San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo entered a not guilty plea Wednesday morning in Oakland’s federal courthouse, where he was being arraigned on charges that he took a $2,000 bribe and lied to law enforcement officers about it.
U.S. District Judge Kandis A. Westmore agreed to let Azevedo remain out of custody on a $25,000 unsecured bond. His next court appearance is Jan. 8. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the bribery charge, and potentially five years for lying to law enforcement, plus hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. Azevedo’s attorney, Steven Kalar, who was appointed by the court, declined to make a statement to members of the press after the hearing.
Prosecutors filed charges against the San Leandro Councilmember a little over two weeks ago, alleging he accepted a $2,000 cash bribe in November 2023 from two unnamed co-conspirators.
Azevedo’s case appears to be closely linked to the indictments of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, her partner Andre Jones, and David Duong and Andy Duong of California Waste Solutions. The Duongs ran a company called Evolutionary Homes that wanted to sell shipping container homes to local governments around the Bay Area. Prosecutors have alleged that the Duongs paid bribes to Thao and Jones in exchange for steering the housing contract to Evolutionary Homes, as well as providing favors to the Duongs. Azevedo also attended a government delegation to Vietnam in 2023 that was organized by a business association controlled by the Duongs, which was also attended by Thao.
Azevedo allegedly created a limited liability company and a bank account in his wife’s name to receive payments from the owners of a housing company who wanted to do business with San Leandro. At Wednesday’s hearing, Azevedo waived his right to an indictment, which means prosecutors don’t need to persuade a grand jury to file charges against him.
Federal prosecutors previously signaled in court filings that they may be “close to reaching a resolution” of Azevedo’s case, and that there may not be any substantive hearings until a potential change of plea or sentencing hearing, according to the East Bay Times. Assistant U.S. Attorney Abraham Fine repeated this point during Wednesday’s hearing and said this case may be “very close” to a resolution.
It’s unclear how the outcome of Azevedo’s case could affect the case against Thao, Jones, and the Duongs.
Azevedo’s attorney, Steven Kalar, notified the judge on Wednesday that he’s effectively been working pro bono on his client’s case because of the government shutdown.
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