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Thursday, March 27, 2014

ANTI--GUN CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR LELAND YEE ARRESTED FOR GUN TRAFFICKING

Famously anti-gun in public, State Sen. Leland Yee has fought loudly for stricter gun laws as a state senator and assemblyman.
 
After the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Conn., Yee said:
 ”Assault weapons are killing little kids, babies.”

SF BAY REPORTS:  Yet Yee’s image as an anti-gun crusader was punctured Wednesday as page after page of a federal criminal complaint accused the State Senator of bribery, corruption and, perhaps most surprisingly, allegedly acting as an intermediary in a multi-million dollar conspiracy to traffic assault rifles and other weapons out of the Philippines.
 
In a federal criminal complaint released Wednesday, Yee is quoted telling an undercover federal agent:
“People want to get whatever they want to get. Do I care? No, I don’t care. People need certain things.”
Five years of FBI undercover investigation culminated in Wednesday’s arrest of Yee, alleged Chinatown crime boss Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, San Francisco political consultant Keith Jackson and 17 others.
 
The 137-page legal document against 26 complainants reads like a Scorsese screenplay, with guns, booze, drugs, money, in-fighting and murder-for-hire all playing supporting roles.  Much of the complaint centers around Chow and a series of money laundering transactions. But Yee and Jackson are implicated in a number of subplots involving arms trafficking, Filipino rebels and good-old “play-to-play” politics.
 
Mired under $70,000 in campaign debt from his failed 2011 mayoral campaign, Yee and Jackson approached an undercover federal agent who had previously supported Yee, according to the complaint.
 
This time, the complaint alleges, the donations came in exchange for Yee’s promises of certain official acts. The complaint alleges a phone call and letter from Yee to help secure a state contract were made in exchange for a $10,000 donation.
 
In November 2012, A different federal agent delivered the donation to Jackson, who accepted on behalf of Yee. This federal agent — identified in the complaint as “UCE 4599″ — was deeply involved with criminal activity in Chow’s Chee Kung Tong organization.
 
Jackson allegedly told the agent he could arrange a meeting with an international arms dealer — a contact of Sen. Yee’s. Jackson and his son Brandon had allegedly been selling the undercover agent handguns and semi-automatic weapons throughout much of 2013.
 
After a series of delays, the agent, Jackson and Yee met earlier this month at a San Francisco restaurant with Dr. Wilson Lim, also named in the criminal complaint.
 
Lim was identified as a point of contact for a weapons deal in the Philippines, and the four men discussed the framework of a $2 million deal that would send automatic rifles and other weapons from the Philippines to the United States and then on to North Africa.
 
Yee allegedly told the agent there were approximately 100 rifles available in the transaction, as the Muslim rebels in the Philippines had “a lot of money” and were financed by former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
 
Altogether, the complaint alleges Yee received donations from three different federal agents, two of whom were promised official acts in return.
 
In March 2013, provided an official State Senate proclamation honoring Chee Kung Tong. In May and July, Jackson accepted checks from an undercover agent in the amounts of $5,000 and $1,800.
 
A third undercover agent posing as a medical marijuana businessman allegedly paid $21,000 to Yee and Jackson for introducing the agent to unnamed state legislators with influence over pending legislation.
 
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Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against state Sen. Leland Yee in court Wednesday, accusing him of conspiring to commit wire fraud and traffic firearms.

LOS ANGELES TIMES - In all, 26 people, including former school board president Keith Jackson, were indicted on charges related to an extensive crime ring headed by well-known Chinatown figure Raymond Chow, who was also arrested and charged Wednesday.  The indictment alleges Yee and Jackson defrauded "citizens of honest services" and were involved in a scheme to traffic firearms in exchange for thousands in campaign donations to the senator.
 
Federal prosecutors also allege Yee agreed to perform official acts in exchange for the money, including one instance in which he introduced a businessman to state legislators who had significant influence over pending medical marijuana legislation. In exchange, the businessman -- who was actually an undercover FBI agent -- agreed to donate thousands to Yee's campaign fund, according to the indictment.
 
The indictment also describes an August 2013 exchange in which Jackson told an undercover officer that Yee had an arms trafficking contact. Jackson allegedly said Yee could facilitate a meeting for a donation.
 
Chow, who has been connected over the years to the criminal gang Wo Hop To and is known as "Shrimp Boy," was indicted for money laundering, conspiracy to receive and transport stolen property, and conspiracy to traffic contraband cigarettes.
 
The indictment was unsealed in federal court in downtown San Francisco after FBI and other law enforcement officials carried out multiple raids early Wednesday. FBI agents also searched Yee's Sacramento office Wednesday.
 
San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr described the raids to KCBS as "massive."
"Hundreds of officers are involved in this," he said.
 
Dan Lieberman, Yee's press secretary, said Wednesday morning that his office would not comment on the FBI raids. Representatives for the U.S. attorney's office could not immediately be reached for comment.
 

RELATED

Gun Control advocate was carrying  weapon inside elementary school
Buffalo, N.Y. community activist who is well known locally for pushing for a highly restrictive 2013 gun control law has been arrested for — wait for it — carrying a gun illegally at a public elementary school.  The arrested gun-control advocate, Dwayne Ferguson, caused quite a scene at Harvey Austin Elementary School.
Read more - http://dailycaller.com/2014/02/10/gun-stun-gun-control-activist-swears-he-forgot-he-was-carrying-gun-while-visiting-school/
 
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