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A SF Weekly investigation of San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown revealed that the mayor's public and private lives may include a number of conflicts of interest. Before becoming San Francisco's mayor in 1996, Brown "moonlighted" as a lawyer and "his private law practice was large, lucrative, and controversial. He was repeatedly criticized for accepting large legal retainers from clients with significant interests in state legislation." SF Weekly's eight-part series found that Brown "received significant sums of money each year from a law firm he supposedly sold" after taking office, made mayoral decisions benefiting business entities that the mayor had financial interest in and "held ownership in a real estate partnership that made millions... when government agencies suddenly... showered the area with tens of millions of dollars in government subsidies."