SFO Airport Commissioner Resigns Amid Alleged Public Corruption Scandal

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Linda Crayton, Vice President of the San Francisco Airport Commission, resigned Wednesday in the midst of public corruption allegations against former San Francisco Public Works director Mohammed Nuru.

In a letter addressed to Mayor London Breed, Crayton cited her "multiple, severe medical conditions" as her reason for resignation.

"However, as you know, I have been struggling with multiple, severe medical conditions for several years, and they have worsened, forcing me to spend more and more time receiving treatment. The bottom line is, the demands of my medical treatment have increased to the point that I cannot continue to serve on the Commission. Therefore, I offer you my resignation, and wish you and the staff of the Airport, and my fellow commissioners, every success as you continue to lead the world's greatest city and its worldclass airport," Crayton wrote.

Crayton, who has served as a member of the airport commission for over 20 years after her appointment by then-San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, was allegedly the target of a bribery scheme involving Nuru, according to federal investigators.

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Nuru, 58, was arrested Monday by FBI agents and accused of several corruption schemes involving city contracts. Businessman and restaurateur Nick Bovis, 57, owner of the famed Lefty O'Doul's bar and restaurant, was also arrested as part of the probe.

The complaint alleged Nuru was involved in five corruption schemes in 2018-2019. One alleged scheme involved lease of restaurant space at San Francisco International Airport, normally awarded by the five-person airport commission. The complaint alleges Nuru schemed to bribe an airport commissioner with cash and travel to secure a lease for a restaurant run by Bovis, bribes that ultimately were not paid.

Crayton was not named in the charging documents and has not been charged with any wrongdoing; she is listed as Commissioner 1 in the complaint. However, Crayton's attorney Randall Knox, told the KPIX 5 that Crayton was the target of the alleged bribery scheme.

The defendants did not win the airport concession lease, according to the complaint.