SAN FRANCISCO – A Silicon Valley councilman has been charged with perjury after he allegedly lied about leaking a grand jury report to the San Francisco 49ers last year detailing an alleged unethical relationship between the team and the councilman, prosecutors said on Friday.
Santa Clara City Council member Anthony Becker is accused of providing the secret report titled “Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Santa Clara City Council” in 2022, days before its official release, to the team’s former chief spokesman and a local media outlet to have asked.
Becker then allegedly lied to the grand jury about the leak, prosecutors said, prompting the criminal complaint.
The 49ers play at Levi’s Stadium in the city of Santa Clara, about 35 miles (56.33 kilometers) south of San Francisco. Santa Clara County is widely considered the home of Silicon Valley.
The City of Santa Clara owns the stadium and leases it to the team; Fighting between the two groups has resulted in ethics grievances, litigation and years of bad blood.
Al Guido, the team’s president, and Larry MacNeil, the former CFO who worked extensively on the team’s stadium project, were named in the indictment as witnesses who spoke before the criminal grand jury in support of Becker’s indictment.
“The 49ers have cooperated fully with the district attorney’s office in their investigation and will continue to do so,” team spokesman Brian Brokaw said in a statement Friday. “However, as this is an ongoing legal matter, the organization is unable to make any further comment at this time.
Prosecutors say the team funded Becker’s political career by spending $3.2 million through independent spending committees on his 2020 city council race, which he won, as well as his unsuccessful 2022 bid for mayor.
The Unsportsmanlike Conduct report claimed that Becker and four other council members regularly voted “in a manner favorable to the 49ers” and met regularly with the team’s lobbyists, but did not disclose what was discussed.
Becker faces charges of perjury under oath and charges of willful misconduct. He is due to appear in court on Monday.
Becker did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday, and it was not clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
“Councillor Becker violated public trust,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “That an elected official would commit perjury and lie under oath before the grand jury meets the heart of our justice system and must answer.”
Santa Clara City Council officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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