Sunday, September 21, 2014

Raymond Lee, San Francisco Mayor, Friend of Raymond Chow [Triad]

 State senator Leland Yee, who is now seeking the San Francisco Mayor's office stood outside the Gordon Lau Elementary School with a handful of School Board members to introduce his education plan should he be elected Thursday September 15, 2011. Photo: Lance Iversen, The ChronicleRaymond Lee, San Francisco Mayor, Friend of Raymond Chow [Triad]

Democratic state senator Leland Yee, a San Francisco mayoral candidate, works at his campaign headquarters in San Francisco, Calif., August 18, 2011.Democratic state senator Leland Yee, a San Francisco mayoral candidate, works at his campaign headquarters in San Francisco, Calif., August 18, 2011.Police officers from the San Francisco Police Department stand guard in front of the Ghee Kung Tong Supreme Lodge in Chinatown after an FBI raid on Wednesday, March 26.Leland Yee (D-SF) appeared before the Tulare Co. Board of Supervisors with Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro). Assembly members Leland Yee and Ellen Corbett met with local politicians in Tulare Co. to try to sell California's proposed fiscal budget in June 2003 in Visalia, Calif.With purported eyewitness Andy Li by his side, San Francisco mayoral candidate State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Franicsco, talks about alleged voting fraud by acting San Francisco Mayor and fellow mayoral candidate Ed Lee during a news conference on Monday, Oct. 24, 2001, in San Francisco, Calif.With San Francisco mayoral candidate State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Franicsco beside her, purported eyewitness Linda Dudley talks about alleged voting fraud by acting San Francisco Mayor and mayoral candidate Ed Lee during a new conference on Monday, Oct. 24, 2001, in San Francisco, Calif.


Andy Li, 40, of South San Francisco was a close friend of Chow's with a lengthy criminal record but was no longer a Ghee Kung Tong member. He is accused of money laundering, conspiracy to distribute narcotics, dealing in firearms without a license and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Kongphet Chanthavong, 36, of San Francisco was allegedly a former Ghee Kung Tong member and associate of Chow's. He is accused of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, dealing in firearms without a license and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Hung Ming Ma, 29, of San Francisco was an alleged enforcer for Ghee Kung Tong. Ma is accused of conspiracy to receive and transport stolen property in interstate commerce.
Hon Keung So, 55, of Alameda, allegedly hosted Ghee Kung Tong events at his New Asia Restaurant. So is accused of conspiracy to receive and transport stolen property in interstate commerce.
Albert Nhingsavath, 32, of San Francisco is accused of money laundering and conspiracy to distribute narcotics.
Serge Gee, 28, of Cupertino is accused of money laundering and conspiracy to distribute narcotics.
Gary Kwong Yiu Chen, 25, of San Francisco is accused of money laundering and conspiracy to distribute narcotics.
Elaine Liang, 51, of Cupertino is accused of money laundering.
Leslie Yun, 42, of Oakland is a director for the Ghee Kung Tong Supreme Lodge Chinese Freemasons of the World. Yun is accused of money laundering of funds believed to be proceeds of unlawful activity, conspiracy to receive and transport stolen property in interstate commerce, conspiracy to traffic contraband cigarettes and conspiracy to distribute narcotics.
Yat Wah Pau, 55, of Oakland is a director for the Ghee Kung Tong Supreme Lodge, Chinese Freemasons of the World. He is accused of money laundering of funds believed to be proceeds of unlawful activity, conspiracy to receive and transport stolen property in interstate commerce and conspiracy to traffic contraband cigarettes.

 Controversy follows trio

The three people at the center of Wednesday's San Francisco corruption sting - state Sen. Leland Yee, Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow and former school board head Keith Jackson have been plagued by controversies through the years. Here's a look at some of the incidents:
Dec. 19, 1992: Yee, then a San Francisco school board member, is arrested in Kona, Hawaii, after exiting a store with a bottle of suntan lotion. He travels back to San Francisco without notifying Hawaiian police and is never prosecuted.
Feb. 21, 1995: Chow is convicted and later sentenced to more than 23 years in prison on gun-trafficking charges. He later cuts a deal to testify against gang leader Peter Chong and is released in 2003.
May 1, 1996: The racketeering case against Chow ends in a mistrial. Federal officials call it a major blow to their efforts against organized crime.
May 1997: Court records reveal that Jackson, then president of the San Francisco school board, owes his estranged wife more than $5,000 in child support for his two sons. Jackson had campaigned on a platform of family responsibility.
March 20, 1998: San Francisco is at the center of a national controversy over school book reading-list quotas after a Jackson proposal. He and another school board member want to require high-school students to read four of seven books by nonwhite authors every year. The Board of Education eventually decides to require diverse book selections without the quota.
November 1999: News breaks that twice in recent months, Yee was stopped and questioned by San Francisco police on suspicion he was cruising the Mission District for prostitutes. Yee said both instances were cases of mistaken identity.
January 2006: Yee is accused of taking money from a political action committee set up by the plastics industry shortly after voting against a bill that would have banned potentially harmful chemicals from baby products.
Feb. 27, 2006: The spotlight falls on Chow and Chinatown's Ghee Kung Tong when "dragon head" Allen Leung is gunned down at his import-export business on Jackson Street. The killing remains unsolved.
Aug. 1, 2007: In an SF Weekly interview, Chow talks about his role in the Hop Sing Boys gang and why he testified against Chong.
June 14, 2009: Mayor Gavin Newsom pulls the plug on the city-funded Chinatown Night Market after Chow offered to run it for $1 a year and appointed six members of Ghee Kung Tong to the board of directors of the Chinatown Neighborhood Association.
March 26, 2014: The FBI raids Yee's San Francisco home and Sacramento offices. Yee is arrested at his home. Chow and Jackson are also arrested. The feds say Yee participated in conversations about an illegal gun-trafficking deal and took money from undercover agents for his secretary of state campaign. Chow and Jackson are among 25 other people named in the federal affidavit. The feds say Jackson consulted with both Yee and Chow, and that FBI agents were able to infiltrate Chow's organization to facilitate the illegal deals.

Contributors

The following Chronicle staff writers contributed to this package of stories: Nanette Asimov, Melody Gutierrez, Vivian Ho, Peter Hockaday, Will Kane, Kathleen Pender, John Wildermuth and Kale Williams.

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