California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) allegedly orchestrated the funding of a bronze bust of himself inside San Francisco City Hall while serving as mayor, using money from companies he controlled, according to a newly released book.
The book claims that while Newsom played a key role in securing funds, he later distanced himself from the process, portraying himself as unaware of who had financed the monument.
In “Fool’s Gold: The Radicals, Con Artists, and Traitors Who Killed the California Dream and Now Threaten Us All,” authors Susan Crabtree and Jedd McFatter detail how Newsom allegedly used a system of “behested payments” to channel money toward the project. In California politics, behested payments allow elected officials to request private donations for causes, but they have drawn criticism when the contributions appear to benefit the official making the request, according to Breitbart.
A review of Newsom’s behested payments shows that between late 2015 and early 2016, three private entities donated money to the nonprofit Community Initiatives, designating the funds for the “Mayoral Bust at San Francisco City Hall.” Two of these entities—Balboa Cafe Partners and PlumpJack Management Group—were owned by Newsom, with each contributing $5,000 to the project.
Hellbound and Down 