168 City of Oakland Code Enforcement Rich Fielding is under investigation for improperly shutting down electricity at 1919 Market Street

Oakland Ethics Commission votes to continue, rather than to close, an investigation into the planning and building department involving Rich Fielding, who was accused of improperly having a building's electricity shut off 


https://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2018/11/06/corruption-probe-into-oaklands-code-enforcement-inspectors-widens

Corruption Probe Into Oakland's Code Enforcement Inspectors Widens
At least two building code inspectors are under investigation for bribery and corruption, and outside law enforcement agencies have opened cases.

Earlier in the meeting, the ethics commission voted to continue, rather than close, a similar investigation into the planning and building department involving another code inspector who was accused of improperly having a building's electricity shut off.

The building, a live-work warehouse located at 1919 Market Street, was inspected by code enforcement officers starting in April 2015 and city staff eventually decided the building was unsafe for habitation, so in November 2015 they sent a packet of information that included a copy of letter addressed to PG&E calling the property "unoccupied, and an attractive nuisance," and asking that utilities be shut off.

Joy Newhart, who lived in the building, filed a complaint with the ethics commission, alleging that the inspector, Rich Fielding, misused city resources to help the landlord, Danny Haber, remove about 100 tenants and empty the property. She alleged that the city's request to PG&E to have the electricity shut off was illegal.

On Jan. 29, 2016, the city red-tagged the building, which was empty by then, and it was later demolished.

Ethics commission investigators said that they could find no violation of the city's laws because Fielding never actually sent the letter to PG&E. Rather, it was standard department practice for code enforcement to draft a letter to PG&E and send it to the landlord.

Several commissioners said this practice was disturbing, even if it was department policy. They asked that the matter be investigated further for other potential violations and voted to keep the probe open.