Leading Figure in San Jose Project Accused of Bribery

A major contractor in San Jose’s ballyhooed $500-million downtown redevelopment has been arrested on charges of attempted bribery, embezzlement and tax fraud.

Police arrested David Weiss, 42, Thursday at a construction site in San Jose’s downtown, the once stagnant city center that officials hope will become the Silicon Valley’s crown jewel.

In a complaint, the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office accused Weiss of trying to bribe city Public Works Department inspectors with items ranging from Apple computers to $360 gift baskets from Neiman-Marcus.

Employees Return Gifts

Officials concluded that Weiss was not given favorable inspection reports in return for the gifts. Any gifts accepted by city employees were returned. Two inspectors were fired, one resigned, and five were disciplined. No city officials were charged in the criminal complaint.

Weiss was back on the job Friday after being released on his own recognizance Thursday night.

The arrest has fueled the controversy over San Jose’s decision to award a key part of its massive redevelopment project to Weiss in 1985, despite charges by critics that he had a history of not paying bills and doing shoddy work. Weiss won the contract to build a downtown transit mall for a light rail system by bidding $29 million for what city engineers estimated would be a $32 million job.

As it has turned out, the price tag has swollen to $32 million and will run yet higher, City Manager Gerald Newfarmer conceded Friday.

The 21-mile, $420-million light rail project, with Weiss’ transit mall, is the centerpiece of San Jose’s ambitious downtown renovation plan.

Deadline Missed

Newfarmer declared himself “pleased with the quality of the product” even though work remains unfinished and the city’s downtown streets remain torn up despite a Friday deadline for completion.

The investigation began last Christmas when Weiss sent Public Works Director Kent Dewell a gift basket. Dewell refused the gift and began asking his staff whether other city officials received similar items.

The embezzlement charge was linked to a health and welfare trust fund that by state law he had to set up for the benefit of his employees. He allegedly placed family members as trustees of the fund and embezzled more than $100,000.

In the tax fraud, Weiss was accused of 27 counts of withholding employee paycheck money for a variety of benefits, including unemployment insurance and disability, but not paying into the funds. The amount of money involved was not specified in the complaint.

Charles Breyer, Weiss’ San Francisco attorney, blamed the charges on a dispute between Weiss and the Building and Construction Trades Council of Santa Clara County. The council, angry that Weiss had no union contract, has stationed an investigator at the construction site during the two-year project.