ADVISORY NOTICE ATHLETIC FIELDS - Treasure Island Development ...
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ADVISORY NOTICE
ATHLETIC FIELDS
Please be advised the Athletic Fields are available for use to the Residents
of Treasure Island.
San Francisco Little League (SFLL) Ketcham Field located at 8th Street
and Avenue M and San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby (SFGGR) Field
located at 13th Street and Avenue H are open daily to Residents when not
in use by SFLL or SFGGR.
To confirm availability, please visit www.sfll.org and www.sfggrugby.com.
Former Naval Station Treasure Island
Frequently Asked Questions | May 2021
What is the Navy’s role at Treasure Island? of 1980 (CERCLA) and the Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act of 1986 as implemented by regulations
Since the closure of former Naval Station Treasure Island (NSTI)
in the National Contingency Plan. The primary steps include
in 1997, the Navy’s role has been to manage the environmental
reviewing records, determining the extent of the contamination
cleanup and transfer of property out of Navy custody and control.
by collecting environmental samples, conducting cleanup
The Navy has made significant progress and will continue to work
operations, and testing the areas to confirm cleanup
closely with regulatory partners, the Treasure Island Development
is complete.
Authority (TIDA), other stakeholders, and the public to allow for
safe use and successful transfer of the remaining property.
Is it safe to live on Treasure Island?
Which government agencies oversee the Navy’s work Yes, it is safe to live, work on and visit Treasure Island. Multiple
at Treasure Island? agencies have concluded that even as cleanup requirements
at former NSTI evolved, there was no unacceptable risk to
All work has been conducted with multiple layers of oversight human health and safety in residential areas from chemicals in
by regulatory agencies; each have their own responsibilities for the soil or subsurface radiological objects discovered through
ensuring public safety. Agencies overseeing the Navy’s work the environmental cleanup program. Independent radiological
include the California Department of Toxic Substances Control evaluations conducted by CDPH in accessible areas of Site 12
(DTSC), California Department of Public Health (CDPH), and have found no unacceptable risk from subsurface radiological
the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. objects. Radiological findings by the Navy have also been
confirmed with independent evaluations conducted by CDPH.
How does the Navy keep residents up to date? While there are certain areas of former NSTI that are still
The Navy keeps residents informed through numerous outreach undergoing investigation and cleanup, those areas have
activities. These activities include presenting updates on the physical barriers in place to prevent public access. If
environmental program at quarterly Restoration Advisory Board radiological objects are discovered, they are removed and
(RAB) meetings, sending fact sheets via email and postal mail, properly disposed of. Work practices such as covering trucks
providing environmental cleanup work notices to residents in carrying soil as well as air monitoring and dig restrictions
three languages, and maintaining an informational website safeguard the public. In addition, drinking water on former
where details about environmental cleanup work at the former NSTI is not sourced on the island, but instead is supplied by
NSTI are posted. the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. More information
on protectiveness of the site remedies and ongoing site
investigations and cleanup efforts can be found in the NSTI
What is the process for cleaning up radiological Five Year Review conducted in 2020. The Five Year Review is
contamination? available on the BRAC NSTI Website at: https://www.bracpmo.
navy.mil/nsti.
The Navy follows an established procedure for cleaning up
radiological contamination required by the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act
How is the public protected from dust caused by Who sets radiation protection standards?
earth moving operations? Radiation protection standards are established by several
Navy contractors use dust suppression measures when moving federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Nuclear
earth for a cleanup project. The stockpile and runoff control Regulatory Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection
plans are specified in the work plans for each project and must Agency (EPA), and CDPH. The Navy works with these agencies
be reviewed and approved by DTSC. These measures include and others to ensure compliance with all radiation
regular watering of surface soil to reduce dust, tire washing as protection requirements.
needed, covering trucks that transport soil to landfills, and
regular monitoring of air quality and dust, both upwind and
downwind from any earth moving operations. Is Treasure Island a Superfund Site?
No. Treasure Island is not listed on the National Priorities List,
which is a list of hazardous waste sites eligible for long-term
What does the Navy do with soil and materials remedial action financed under the federal Superfund program.
excavated during the cleanup process? The Navy follows the same investigation and cleanup process
regardless of Superfund status. Treasure Island has a Superfund
In accordance with cleanup standards and the CERCLA Site ID because it went through the Site Assessment process;
process, samples are collected from the excavated soil and however, National Priorities Listing was not pursued by the U.S.
materials and then analyzed for chemical or radiological EPA because cleanup was already being conducted by the
contaminants. After testing, soil that meets health and safety Navy, with the State of California providing regulatory oversight.
standards may be re-used on Treasure Island. Any soil that is The cleanup work at Treasure Island involves investigations
not re-used is disposed of in specially permitted landfills. and cleanup actions to address risks to human health and the
environment associated with releases of hazardous substances.
This work is conducted in accordance with the
Have there been any studies related to cancer rates CERCLA process.
or health issues at Treasure Island?
The Cancer Prevention Institute of California investigated cancer
rates on Treasure Island, published in a memorandum dated June Who should the public contact to answer health
9, 2014, and concluded that there is no evidence of significantly related questions?
elevated incidence rates of all cancers among the residents of For health related questions, please contact your primary health
Treasure Island. care provider or physician.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) • If you do not have a primary health care provider or
is a federal public health agency under the U.S. Department of physician, call the Healthy San Francisco Hotline at: (415)
Health and Human Services. In response to public request, 615-4555 or visit the Healthy San Francisco website: https://
ATSDR reviewed Navy and CDPH radiological investigations at healthysanfrancisco.org/.
former NSTI. In a letter dated October 26, 2016, the ATSDR
concluded that the Navy and CDPH “have used and will continue • Residents of Treasure Island can visit the Treasure Island
to use best practices to evaluate health risks associated with Community Clinic at 949 9th Street (entrance at Avenue M).
any radiological objects found at the former Naval Station Clinic re-opening is anticipated in June 2021.
Treasure Island and take appropriate actions to protect • To register a concern about environmental health issues with
public health.” SFDPH, call 311 (or if calling from a cell phone, use (415)
701-2311). Using the 311 website, choose “Public Health,
Department of” under “New Request”. Your complaint will be
recorded and routed to the Environmental Health Branch at
San Francisco Department of Public Health.
For More Information
• Visit the Navy’s website at https://www.bracpmo.navy.mil/NSTI
• Send an email to tahirih.linz@navy.mil
• Contact Tahirih Linz, BRAC Environmental Coordinator, (619) 524-6073
FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://www.bracpmo.navy.mil/NSTI | navfacBracPao@navy.mil | (619) 524-5433
TREASURE ISLAND
COMMUNITY NURSE CLINIC
At Treasure Island Gym - enter on 9th St. at Avenue M
NOW OPEN!
Open every Tuesday from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Closed on San Francisco city holidays
Walk-in services for all Treasure Island residents and community.
Staffed by a Registered Nurse (RN).
No appointments required.
All services free, no insurance required.
Weekly services available include:
• blood pressure checks/vital signs • pregnancy testing
• blood sugar testing • urine testing (UTI - urinary tract infections)
• TB testing • condoms
• flu shots • contraception
• minor injuries • STI screening (sexually transmitted infections)
• minor illnesses (cold/flu, sore throat, • nurse consultation
ear infection, rash) • referrals to primary care and medical provider
JOIN US FOR FREE FOOD,
ENTERTAINMENT, GIVEAWAYS AND...
FREE
COVID-19
VACCINES
AGE 12+ WELCOME
PFIZER VACCINES WILL BE
FAMILY EVENTS: PROVIDED AT THESE EVENTS
DROP-INS WELCOME
May 21 (Fri) May 29 & June 5 (Sat)
9:00am - 4:00pm 9:00am - 4:00pm
Festival Friday at SF Market Zuckerberg SF General Hospital
901 Rankin Street 1001 Potrero Avenue
4E, Building 5
May 22 (Sat)
11:30am - 5:30pm June 4 (Fri)
Mission - 18th and Shotwell Street 9:00am - 4:00pm
First Union Missionary Baptist
Church - 1001 Webster St
May 28 (Fri)
9:30am - 5:00pm
June 5 (Sat)
Bayview - 90 Kiska Road
9:00am - 4:00pm
Southeast Health Center
May 29 (Sat) 2401 Keith Street
9:00am - 2:00pm
Lakeview/OMI - 50 Broad Street
Thank you to the following generous sponsors and city departments for their contributions:
SF Recreation & Parks Dept · SF Zoo · SFMTA · SF Botanical Garden · SFMOMA
Fine Arts Museums of SF · SF Realtors Association · Golden Gate Restaurant Association · AT&T
FOR MORE INFORMATION
PICASSO HOUSEAND
AT DEMETRIO HALL
ADDITIONAL EVENTS, VISIT:
1500 MAIN ST. GRACIA, MILAN, ITALY
SF.GOV/GETVACCINATED
ÚNASE A NOSOTROS Y DISFRUTE DE COMIDA
GRATIS, ENTRETENIMIENTO Y REGALOS Y...
VACUNAS
GRATUITAS DE
COVID 19
EVENTOS EDADES 12+ BIENVENIDOS
FAMILIARES: ESTAREMOS OFRECIENDO LA VACUNA
LAS PERSONAS SIN DE PFIZER EN ESTOS EVENTOS
CITA SON BIENVENIDAS
21 de Mayo (Viernes) 29 de May & 5 de Junio (Sábado)
9:00am - 4:00pm 9:00am - 4:00pm
Viernes de Festival Hospital General Zuckerberg SF
en el Mercado de SF 1001 Potrero Avenue
901 Calle Rankin 4E, Edificio #5
22 de Mayo (Sábado) 4 de Junio (Viernes)
11:30am - 5:30pm 9:00am - 4:00pm
Mission - 18th y Calle Shotwell Iglesia "First Union Missionary
Baptist Church" - 1001 Calle Webster
28 de Mayo (Viernes)
9:30am - 5:00pm 5 de Junio (Sábado)
Bayview - 90 Calle Kiska 9:00am - 4:00pm
Centro de Salud "Southeast Health Center"
29 de Mayo (Sábado) 2401 Calle Keith
9:00am - 2:00pm
Lakeview/OMI - 50 Calle Broad
Gracias a los siguientes patrocinadores y departamentos de la ciudad por sus contribuciones:
SF Recreation & Parks Dept - SF Zoo - SFMTA - SF Botanical Garden - SFMOMA
Fine Arts Museums of SF - SF Realtors Association - Golden Gate Restaurant Association - AT&T
PARA MÁS INFORMACIÓN
PICASSO HOUSEY AT DEMETRIO HALL
EVENTOS ADICIONALES, VISITE:
1500 MAIN ST. GRACIA, MILAN, ITALY
SF.GOV/GETVACCINATED
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這些活動將提供
家庭活動歡迎無預約⼈⼠參加
: 輝瑞(PFIZER) 疫苗
⽉ ⽇ 週五
5 21 ( ) ⽉ ⽇與 ⽉ ⽇ 週六)
5 29 6 5 (
上午 時⾄下午 時
9 4 上午 時⾄下午 時
9 4
SF Market節慶週五 三藩市總醫院
ZSFG
街 號
Rankin 901 ⼤道 號
Potrero 1001
5號⼤樓 單位 4E
5⽉22⽇(週六)
上午11時30分⾄下午5時30分
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5⽉28⽇(週五) First Union Missionary Baptist
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灣景區 - Kiska路90號
⽉ ⽇ 週六)
6 5 (
5⽉29⽇(週六) 上午 時⾄下午4時
9
上午9時⾄下午2 東南健康中⼼
Lakeview/OMI - Broad街50號 Keith街2401號
感謝以下贊助者及市府部⾨對活動的⽀持與貢獻：三藩市娛樂及公園局 · 三藩市動物園 ·
三藩市交通局· 三藩市植物園 · 三藩市現代藝術博物館
三藩市藝術博物館 · 三藩市地產協會 · ⾦⾨餐飲協會 · AT&T
詳情及其他活動，請瀏覽
PICASSO :HOUSE AT DEMETRIO HALL
1500 MAIN ST. GRACIA, MILAN, ITALY
SF.GOV/GETVACCINATED
SUMALI SA AMIN PARA SA LIBRENG
PAGKAIN, LIBANGAN, MGA PAMIGAY AT...
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TUMATANGGAP NG EDAD 12
KAGANAPAN PARA TAONG GULANG PATAAS
PFIZER NA BAKUNA AY IBIBIGAY
SA PAMILYA:
TUMATANGGAP NG DROP-INS SA KAGANAPANG ITO
Mayo 21 (Biyernes) Mayo 29 at Hunyo 5 (Sabado)
9:00am - 4:00pm 9:00am - 4:00pm
Piyesta Biyernes sa SF Market Zuckerberg SF General Hospital
901 Rankin Street 1001 Potrero Avenue
4E, Gusali 5
Mayo 22 (Sabado)
11:30am - 5:30pm Hunyo 4 (Biyernes)
Mission - 18th at Shotwell Street 9:00am - 4:00pm
First Union Missionary Baptist
Church - 1001 Webster St
Mayo 28 (Biyernes)
9:30am - 5:00pm
Bayview - 90 Kiska Road
Hunyo 5 (Sabado)
9:00am - 4:00pm
Southeast Health Center
Mayo 29 (Sabado) 2401 Keith Street
9:00am - 2:00pm
Lakeview/OMI - 50 Broad Street
Salamat sa mga sumusunod na bukas-palad na mga nagpanukala (sponsor) at mga departamento ng
lungsod para sa kanilang mga kontribusyon:
SF Recreation & Parks Dept · SF Zoo · SFMTA · SF Botanical Garden · SFMOMA
Fine Arts Museums of SF · SF Realtors Association · Golden Gate Restaurant Association · AT&T
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IMPORMASYONPICASSO
AT HOUSE AT DEMETRIO HALL
KAGANAPAN,1500 MAIN ST.
BUMISITA SA:GRACIA, MILAN, ITALY
SF.GOV/GETVACCINATED
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/san-franciscos-fire-department-needs-a-new-place-to-train-where-will-it-be/ San Francisco’s Fire Department needs a new place to train: Where will it be? Joshua Sabatini May 19, 2021 6:00 p.m. After years of searching, San Francisco appears to have found a new home for the Fire Department’s training facility on Treasure Island, which will have to close down due to redevelopment. The City is moving forward a plan to buy a 4.91-acre site at 1236 Carroll Ave. in the Bayview from Prologis, L.P., an industrial real estate investment group, for $38.5 million, and an adjacent 2.6 acre lot from the Port of San Francisco, which is estimated to cost $5.8 million. Combined, the 7.5-acre lot is about the same size as the Treasure Island site and will meet the needs of a new firefighting training facility, city officials said. “The acquisition of this property is of the highest urgency as we have been unable to locate any other suitable properties after two years of diligent search both in the county and out of county,” Andrico Penick, director of real estate, told the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee Wednesday, where the plan was outlined. The deal is a bit more complicated than a simple purchase because sale of Port property, which is held as a public trust with restrictions on use, requires approval by the State Lands Commission and the state legislature. Since The City is still working through gaining the approvals from the Port Commission, State Lands Commission and the state legislature for the sale of the 2.6-acre lot, the Board of Supervisors is being asked to approve spending $15,000 monthly for up to 12 months to retain an option to purchase the Prologis site, locking in the purchase price. The Port supports locating the fire training facility on the site, which is currently vacant property, Port of San Francisco spokesperson Randy Quezada told the San Francisco Examiner. He said Port staff is “currently working closely with the State Lands Commission staff” and others to make it a reality. Penick said he expects to have a proposal to buy both sites back before the Board of Supervisors for a vote by January 2022. The effort is up against the clock. “The fire training facility needs to move from Treasure Island in order to make way for planned development,” Penick said. “The deadline for this move is five years, or 2026, which is just enough time for us to acquire, plan, permit and build out the new facility in the Bayview.” Supervisor Matt Haney said that he was “happy and grateful that it does seem that we found a location for it.”
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/san-franciscos-fire-department-needs-a-new-place-to-train-where-will-it-be/ “It’s obviously a critically essential facility for our city,” Haney said. According to the proposal, the Fire Department has about 1,700 firefighters who use the training facilities annually, with a minimum of about 200 hours of training per firefighter. The department’s main training facility is on Treasure Island, which must close by December 2026. There is also a second smaller facility with a training tower at 19th and Folsom streets. There is not yet a specific plan for the new site. The cost of buying the Prologis site would come from funds from the voter-approved 2020 Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response (ESER) bond, which provided about $275 million for neighborhood fire stations and other public safety facilities. Of that total, $67 million is allocated for the new Fire Department training facility, according to a budget analyst report. Moneyto buy the Port site would come out of The City’s general fund. Shon Buford, president of Local 798, the firefighters labor union, said he had yet to review details of the proposal. “Although I am excited that we do have a location, our concern is that the price of the land does not eat into the cost of building a state-of-the-art facility that will be able to train our members into the future,” Buford told the Examiner. jsabatini@sfexaminer.com
A nonprofit that helps the poor lost $650,000 to scammers. The boss had to go after them herself Nanette Asimov May 21, 2021 Updated: May 21, 2021 10:58 a.m. Sherry Williams, Executive Director of One Treasure Island, an affordable housing nonprofit, poses for a portrait in her office on Treasure Island in San Francisco on May 11, 2021. A cyber criminal stole $650,000 from One Treasure Island — money meant to lay the groundwork for affordable housing. Someone stole $650,000 from a San Francisco nonprofit group that helps poor people in a cybercrime so swift, silent and perfect that the victim didn’t know for weeks that the money was gone. City police told the nonprofit’s chief executive, Sherry Williams, that they couldn’t help. The FBI said it could do nothing unless the U.S. Attorney’s Office opened a case. It didn’t — even though the thieves used a Texas bank as a waystation for the loot and, apparently, a Texas man as a “money mule” to distribute it. Now California’s senators, Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, are asking why authorities balked. And Williams, stunned that the best bloodhounds in the city and nation would turn away from a six-figure theft, is telling the story of how she began sleuthing on her own. Williams still hopes to get her nonprofit’s money back. She also wants to prevent others from falling prey to email schemes involving money mules, who are hired — sometimes knowingly, sometimes unwittingly — to receive money stolen online and transfer it to criminals who may be halfway around the world. More than 19,000 businesses in the U.S. were victimized in 2020 by hackers drilling into their email, which is what happened to Williams’ nonprofit. The victims lost $1.8 billion, more than any other kind of
cybercrime. Such theft by email is on the rise — the 2020 loss was up 6% over the year before, according to the FBI. The state where victims lost the most? California, with more than $500 million stolen in the click of a mouse. For Williams, the mystery revealed itself on Jan. 27, the day she happily informed another nonprofit that it now had the full $650,000 loan that her nonprofit, One Treasure Island, had wired over in multiple installments. The recipient, Mercy Housing California, needed the money to build apartments on Treasure Island for low-income and formerly homeless people. “I said at a meeting, ‘Great! Now you’re all paid!’” Williams recalled telling Mercy. “They said, ‘No, we haven’t received anything.’ I said, ‘But we made three payments!’” Treasure Island, a former naval base smaller than one square mile, belongs mainly to San Francisco. As the city envisioned transforming the island from military to civilian use in the mid-1990s, community organizations formed One Treasure Island to help in its development. The nonprofit would provide social services for the island’s mostly low-income residents — including supplying groceries, hot meals and job training — and serve as the umbrella agency for nonprofit housing developers like Mercy. Since then, One Treasure Island and developers have renovated 250 housing units, with plans to build or renovate 8,000 more, including 2,000 priced for lower-income people. Volunteer Shelly Levy fills bags with produce at the weekly free food pantry at The Ship Shape Community Center on Treasure Island in San Francisco on May 11, 2021. A cyber criminal stole $650,000 from the One Treasure Island, the nonprofit that runs the community center — money meant to lay the groundwork for affordable housing Williams has been executive director since the founding of One Treasure Island. With San Francisco’s Treasure Island Development Authority, her nonprofit takes on many of the business tasks needed to
carry out the city’s multiyear development plan, including providing loans to housing builders to speed their work. In November, One Treasure Island’s board of directors approved a loan of $650,000 to Mercy so it could create building designs and do financial analyses for a 138-unit project. Mercy began work and emailed an invoice to One Treasure Island on Dec. 14, with instructions for wiring the first loan installment of $232,208 to its bank in Denver. Williams forwarded those instructions to One Treasure Island’s bookkeeper, an independent contractor who had worked with the nonprofit for 23 years. Later that day, Williams received an email from Mercy explaining that its Denver bank was undergoing a yearly tax audit. Would One Treasure Island kindly wire the money instead to Frost Bank in Odessa, Texas? The email included a new account number, which Williams forwarded to the bookkeeper, who carried out the instructions. One Treasure Island received two more invoices in January for the rest of the $650,000, which the bookkeeper fulfilled, sending the money to the bank in Texas. Meanwhile, Mercy received an apologetic email from Williams, explaining that the funds from One Treasure Island would be delayed for several days because its bank in San Francisco was undergoing a yearly tax audit. On Jan. 27, after learning that Mercy hadn’t received the funds she knew she had sent, Williams searched through her inbox for Mercy’s confirmations of the three payments totaling $650,000. She found those emails — and looked at them closely for the first time. “That’s when it dawns on me, and I freak out,” she said. Mercy’s email address was slightly misspelled in each one, with two letters transposed. Mercy Housing California had never changed its instructions for wiring the money, and its bank in Denver was not undergoing an audit. Neither was One Treasure Island’s bank. Mercy’s original instructions had been correct. With horror, Williams realized the money was gone. Williams immediately reported the crime to the Bank of San Francisco, Frost Bank in Odessa and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. This was also a local crime, so Williams reported the theft to the San Francisco police. And she called the police in Odessa. What emerged was that One Treasure Island had been the victim of what the FBI calls a “business email compromise.” Someone had hacked into the bookkeeper’s email and patiently observed her inbox until one message — perhaps with the wiring instructions for hundreds of thousands of dollars — caught the person’s attention. Then it was a simple matter of sending a fraudulent email, similar enough to the real one that it might fool the recipient, and diverting all future correspondence, and the money, into the hacker’s hands. William’s assumption was that law enforcement would spring to action and, perhaps after a dramatic hunt, recover the funds. At least that’s how it played in her imagination.
But when days went by with more lethargy than activity — the FBI said it was busy and would get back to her, the San Francisco police said no officer had yet been assigned, and the Odessa police said they couldn’t open a case until police in her area made that request — Williams began to think she was on her own. So in early February, she started sniffing out the case — and quickly scored her first success. The weekly free food pantry takes place at The Ship Shape Community Center on Treasure Island in San Francisco on May 11, 2021. A cyber criminal stole $650,000 from the One Treasure Island, the nonprofit that runs the community center — money meant to lay the groundwork for affordable housing. She contacted Frost Bank’s president and learned that there was still $37,375 in the fraudulent account. Frost returned that money to One Treasure Island. But who had put it there, and why it had been left, remained a mystery. She also contacted Google and reported the fraudulent email addresses, one for each person the hackers had impersonated: Williams, the bookkeeper and a few people at Mercy. Google froze the email accounts but said they already appeared to be inactive. The scammers had moved on. By tracing the fraudulent bank account information, however, Williams located an address — in Odessa — and a name. She gave the name to the Odessa police and hired a lawyer to draft a letter telling the man they were on to him, then sent it via Federal Express. He didn’t write back. Meanwhile, Mercy’s president, Doug Shoemaker, considered what to do. The loss was not to Mercy’s coffers, but to One Treasure Island’s. Still, Mercy needed the money for its housing development. “I’m hoping that there’s a special place in hell for people who defraud nonprofits that work with homeless people,” Shoemaker said in an interview. “I was very upset for our partner, One Treasure Island, which does amazing work, and outraged” on behalf of Williams.
Shoemaker was able to borrow the money elsewhere and move the housing project forward. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center boasts of an 82% success rate by its Recovery Asset Team, RAT, in beating back cybercrime last year. The team froze $380 million of nearly $463 million stolen in the 1,303 cases it investigated in 2020, according to its latest internet crime report. Yet those investigations make up a minute fraction of the 791,790 complaints the center received last year. Still, Williams felt hopeful. She spent much of February and March circling back to the FBI and police, trying to shake something loose. On Feb. 11, Odessa police assigned a detective to the case after San Francisco police asked them to. Then Williams sent her the name and address linked to the Texas bank account. But San Francisco police would not open a case themselves. In late March, Williams said, an officer called her to say the department had no jurisdiction. “In cases like this, the investigation starts where the money lands,” a San Francisco police spokesperson told The Chronicle. If the money had been stolen in Texas and sent to a San Francisco bank, he said, local police would pursue it. The FBI, meanwhile, assigned an agent to look into the theft on Feb. 25. But his involvement was short- lived. Six days later, the agent emailed Williams and said the U.S. Attorney’s Office had declined to open a case — the only way to keep an investigation alive. The FBI declined to comment when contacted by The Chronicle. A view of an affordable housing project on Treasure Island in San Francisco on May 11, 2021. It’s sponsored by Swords to Plowshares and the Chinatown Community Development Corp., members of the nonprofit One Treasure Island, that had $650,000 stolen from it.
Frustrated, Williams spoke with city Supervisor Matt Haney, who represents Treasure Island, on April 7. “It’s very bizarre and a bit scary,” Haney said of the story Williams told him. “It was shocking that somebody could and would do this — and shocking” that neither local police nor federal law enforcement would investigate. His office contacted both California’s senators, Feinstein and Padilla. And so did Williams. Still, the cavalry didn’t charge in. So Williams again got on the horse herself. She and Vinicio Castro, administrative director at One Treasure Island, hopped a plane to Texas on April 15 to interview the Odessa detective investigating the case. That’s when Williams heard the phrase “money mule” for the first time. Detective Leslie Goodson told her that the person linked to the bank account had written multiple checks from One Treasure Island’s stolen money and was probably distributing it to criminals. “He is what the detective called a ‘money mule,’” not the mastermind, Williams said. “What she suspects is a much larger ring of organized crime, which is probably overseas.” The FBI describes money mules as people who operate between victims and criminal masterminds, helping to launder money by moving it around — and making it harder for law enforcement to locate the source of the crime. People who don’t realize they’re being used for this purpose might believe they’re helping a friend or sweetheart. Those who do know it typically expect to be paid handsomely for the job. The recovered $37,375 was probably the money mule’s cut, the detective told Williams. Reached by The Chronicle, Goodson declined to comment because the investigation is still open. But Williams said the detective told her that the Odessa police would not trace the stolen funds — that was up to the FBI — and would investigate only whether the money mule intended to “harm and defraud.” Until police prove that, Goodman told Williams, the suspect would not be arrested. Money mules — even those who don’t know that’s what they’re doing — can be prosecuted on a range of federal fraud, money laundering and identity theft charges, authorities say. In Odessa, Williams also visited Frost Bank and was advised to contact yet another federal agency that investigates fraud cases: the Secret Service. Back in San Francisco, the Secret Service told Williams to keep mum about the money mule’s identity and said it would ask the U.S. Attorney’s Office to take up the case. Last she checked with the Secret Service, however, it had no updates. The U.S. Attorney’s Office told The Chronicle it could neither confirm nor deny that it was pursuing the case. Williams pronounced the Texas trip “discouraging but worth it.”
On May 12, President Biden issued an executive order tightening the nation’s cybersecurity procedures and said the federal government “needs to make bold changes and significant investments in order to defend the vital institutions that underpin the American way of life.” His order followed two world-rocking cyberbreaches: a May 7 ransomware attack that led to a five-day shutdown of a pipeline carrying nearly half the fuel used by East Coast states, and a March 2020 data breach known as the SolarWinds hack that gave Russia access to 18,000 organizations around the world, mainly in the U.S., until it was discovered in December. The money mule who found his way into a bookkeeper’s computer and stole $650,000 may not be a Russian spy or terrorist out to undermine global systems. But he could be working for one. Collectively, such thefts and attacks are costly and increasingly dangerous. The 791,790 cybercrime reports that the FBI fielded in 2020 represented a 69% increase over the year before — with $4.2 billion stolen. On May 12, the day after The Chronicle contacted the offices of Feinstein and Padilla to ask what they might do about the One Treasure Island theft, the senators emailed Williams saying they planned to contact the U.S. Justice Department about it. This past Monday, Padilla’s office told The Chronicle that he and Feinstein had sent a joint inquiry requesting “more information from the agency as to why they declined to investigate this case.” They have not yet gotten a response, Padilla's office said. Williams said she is speaking out about the theft to help others avoid what she is going through, and to “make it harder for people to do this to people.” “We have done everything in our power to get this money back — including flying halfway across the country to investigate the case ourselves,” Williams said. “At the end of the day, I hope that law enforcement will crack our case for us.”
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