-
2 months ago | 
sfchronicle.com | Lance Williams |lANCE Williams |Ron Kroichick
The perjury conviction of Anthony Becker, a former Santa Clara City Council member whose political career was financed with millions of dollars in San Francisco 49ers contributions, sparked a vigorous, behind-the-scenes tussle ahead of his sentencing hearing next week. Becker did not testify in his own defense and the jury deliberated less than three hours before finding him guilty Dec. 5.
-
Jan 16, 2025 | 
sfchronicle.com | Lance Williams |lANCE Williams |Ron Kroichick
After years of secrecy about the finances of hosting the World Cup at Levi’s Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers have pledged their football operations revenues to guarantee Santa Clara taxpayers won’t absorb multimillion-dollar losses on the event. Until now, financial information about next year’s six World Cup matches largely has been shielded from public view, with even City Council members denied access to key documents unless they sign a non-disclosure agreement.
-
Dec 5, 2024 | 
sfchronicle.com | Ron Kroichick |Lance Williams |lANCE Williams
Anthony Becker, the Santa Clara City Council member whose unsuccessful 2022 run for mayor included $2.5 million in campaign contributions from the San Francisco 49ers, was convicted of perjury Thursday in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The jury of 10 women and two men reached the verdict at South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill, after a trial lasting about a month and deliberations of less than three hours Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Becker, 39, faces up to four years in prison.
-
Dec 3, 2024 | 
sfchronicle.com | Lance Williams |lANCE Williams
A Santa Clara politician accused of election improprieties involving the San Francisco 49ers declined to testify in his own defense Tuesday at his felony perjury trial in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Lawyers for Anthony Becker, the City Council member whose unsuccessful 2022 campaign for mayor was backed by $2.5 million in 49ers’ donations, said they would not call any witnesses on their client’s behalf. Becker also won’t testify, public defender Chris Montoya said.
-
Nov 14, 2024 | 
sfchronicle.com | Lance Williams |lANCE Williams
The San Francisco 49ers public relations staff plunged into “urgent” action a month before the 2022 election after obtaining a confidential grand jury report accusing the team of meddling in politics in the city of Santa Clara, a team official testified Thursday.
-
Nov 7, 2024 | 
sfchronicle.com | Lance Williams |lANCE Williams
The San Francisco 49ers’ former top lobbyist testified Thursday that he tried to protect the Santa Clara city councilman who leaked him a confidential grand jury report in 2022 by falsely claiming that the team got its copy of the sensitive document from “multiple press outlets.” Rahul Chandhok, who until 2023 was a 49ers executive vice president and political strategist, also said that he had the Fifth Amendment and declined to testify when a prosecutor first sought to question him about his...
-
Sep 12, 2024 | 
sfchronicle.com | Lance Williams |lANCE Williams |Ron Kroichick
The San Francisco 49ers pumped more than $900,000 into Santa Clara City Council races this month, boosting the campaigns of officials who have voted against scrutinizing the team’s financial management of publicly owned Levi’s Stadium. The donations by “DeBartolo Corporation & Affiliated Entities, including the Forty Niners Football Company LLC,” reported to the California Secretary of State, bring the 49ers’ spending on Santa Clara politics to $8.3 million dating back to 2020.
-
Jun 13, 2024 | 
sfchronicle.com | Lance Williams |lANCE Williams |Ron Kroichick
The city of Santa Clara cut a bad financial deal with the San Francisco 49ers over the operation of publicly owned Levi’s Stadium more than 10 years ago, according to a local watchdog agency, and there’s not much the city can do now to improve matters.
-
May 24, 2024 | 
sfchronicle.com | Ron Kroichick |Lance Williams |lANCE Williams
The San Francisco 49ers and city of Santa Clara reached an agreement Thursday night to settle their remaining legal disputes, the latest chapter in the contentious relationship between the team and city over the operation of publicly owned Levi’s Stadium.
-
May 17, 2024 | 
sfchronicle.com | Lance Williams |lANCE Williams |Ron Kroichick
Santa Clara stands to lose up to $38 million hosting the World Cup at Levi’s Stadium in 2026 because of deals signed by San Francisco 49ers president Al Guido, the city attorney warned City Council members. Until now, Santa Clara officials balked at revealing how they plan to pay for hosting six World Cup matches at the publicly owned stadium, releasing only heavily redacted financial documents and rebuffing requests for information under the state Public Records Act.
