Department of Finance Directors

Richard Silberman was appointed Director of Finance on December 1, 1978, by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Silberman was a top advisor to the Governor and a well-known San Diego entrepreneur. Silberman became close with Brown during his presidential campaign as a campaign finance chairman in 1976.

After his tenure at Finance, Silberman was arrested in a San Diego hotel room on April 7, 1989, in an FBI sting operation and was indicted on charges of attempting to launder funds he was told were illicit Colombian drug profits. Silberman pleaded guilty to a single conspiracy count in exchange for dropping all other charges and was sentenced to 46 months in a federal prison.