{"id":50177,"date":"2025-11-12T21:54:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T21:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/50177\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T21:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T21:54:11","slug":"san-leandro-official-pleads-not-guilty-will-he-cooperate-with-the-feds-in-oakland-corruption-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/50177\/","title":{"rendered":"San Leandro official pleads not guilty. Will he cooperate with the feds in Oakland corruption case?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo entered a not guilty plea Wednesday morning in Oakland\u2019s federal courthouse, where he was being arraigned on charges that he took a $2,000 bribe and lied to law enforcement officers about it.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s attorney, Steven Kalar, who was appointed by the court, declined to make a statement to members of the press after the hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prosecutors filed charges<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Azevedo\u2019s case appears to be closely linked to the indictments<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Azevedo allegedly created a limited liability company and a bank account in his wife\u2019s name to receive payments from the owners of a housing company who wanted to do business with San Leandro. At Wednesday\u2019s hearing, Azevedo waived his right to an indictment, which means prosecutors don\u2019t need to persuade a grand jury to file charges against him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Federal prosecutors previously signaled in court filings that they may be \u201cclose to reaching a resolution\u201d of Azevedo\u2019s 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<\/a>. Assistant U.S. Attorney Abraham Fine repeated this point during Wednesday\u2019s hearing and said this case may be \u201cvery close\u201d to a resolution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear how the outcome of Azevedo\u2019s case could affect the case against Thao, Jones, and the Duongs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Azevedo\u2019s attorney, Steven Kalar, notified the judge on Wednesday that he\u2019s effectively been working pro bono on his client\u2019s case because of the government shutdown.<\/p>\n

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