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Probing for 49ers' fraud

Three government agencies investigate charges of fraud and impropriety in 49ers' stadium/mall election

There's a lot of probing going on with the 49ers these days, and we're not just talking about whiskey bottles at a Jack Davis party.

Three different government agencies have launched investigations into the fraud allegations surrounding the June 1997 election that included the 49ers' stadium and mall ballot measures. Despite polls almost unanimously showing the measures trailed by 20 percentage points, they passed suspiciously by the slimmest of margins -- less than 1,500 votes.

The City of San Francisco, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Secretary of State are all conducting separate inquiries into the election. There are already documented cases of individual impropriety, but the purpose of these new probes is to ascertain whether the fraud was so pervasive as to require the invalidation of the election.

Each agency has their own criteria of why they are investigating, but there is obviously a mountain of sleaze that has prompted suspicions:

• The massive money involved in the campaign is the smoke to indicate fire. Eddie DeBartolo spent over $2 million on the campaign, which works out to almost $30 per vote.
• The stadium lost in every area within the city but four. This implies suspicion because it shows a lack of widespread support yet mysteriously won. One of areas where the stadium vote prevailed was the Bayview-Hunters Point region where the vote was 2-1 in favor. This district is the most cited as where improprieties occurred.
• 49ers' precinct captain John Griffin has been indicted on two counts of feloniously casting multiple votes, pleading not guilty. No trial date has been set.
• The San Francisco Chronicle reported 744 people voting in the 49ers election had a unique quality in common -- they had all died within the past decade.
• The Chronicle also reported that the city has found evidence of signature fraud in at least one precinct.
• A case of voting irregularity in a Bayview-Hunters Point precinct was referred to the district attorney's office for possible prosecution.
• Anti-stadium groups have maintained that voters were intimidated and that the pro-stadium lobby campaigned within 100 feet of polling places.
• One Washington D.C.-based group, the Voter Integrity Project, spearheaded a recent probe into voter fraud in Louisiana. Considering that Eddie DeBartolo was a name floating around in Louisiana, that group is investigating here.
• The city opened a special weekend polling place for "extended voting" in four housing projects in Bayview-Hunters Point. The special polling place was paid for by revenue from a parking lot concession for 49er games. Barbara Meskunas, former city housing commissioner, called the spending an illegal attempt to tip the election in favor of the 49ers.

All in all, despite the massive evidence, it's doubtful that anything will come of these investigations. In all likelihood they will be quietly shelved. Why? Three names: Carmen, Eddie, and Willie. How many times have we seen these folks weasel out of anything they step in? The groups challenging the election have already faced unbelievable hurdles from San Francisco elections chief Germaine Wong, who has dismissed their complaints and allegedly blocked access to voting records. No surprise considering that Wong is an employee of the city that's run by -- guess who? -- Willie Brown. Wong has announced that she plans to step down after next November's election. It's only been after some serious teeth pulling and tireless effort on behalf of these "voter integrity" groups that the government agencies have reluctantly started to look into things.

Does the NHS care whether or not the 49ers play in a new stadium? Of course not. We've said all along that is an issue for the city of San Francisco to decide. But when it comes to possible fraud and impropriety on the part of 49ers, that's something we do care about, because we've seen it all too often.

RELATED TOPICS:

The Crime Blotter: other investigations into 49ers' unsavory activities.
Stadium Archive: coverage of the stadium election.
Devil Archive: coverage of the Jack Davis party if you're into that sort of thing.

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http://www.49erhaters.com/probe.html -- Created: September 9, 1997
Copyright © 1997 49er-Haters Society
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