In the Matter of Thomas Espinosa (Case No. 16-14). In October 2016, Commission staff opened a pro-active investigation into allegations referred by employees in the City Administrator’s Office and the Department of Planning and Building about potential Government Ethics Act violations by Thomas Espinosa, a building inspector in the City’s Planning and Building Department until 2017. Commission staff’s investigation found probable cause that Mr. Espinosa committed 47 violations of the Oakland Government Ethics Act, including the following: soliciting and receiving bribes; making, and seeking to use his official position to influence, governmental decisions in which he had a disqualifying financial interest; misusing City resources for personal financial gain; misusing his City position to induce/coerce others to provide him with economic gain, and; failing to report significant loans and income from individuals with matters before him as a City building inspector.