Anthony Becker, the Santa Clara City Council member whose unsuccessful 2022 run for mayor included $2.5 million in campaign contributions from the San Francisco 49ers, was convicted of perjury Thursday in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
The jury of 10 women and two men reached the verdict at South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill, after a trial lasting about a month and deliberations of less than three hours. Becker, 39, faces up to four years in state prison.
Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 31. Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, who was in the courtroom when the verdict was read, said a combination of jail time and a fine would be appropriate.
The case stemmed from allegations Becker leaked a confidential grand jury report - sharply critical of the 49ers' heavy involvement in local politics - to Rahul Chandhok, a former executive vice president and political strategist for the team. Becker faced one misdemeanor charge of failing to perform an official duty and one felony charge of perjury, for lying under oath during an investigation into how the leak occurred.
He was found guilty on both counts. Becker and his defense team left the courthouse without commenting.
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Rosen, speaking outside court after the verdict, noted the 49ers used the leaked document they received from Becker as part of a campaign to "dig up dirt on the civil grand jurors" who criticized the team's involvement in local politics in Santa Clara.
"How wrong that was," Rosen said. The 49ers need to "act differently," he added.
"We have a lot of large companies in this valley - Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, the list goes on and on," Rosen said. "And the behavior of the 49ers in this case is not something I've seen from any of those other companies."
The team issued a statement after Thursday's verdict, saying, "We respect the outcome of the legal process and look forward to continuing to work with Santa Clara to maximize the benefits of Levi's Stadium for the community."
Becker, 39, a former content moderator at an insurance firm and currently Santa Clara's vice mayor, is one of five City Council members who were elected with the 49ers' financial support. The council majority consistently sided with the team on issues involving Levi's Stadium, records showed.
The 49ers operate the publicly owned stadium under contract with the city.
The civil grand jury report accused the team of meddling in Santa Clara city politics for financial gain. It rebuked the five council members, including Becker, alleging they regularly "put the 49ers' interests ahead of the city's interests."
"This conviction really highlights the deeply troubling and consistent pattern of misconduct and betrayal of public trust in Santa Clara," Mayor Lisa Gillmor told the Chronicle on Thursday. "Multiple grand jury reports have documented this pattern. Mr. Becker's guilty verdict is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to lack of transparency in the way the council majority deals with the 49ers.
"We deserve better than this in Santa Clara. We deserve City Council members who act legally and ethically, and unfortunately we don't have that with our council majority."
Thomas Shanks, former executive director of Santa Clara University's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, called the verdict "a major warning to Santa Clara residents that the 49ers have corrupted local politics and city government."
"Anthony Becker's actions have exposed a dark underbelly of unethical practices that many people are aware of but unfortunately still exist," Shanks wrote in an email.
The jury deliberated briefly Wednesday afternoon, then reconvened shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday. At about 11:30 a.m., the jurors informed Judge Javier Alcala they already had a verdict.
As Becker looked on without expression, the court clerk read the verdicts - guilty on both counts.
The jury collectively decided not to give interviews about the case, a male juror told the judge. The judge said he also would seal court records containing jurors' personal information.
Becker remains free without bail until his sentencing. As he walked out of court, he stared straight ahead, biting his upper lip.
Rosen said prosecuting Becker was important because the politician's falsehoods undermined the criminal justice system.
The system is founded on "the fundamental idea that when you walk into court and swear you'll tell the truth and nothing but the truth, that's what is going to happen," Rosen said. "Defendant Becker didn't do that. He lied, and that's perjury."
Rosen also said the case was a reminder that "sometimes the cover-up is worse than the crime." If Becker admitted leaking the document, he risked only a misdemeanor conviction. But perjury is a felony, and now Becker faces possible prison time.
Chandhok, the former 49ers executive who now works for the U.S. Soccer Federation, became the prosecution's star witness. He testified he received the sealed document from Becker several days before it legally could be released in October 2022.
Sudhanshu "Suds" Jain, one of Becker's colleagues on the City Council, also told jurors Becker acknowledged to him, in a March 2023 phone call, that he gave the document to a reporter during his mayoral campaign. At the time of the call, Jain had been ordered to testify in the grand jury investigation.
Chandhok and Jain did not respond to messages from the Chronicle on Thursday, seeking their comment on the Becker verdict.
Days before the grand jury report's legal release date, the Silicon Valley Voice, a team-friendly website, published a story about the report that included 49ers spin. Soon thereafter, San Jose Spotlight posted the entire unreleased document, along with a story quoting Chandhok attacking the report as a "shocking political hatchet job."
After the election, a criminal grand jury investigated the leak. That's when Becker, under oath, denied disclosing the document and suggested Gillmor was responsible. He made similar claims to the district attorney's office.
Meantime, investigators zeroed in on Chandhok. Under a grant of immunity, the lobbyist said Becker gave him a copy of the confidential report. Becker also acknowledged giving it to the Voice, according to Chandok, and said he planned to give it to the Spotlight.
With the document in hand, Chandhok said the 49ers began a public-relations blitz in an effort to debunk the report, fearing it would cost Becker the election.
In three days of trial testimony, Chandhok stood by his account while acknowledging he initially tried to "protect" Becker by falsely claiming he got the document from a reporter. Once he was under oath, Chandhok said, he told the truth.
Becker's conviction marked the latest chapter in the lingering saga involving the 49ers and the city in which they have played home games since 2014. Tension between the team and Santa Clara officials dates back several years and shows little sign of abating.
This is especially relevant as the city and Levi's Stadium prepare to hold two major sporting events in 2026, the Super Bowl and six World Cup matches. The City Council is set to discuss those events during its weekly meeting Tuesday night.
Council member Kathy Watanabe, an ally of the mayor and frequent critic of the 49ers, directed her frustration at the team in the wake of Becker's conviction.
"This verdict sends a clear and powerful message to organizations like the 49ers: Stay out of local politics," Watanabe said in a statement. "Rather than trying to buy influence, invest your millions in the community. Your attempts to control the city of Santa Clara have left a stain on local politics."