California State Senator Charged as Part of Gambling, Murder-for-Hire Case
26 individuals have been indicted in an unsealed criminal complaint in San Francisco with charges that range from drug trafficking to gun running to illegal gambling to even murder-for-hire.
Among those arrested, California state Senator Leland Yee.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Yee Wednesday morning, along with infamous Chinatown gang leader Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, who we reported on here at Gambling911.com yesterday.
Chow was also the leader of a criminal faction of the San Francisco group called the Hop Sing Tong, which started as a national business association of Chinese immigrants in the 19th century. They also collected money from gambling dens in both Hong Kong and San Francisco.
Chow is rumored to have some role in the 2006 San Francisco execution-style murder of Allen Leung , the head of Chinatown fraternal organization, a murder which remains unsolved.
Recently, Chow, the leader of the San Francisco-based Ghee Kung Tong fraternal organization, had been held up as an example of successful rehabilitation.
In regard to Yee, the complaint reveals that the state Senator offered to use his office to do favors for undercover FBI agents in exchange for money that would fund his campaign for Secretary of State. Yee is alleged to have engaged in similar activity during his run for Mayor of San Francisco in 2011.
Additionally, Yee is said to have agreed to push through a contract under consideration with the state Department of Public Health in exchange for $70,000.
Official charges against Yee do not include the murder-for-hire scheme that overshadows this case but do include six counts of attempting to defraud citizens of honest services, and conspiracy to traffic in, and illegally import firearms.
Maximum penalties for the firearms charges include 10 years in prison and $500,000 in fines. Penalties for each of the fraud charges could carry a penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Yee represents Senate District 8, which includes the western half of San Francisco and most of San Mateo County.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
