When Mission Localthis month visited the sprawling former citadel of former San Francisco fixer Walter Wong,there were many strange and terrible things to see. Those included a penthouse with a secret passageway and a secret floor wedged between the 95,000-square-foot building’s second and third stories.
Following our visit, based on a tip, Mission Local asked the building’s new owners about a hulking antique safe hidden in a section of the complex formerly inhabited by a caretaker. To the surprise of all, it was still there, concealed behind a wooden panel beneath a staircase, unopened.
Wong in 2020 pleaded guilty to federal charges that he participated in a kickback scheme to siphon $1.5 million from the Chinatown Hilton. He cooperated with the feds in their cases against his former allies, most notably since-convicted former San Francisco Public Utilities Commission General Manager Harlan Kelly…