Ex-San Francisco 49ers exec charged in alleged $1.4M taxpayer kickback scheme

A former San Francisco 49ers executive and his friend allegedly turned taxpayer-funded construction projects into a $1.4 million kickback scheme — until unpaid businesses started asking questions.San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told The California Post that a grand jury was “incensed” as they reviewed the evidence over two weeks, calling the alleged scheme an “extraordinarily serious” example of white-collar crime.Former 49ers exec James Cunningham Mercurio, 55, of Vacaville, is facing numerous criminal charges.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story Mercurio, who worked nearly 30 years for the 49ers in stadium operations and rose to become an executive vice president and general manager for the club, allegedly steered contracts to McLennan, who returned portions of the payments to his longtime friend rather than using all the money for construction, according to prosecutors.The county Event Center hired Mercurio in 2024 to oversee three construction projects, each supported by $1 million in county tax dollars.Alleged kickbacks to Mercurio totaled about $1.4 million, prosecutors said.“We’re only talking about a year and a half and $1.4 million, but for San Mateo County that’s big,” Wagstaffe said. “Maybe for the federal government looking into corruption in L.A.

or something, that’s petty ante.But for us, it’s a very serious offense.”The indictment last week charged both men with two counts of misappropriating public money, one count of embezzlement and 20 counts each of commercial bribery.

McLennan also faces a felony forgery charge involving an allegedly fabricated performance bond.Prosecutors included aggravated white-collar crime allegations involving a pattern of related felonies and the taking of more than $500,000...