The stories you want. The opinions that matter.
No, thanks

Grand Jury Indicts California State Senator Leland Yee, 28 Others In Corruption Probe

Grand Jury Indicts California State Senator Leland Yee, 28 Others In Corruption Probe

By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal grand jury indicted 29 suspects, including California state Senator Leland Yee, with a wide range of crimes, including firearms trafficking and public corruption, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag announced Friday.

Yee, a Democrat who represents parts of San Francisco and San Mateo County, and other suspects were arrested last week on a criminal complaint that outlined the charges behind the grand jury indictments. Yee was indicted for corruption, wire fraud and gun trafficking, the same charges laid out in the complaint.

The indictment said Yee solicited campaign contributions from undercover FBI agents and promised political favors in return. The alleged favors included a letter of endorsement on Yee’s state Senate stationary and a state proclamation.

A grand jury indictment means the defendants will not be entitled to a preliminary hearing in which testimony would be taken and a judge would determine whether there was sufficient evidence for a trial.

If convicted, Yee would face more than 100 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines.

Other suspects, including a reputed San Francisco Chinatown gang leader, were charged with money laundering, murder for hire, drug distribution and trafficking in contraband cigarettes.

Haag said the prosecution stemmed from a five-year investigation by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and the San Francisco, Oakland and Antioch police departments.

Photo: Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group/MCT

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

Do You Have Super Ager Potential?New Quiz Shows How Well You Are Aging

Do You Have Super Ager Potential?New Quiz Shows How Well You Are Aging

When someone says that age “is just a number,” they’re talking about a fact of life that everyone knows: As some people get older, they hold onto a youthful vitality and suffer less from age-related illness, while others feel and show the toll of advancing years.

And with so many of us living longer than previous generations, the measure of lifespan, or the number of years we exist, is increasingly overshadowed by the concept of “healthspan,” meaning the number of years we spend in reasonably good health.

Keep reading...Show less
healthy aging

The GOP Is Now The Party Of Putin

@monacharenEPPC
Putin

President Vladimir Putin, left, and former President Donald Trump

"Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it's infected a good chunk of my party's base." That acknowledgement from Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was echoed a few days later by Ohio Rep. Michael Turner, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee. "To the extent that this propaganda takes hold, it makes it more difficult for us to really see this as an authoritarian versus democracy battle."

Keep reading...Show less
Putin
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}