Ranger Noir: S.F. Park Patrol Run as Money-Making Machine

Illustration by Andrew J. Nilsen.

Joseph Schell

Park Patrol chief Marcus Santiago works more than 70 hours per week, 52 weeks per year.

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Mystery stories are generally concerned with who did what, when, and how.

But in this one, about the way government officials have for years covered up apparent waste, fraud, and abuse in the San Francisco Park Patrol, much of the who, what, and when is clear; the question is why.

Why does the head of the Park Patrol division tolerate that Park Ranger supervisor Thomas Tom has a second full-time job with the state of California on top of his $69,786 per year, full-time city post?

Why is it that another Park Patrol officer enjoys impunity as he allegedly skips his rounds and sleeps during his graveyard shift — and then shows up the next day to work overtime? Why does the head of the Park Patrol division not seem to mind that through questionable overtime pay this alleged sleeper doubles his annual $53,000 salary?

And why do San Francisco officials seem to go out of their way to protect the man in charge of Park Patrol, division chief Marcus Santiago?

SF Weekly has discovered evidence that Santiago manipulates overtime assignments and then divvies them up among buddies, saving some plum ones for himself. Last year, Santiago collected more than $85,000 in overtime pay on top of his $67,000 annual salary, averaging more than 70 hours of work per week, 52 weeks per year. He's been doing this year after year.

It's not as if nobody notices.

Santiago has been the target of whistleblower and other complaints.

To cover his tracks during one city inquiry, Santiago allegedly told underlings to backdate overtime paperwork according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.

Another time, Santiago reportedly responded to a request for cell phone records — which might have shown a city investigator whether or not he was lying about overtime — by claiming that he'd dropped his phone in water.

Despite investigating some of these complaints, his boss, Recreation and Parks Operations Manager Dennis Kern has protected Santiago, SF Weekly has found.

Late this summer, following an extensive investigation, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission authorized an internal report documenting the overtime allegations. The report showed evidence of discrimination against employees not in his inner circle and retaliation against complainants. It also affirmed that Santiago misled city officials on his San Francisco employment application in order to cover up that he was fired from the Oakland Police Department on allegations of misappropriating evidence and abusing people in custody. (See the Jun. 23, 2010 SF Weekly column "Reinventing the Past: The head of the park rangers has some explaining to do.")

The City Attorney's Office has negotiated a possible monetary settlement to a lawsuit related to the EEOC complaint. The complaint alleged Santiago pushed out an officer after the employee protested Santiago's handling of overtime. Two other Park Patrol employees have pending complaints before the EEOC alleging similar discrimination.

For park officials, the investigation contained little news. But it did validate complaints they had made to top officials at city agencies including Recreation and Parks, the Civil Service Commission, the Department of Human Resources, and the City Controller's Whistleblower Program.

As of mid-September, Santiago remained an employee in good standing despite the federal government's impending investigation of the two additional federal EEOC complaints. And Recreation and Parks staffers had retained a San Francisco attorney to file a separate class-action suit against the city for tolerating Santiago's behavior.

All that overtime might benefit more than just Santiago's crew. Protecting him seems to validate a system in which the Park Patrol routinely bills event promoters exorbitant rates for rangers who don't always show up. The Recreation and Park Department, under General Manager Phil Ginsburg, hopes to increase total permit fees by millions of dollars this year.

On June 12, 2010, San Francisco's Karim Mayfield knocked out Sergio del Torre in the fifth round of a boxing match at Kezar Pavilion on Stanyan Street. But that wasn't the last scuffle of the day: Afterward, young fans rushed the ring. Promoter Phil di Mauro's security staff quickly calmed things down, but di Mauro wondered, where were the four city Park Rangers he says he'd been required to hire, at a cost of $1,170, to guard the event?

Di Mauro's permit said he'd paid to have four rangers stationed for nine hours. Instead, "Two showed up right at the beginning when we were set up for the parking. Then they were gone," he said.

Marie Duca, office manager for Hard Knox Boxing Promotions, said, "They were worthless. I didn't need them to start with. They talked to each other for a little while, and they were gone."

Park rangers were assigned to guard Kezar Pavilion again in August, this time at a cage-fighting event. The head of the company hired to staff the event's 20-person security team said that in order to get a Recreation and Parks permit, event organizers had to hire Park Patrol officers as guards. Yet the officers made little effort to work with security staff.

"They're not visible. They don't coordinate with anybody. They show up, walk through it, and that's the extent of it," said the event's security supervisor, who didn't want to be named because he has to continue working with Recreation and Parks. "Frankly, it's a waste of money."