Thao, 39, removed from office in November recall, accused of key role in sprawling corruption and bribery scheme. Sheng Thao, the former mayor of Oakland, and three others have been indicted for a slate of federal charges including conspiracy and bribery. The indictment, which was unsealed and announced in California on Friday, is the culmination of an investigation led by the FBI, the US Postal Inspection Service, and the US Internal Revenue Service.
Also charged in the indictment were Andre Jones, Thao’s longtime romantic partner, and David and Andy Duong, a father-son business duo who own Cal Waste Solutions, the company that picks up the recyclables of Oakland’s more than 436,000 residents. The foursome are accused of orchestrating a scheme in which Thao allegedly extended contracts for Cal Waste Solutions, appointed high-level officials who would allegedly help the Duongs’ business interests, and bought housing units from another company owned by the Duongs.
In exchange, the Duongs allegedly promised to pay $300,000 in direct cash payments for “no-show” jobs to Jones, and allegedly put $75,000 toward a mailer campaign that targeted Thao’s opponent in the 2022 mayoral election. The indictment also mentions an unnamed person referred to only as “Co-conspirator 1” who founded the company Thao allegedly promised to buy houses from with the Duongs, and who was allegedly involved in setting up the scheme before the November 2022 mayoral election.
“Our communities depend on local government for critical services,” Patrick D Robbins, with the US attorney’s office, said at a press conference. “The public needs to know it can trust those in charge of city hall to work for the best interest of the people. This public trust was broken when elected officials agreed to a pay-to-play system to benefit themselves.”.