on this case.
I wonder what else people in District 4 are saying?
Posted by Reginald James | June 17, 2007 09:28 PM