SAN FRANCISCO – Heather Zalatimo, 45, former acting Chief Information Security Officer of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH), was charged with two counts of violating a government code and arrested on Thursday, September 3, according to San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
Boudin announced that Zalatimo was accused of persuading DPH to sign a contract with her husband’s company and helping him to get a $65,000 commission.
The prosecutors said that Zalatimo was the manager of IT Operations at DPH in 2016, and at the time, she arranged the department to buy cybersecurity products that worth $1 million from Fidelis Cybersecurity. Her husband worked in the company as a sales agent and received a $65,000 commission from it.
“San Franciscans deserve to know that their public servants act purely in San Francisco’s best interest, not to line their own pockets,” said Boudin. “When they don’t, my office will enforce public integrity laws to hold those public servants accountable for abusing the public’s trust.”
Boudin also added, “there is no room for corruption in San Francisco.”
Zalatimo was promoted to acting Chief Information Security Officer of DPH a few months later, according to Boudin.
She was charged with one felony for violating Government Code section 1090, which states that public officials cannot enter into contracts in their official capacity where they have a financial interest.
In addition, she was charged with a misdemeanor violation of Government Code section 87100, which prohibits public officials from intervening in a governmental decision where they have a financial interest.
Zalatimo’s next court date was scheduled on November 12 for a prehearing conference.
