Daly City officials filed a formal notice of violation to an unnamed property owner this week after a fence and threatening signage were installed along Thornton State Beach earlier this month, blocking people from accessing its popular trails. However, details have emerged surrounding the individual linked to the sudden installation of the fence and signage: Luke Brugnara. Brugnara previously owned San Francisco’s notorious Sea Cliff mansion and was arrested in 2015 for defrauding an art dealer for $11 million. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.
San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa, who wrote a letter to the California Coastal Commission urging them to order the landowner to remove the fence, told SFGATE he has since learned of Brugnara’s involvement. Canepa said Brugnara is not listed as an owner of the property but called for the fence to be built anyway. He added that another individual listed as one of the property owners, Donna Pope, was not aware of the fence and later reported Brugnara for trespassing on her property. (SFGATE attempted to reach Pope, but her voicemail was full.)
“To be quite honest with you, I don’t think very fondly of squatters,” Canepa told SFGATE. “But to squat and erect a fence, that’s pretty egregious. What I’m concerned about is his checkered background, and while I’m all for rehabilitation, I’m concerned his patterns of the past are beginning to reappear.”…