Former Contra Costa assessor faced years of scrutiny before FBI raid

Former Contra Costa County Assessor Gus Kramer had been the subject of investigations, lawsuits and political controversy long before FBI agents searched his home and former office Tuesday.

None of those controversies has resulted in criminal charges or a conviction.

FBI agents raided the county assessor’s office on Arnold Drive, Kramer’s home on West Arlington Street in Martinez and Assistant County Assessor Vince Robb’s home on Temple Drive in Pacheco, according to an FBI spokesperson. A copy of a search warrant obtained by this news organization showed agents were seeking evidence related to wire fraud and “other offenses.” U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Illman signed the warrant June 4.

Robb won election last week to fill Kramer’s seat after the longtime assessor announced in June he would not seek reelection. Kramer first took office in 1994.

Kramer’s most recent controversy came in January, when county officials considered settling a lawsuit that accused him of improperly slashing a property’s assessed value by millions of dollars and retaliating against the person who raised concerns. The lawsuit revived long-running questions about whether property values were manipulated during Kramer’s tenure, dating back to 2009. Court records and media reports said he avoided paying $21,000 after his own property was underassessed.

That same year, Kramer’s office overvalued the vacant dirt lots of a developer with whom he had been publicly feuding. The overvaluation cost the company more than $200,000, according to previous reporting by this organization.

Other controversies followed.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission fined Kramer $5,500 in 2019 for improperly reporting more than $25,000 in campaign contributions and for reporting a $90,000 personal loan to his campaign committee that his 2014 reelection campaign never received.

In 2011, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office investigated land deals tied to Kramer but did not prosecuted him. Two deputy district attorneys later complained that their then-boss, District Attorney Mark Peterson, killed the probe to protect Kramer. Peterson left office in 2017 after pleading guilty to stealing from his own campaign fund.

In 2010, this news organization reported that Kramer failed to report loans, business interests and property ownership within the county between 2002 and 2009. Kramer later made 33 amendments to his state-required financial disclosure statements. Also that year, he sued the county after the Board of Supervisors voted to censure alleged sexual harassment in the workplace.

Kramer’s use of gift deeds to acquire property in the county also drew scrutiny. In 2009, a civil grand jury sought Kramer’s removal from office over alleged workplace harassment. Kramer took the case to trial and prevailed.

Kramer, through his attorney Michael Rains, has repeatedly denied legal wrongdoing.