Fake DBI Corruption Scandal Blows Up in Chronicle’s FaceRandy Shawbyline‚ May. 16‚ 2007After writing dozens of stories and editorials from 1995 to 2003 about alleged corruption at the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection, the San Francisco Chronicle finally got its “smoking gun” when the FBI invaded the agency’s offices and arrested a low-level employee on bribery charges. The Chronicle and Mayor Newsom trumpeted Gus Fallay’s arrest as conclusively proving there was a “culture of corruption” at DBI. Well, yesterday the jury spoke: Fallay was acquitted on bribery charges, and the only reason he was not freed of the rest was because a single juror held out for conviction. The Chronicle ruined Fallay’s life, and wrongfully attacked the integrity of a hard-working city department---will the paper retract its corruption charges, or continue to launch allegations toward DBI regardless of the facts? |