Local

Crime pays for Oakland city officials

Official accused of nepotism retires with $150,000 a year

By Jaymes P. Dunsmore
From the September 2008 Print Edition

The summer of 2008 may be remembered, in the Bay Area, as the summer of civic corruption. While news that San Francisco city officials were protecting illegal immigrants convicted of selling drug from federal prosecution was making headlines across the nation, across the Bay in Oakland, another scandal was unfolding.

Investigations began when Deborah Edgerly, an Oakland city administrator whose job included overseeing the Police Department, allegedly tipped-off her nephew, William Lovan, about a planned police raid on the Acorn gang, to which Lovan has been connected. As the situation unfolded, the public learned Edgerly had used her position to secure jobs and unearned benefits for her friends and family, as well as to protect their alleged criminal activity.

On June 20, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Oakland police had the gang’s phone lines tapped, and that they had Lovan on tape informing the criminal organization’s alleged leader that he had word “from the top” that a police raid was planned. Authorities say Edgerly was that informant.

Despite Edgerly’s actions, which put the success of the police operation, and the lives of the officers involved, at risk, the sting was a success. Fifty-six people were arrested on drug and gun charges, and Lovan was charged with murder, armed robbery and several felony weapons charges, which the Chronicle reported.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums was criticized for his slow response. He initially tried to protect Edgerly, but by Wednesday, June 18, he said she would have until the following Monday to resign or be terminated.

However, the following week Edgerly was back at her city job, as was her nephew. Lovan, who was released on $50,000 bail, is a city-employed parking meter repairman.

Dellums responded by putting Edgerly on paid leave, sending the message that criminal actions by city officials equal paid vacation time.

On Tueday, June 24, Edgerly agreed to retire at the end of July, but refused to relinquish her authority over the police department while they were investigating her alleged gang connections.

By that Friday, after Oakland City Council members lashed out at the mayor for his relaxed response to the corruption scandal, he finally decided to fire Edgerly.

“I’m glad he did it,” Councilwoman Pat Kernighan told the San Francisco Chronicle. “He’s about eight days too late. Had he done this immediately, it would not have created this furor in the community. It really created this crisis of confidence in our city government.”

However, firing Edgerly did not remove her from the city’s payroll. According to the Chronicle, the ousted city official will continue to earn her $260,000-a-year salary until she officially retires, after which she will collect a pension of more than $150,000 a year.

Nor did her termination bring an end to the scandal, or to her potentially criminal actions. After being fired, Edgerly “took care of her second-in-command and very good friend, Cheryl Thompson - handing her $216,667-a-year underling five months’ pay as a severance package. Plus a car allowance.” Chronicle reporters Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross revealed.

Oakland City Attorney John Russo has said that this violates city policy, which requires severance pay to be approved by the City Council.

On July 11, Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson, reported that Edgerly had obtained city jobs for her children, and saw to it that they were paid even when they didn’t show up to work.

"Erin and Frank Breckenridge, hired as student interns in 2005, were paid $2,322 each over two months - including $1,646 apiece in salary advances - that they were not entitled to, according to a report by the city controller, who later was fired after trying to go public with the information.” Johnson revealed.

The Edgerly affair has gained the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to Johnson. While the FBI would not comment on any ongoing investigations, the agency says investigating municipal corruption is its top priority behind terrorism, espionage and cyber crimes.

In the meantime, many doubt if the violence-plagued city of Oakland will be able to clean up crime on its streets if the mayor is so reluctant to act against crime in the corridors of City Hall.

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