FBI agents raid San Leandro city councilman’s home
Questions surround a raid conducted by federal agents at the home of San Leandro Dist. 2 councilman Bryan Azevedo. He has said he’s done nothing wrong, and the city’s mayor says Azevedo hasn’t been charged with a crime.
SAN LEANDRO, Calif. – San Leandro City Councilmember Bryan Azevedo has been charged by federal prosecutors with conspiracy as part of an alleged plot to accept bribes and kickbacks in exchange for helping a housing company secure lucrative city contracts.
The case was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, as first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Ties to another suit and ongoing corruption probe
The federal charges come months after a lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court by former San Leandro City Manager Fran Robustelli against Azevedo and Councilmember Victor Aguilar.
Robustelli accuses the two of pressuring city leadership to declare a homelessness emergency that could have benefited a tiny-home company owned by Oakland businessmen David and Andy Duong.
The Duongs are at the center of a separate federal corruption investigation that has also ensnared former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and her partner, Andre Jones. As part of that ongoing probe, FBI agents raided Azevedo’s home in January.
Allegations of bribes, kickbacks, and a Vietnam trip
In the new federal case, prosecutors did not name the Oakland-based housing company Azevedo was allegedly working with. However, court documents claim his co-conspirators were politically active and manufactured prefabricated modular homes made from shipping containers.
The Duongs own California Waste Solutions, a recycling company, and Evolutionary Home, which manufactures and sells container homes. Neither the Duongs nor Thao are named in Azevedo’s charging documents.
Prosecutors allege Azevedo’s dealings with his co-conspirators began in August 2023 and continued until June 2024. They claim he knowingly participated in the scheme in exchange for financial gain, seeking to have San Leandro purchase housing units from the company involved.
Court documents also allege that during the summer of 2023, Azevedo accepted an all-expenses-paid trip to Vietnam hosted by his co-conspirators.
Azevedo was among several East Bay officials, including Thao, who traveled to Vietnam that year on a junket sponsored by David Duong. It remains unclear if that is the trip referenced in Tuesday’s federal filing.
Alleged plan to profit from city purchases
Prosecutors say Azevedo agreed to a deal in which he would receive a percentage of sales from any housing units the city purchased from the company.
Following instructions from his co-conspirators, Azevedo allegedly opened an LLC and a bank account in his wife’s name to receive bribe and kickback payments and conceal his involvement.
Azevedo followed through on his promises by lobbying for an emergency shelter ordinance before the city council, officials said. The proposal would have streamlined housing development in San Leandro.
However, then–City Manager Fran Robustelli strongly opposed the declaration, arguing that the city lacked the funds and that homelessness was not an emergency for the city, according to the East Bay Times.
KQED reported that city employees were also skeptical, noting that Alameda County, not individual cities, oversees emergency declarations and directs county staff to create response plans.
Despite the opposition, Azevedo brought the measure to a city council vote, where the council ultimately voted to take no action on the proposed emergency declaration.
Azevedo’s term expires in December 2028.Â
“The Department of Justice’s investigation involving Bryan Azevedo is a private personal matter. The City of San Leandro has no information to provide or comment to offer regarding this issue,” the city said in a statement.
Azevedo declined to comment on the federal charges he faces.Â
He is not in custody.
The Source: Information for this story comes from federal charging documents along with previous reporting.