Jimmy Jen, the infamous San Francisco building permit “expediter” who was arrested in 2010 on suspicion of forging the signatures and stamps of two licensed engineers for nearly 100 construction projects in the city will face trial on 232 felony counts:

According to prosecutors, Jen, an engineer himself who wasn’t always licensed, was often hired by the owners of single-family homes to expedite The City’s permitting process. Rather than hiring a licensed engineer to review their construction projects, he allegedly impersonated unwitting engineers.

The construction projects affected were mostly residential, but also included the complete redevelopment of the Alexandria Theater in the Richmond district. Jen’s ex-wife, Nancy Jen, was reportedly the largest stakeholder in the theater. Other projects included the expansion of a ground-floor unit in the Mission and the replacement of a foundation in Presidio Heights, prosecutors said.

At the time of Jen’s arrest, none of the projects for which Jen had forged a signature had been found to be problematic according to Department of Building Inspection. And once again, expect those who employed the “expediter” to feign ignorance of any possible wrongdoings.
Some Janky Jenky Dealings Within The DBI And Developer Community [SocketSite]
Engineer accused of forging building documents heads to trial [Examiner]

6 thoughts on “Infamous San Francisco Permit Expediter Facing 232 Felony Counts”
  1. Seems a little bit harsh, considering what I read about people doing (or should I say getting away with) in San Francisco pretty much every day. But then that why Jim Jones got away with being a nut job for so long. We lack common sense and proportionality..

  2. This guy has been in the system for so long. Around 2006 his wife bought a house on my street, a real dump with long time protected tenants, and then almost immediately it burned down under mysterious circumstances, allowing him to evict the tenants. He quickly rebuilt, she had the listing, and they sold the house the hot market, making a cool 700k. I don’t think anyone thought he didn’t burn down the house, but of course no prosecution ever followed. What has he been up to lately?

  3. Staying out of jail and making more money would be my guess.
    I do not honestly see the problem with people paying more to expedite permits. Market pricing is an excellent way to distribute (arbitrarily in this case) scarce resources.
    Forging PE stamps… not such a good idea. He should probably receive six strokes of a cane for that one and be released to contemplate his sins.

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