Contra Costa Bribery Case Set for Trial

The case centers on allegations that David and Trent Sanson, of DeNova Homes, attempted to bribe an Antioch City Council member to speed up a 533-home development project called Aviano. The issue arose after Antioch's Engineering and Development Services Division withheld approval for a phase of the project, citing incomplete public infrastructure improvements. Trent Sanson allegedly first offered the council member $10,000 to get the project on the council's agenda for approval. Subsequently, his father, David Sanson, is accused of giving the same council member $5,000 in cash, which was concealed inside a company-branded coffee mug during a meeting. The council member, who remains unnamed in the indictment, reported the bribery attempt to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI then video-recorded the meetings where the alleged bribe was offered and paid. The Sansons' legal team argued the payment was a protected campaign contribution under the First Amendment, but a federal judge rejected their motion to dismiss the case. If convicted on charges of conspiracy and bribery, the developers could face maximum sentences of five and ten years in prison, respectively. This isn't the only recent corruption case in the county. In August 2023, several Antioch and Pittsburg police officers were charged in a separate federal probe involving a range of offenses, including conspiracy and bribery for fixing traffic tickets. Historically, Contra Costa has seen other corruption scandals, including a case in the early 2010s where the commander of the county's drug task force was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for stealing and selling drugs from evidence. The region is under pressure to meet housing targets, with unincorporated Contra Costa County's goals for very-low and low-income housing increasing by 5.5 times in the current planning cycle. Such development pressures can form the backdrop for legal and ethical conflicts.