{"id":506339,"date":"2026-10-24T08:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T08:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/506339\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T08:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T08:12:16","slug":"theres-no-proof-of-sheng-thao-taking-a-bribe-defense-argues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/506339\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s no proof of Sheng Thao taking a bribe, defense argues"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no evidence that the alleged bribery scheme between Sheng Thao and three others actually happened. The government\u2019s case is based on the untrustworthy account of informant Mario Juarez.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what defense attorney Erik Babcock tried to demonstrate in court Thursday, beginning an energetic cross-examination of FBI Special Agent Katherine Barclay during the second week of trial in the Oakland corruption case.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He ran through the promises that former mayor and her then-partner Andre Jones allegedly made in exchange for David and Andy Duongs\u2019 bribes. The city did not ultimately extend their recycling contract, let alone purchase hundreds of tiny homes from their housing company, he confirmed with Barclay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no evidence because it did not happen, correct?\u201d Babcock said about the housing units. Barclay conceded.<\/p>\n

He asked her about her conversation with Juarez, a former business partner of the Duongs who\u2019s pleaded guilty in the case and is cooperating with the government.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told you\u2026 \u2018We made this deal with the mayor, and she was going to X, Y, and Z for us,\u2019 correct? But X, Y, and Z never happened, did they?\u201d Babcock said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is correct,\u201d Barclay said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you have a recording of my client and Mario Juarez discussing bribing the mayor of Oakland?\u201d Babcock asked Barclay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no recording,\u201d Barclay eventually said, but she adamantly disagreed with the lawyer\u2019s insistence that the case is based mainly on Juarez\u2019s statements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Federal agents seized the phones and computers of Thao and the other defendants and have presented dozens of photos, videos, text threads, notes, and other data extracted from them as evidence in the case. This week, jurors sat in silence as the prosecution painstakingly entered each item into the court.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At times, jurors were treated to recordings of expletive-laden phone calls and revealing personal text messages.<\/p>\n

Thao briefed Andy Duong on private information from the City Council\u2019s closed session<\/p>\n

\"20261013_ThaoJurySelect_EstefanyGonzalez_009\"\/Andy Duong arrives at court for jury selection on Oct. 13. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

One of the most revealing phone calls was a brief chat between Thao and Andy. Years before the alleged bribery scheme commenced, the then-councilmember was feeding confidential information to the Duongs.<\/p>\n

During the April 2019 call, which Andy recorded, Thao coaches Andy on how his family\u2019s curbside recycling company, California Waste Solutions, should navigate litigation with the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thao and Andy discuss finding a private restaurant where they can have lunch and talk about the case out of the public eye. \u201cWe really don\u2019t want to be seen with you guys,\u201d she explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the call, Thao briefs Andy on her fellow councilmembers\u2019 stances on the legal battle with CWS over whether they\u2019d overcharged customers. She discloses interactions that occurred during a confidential closed-session meeting of the council and the city attorney, disparaging councilmembers who seemed to support the idea that they owe rate-payers a refund.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then-Councilmember Dan Kalb brought up the issue, she tells Andy. Then Noel Gallo and Loren Taylor chimed in with questions and concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all concerned around the fucking refund,\u201d Thao says. \u201cI\u2019m hoping we can be strategic.\u201d She tells Andy that \u201cRebecca,\u201d apparently referencing Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, didn\u2019t know how to answer their colleagues\u2019 questions about the refunds. So Thao pushes Andy to prepare to make a case to the council.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember, he doesn\u2019t know anything,\u201d Thao says about Taylor, who, years later, would become her opponent in the 2022 mayoral race. \u201cBut if we don\u2019t have answers to his questions, then fuck, we\u2019re fucked, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Andy notes that Larry Reid, a different councilmember, is likely to vote in a way that\u2019s advantageous to CWS, but says that he won\u2019t argue \u201cunless he gets pissed off.\u201d Thao agrees, adding that if Reid is vocally supportive, Taylor \u201cwill shut the fuck up. But if he\u2019s just quiet, if he\u2019s just a vote, then Loren will do whatever the hell he wants.\u201d Larry Reid was one of the Duongs\u2019 strongest political allies<\/a> in Oakland, and his daughter, Treva, had worked for CWS from 2004 to 2012; she would go on to take over her father\u2019s council seat in 2021.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

At one point, Andy says they could eat at his restaurant, which would be \u201csuper private.\u201d Andy was previously linked to an Oakland business called Music Cafe<\/a>, which the city\u2019s Public Ethics Commission alleged Andy used to funnel illegal straw donations to local politicians. State agents shut down the business in 2018 after raiding it and arresting staff for selling narcotics and sex. It\u2019s unclear whether Andy is still referring to Music Cafe in the 2019 phone call with Thao when he references \u201cmy restaurant.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2021, the city and CWS settled their lawsuit. The company agreed to refund residents $6 million. Oakland agreed to pay CWS $1.7 million to help with its operating costs.<\/p>\n

The Oaklandside previously reported<\/a> that Kaplan had suggested a significant increase in the amount Oakland would hand over to CWS in that settlement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was clear to me from the discussion in the room that some councilmembers had background conversations with CWS prior to the closed session and were anticipating what would be acceptable or desirable terms,\u201d Taylor told us in 2024. However, he noted that such discussions aren\u2019t inherently illegal or unethical.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2023, Andy recorded another revealing call with Thao \u2014 which was also played for the jury. In it, she admonishes him for inviting councilmembers she doesn\u2019t get along with, namely Treva Reid and Janani Ramachandran, to events,\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care if you guys have great relationships\u2026you\u2019re gonna have to fucking pick and choose, because I\u2019m not fucking with those bitches\u2026they make my life hard at City Hall constantly,\u201d she tells him.<\/p>\n

Juarez boasted that he had a ringer at City Hall <\/p>\n

While most of the promises allegedly made by Thao and Jones to the Duongs did not come to fruition, one of the other \u201cdeal points\u201d laid out in an iCloud note on Mario Juarez\u2019s phone did, according to the government. That was the appointment of a Duong-friendly city staffer, Larry Gallegos, to a deputy director position in Oakland\u2019s Housing and Community Development Department.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The prosecution asked Barclay about a text exchange between Andy and Juarez that took place in February 2023 and largely seemed to focus on wooing Gallegos.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Juarez suggests that Gallegos come have lunch at CWS with David Duong and the family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then he suggests, \u201cTake Larry Gallegos to party \u2013 he is a devoted Christian- think of his sins while he parties.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Andy Duong and former Oakland city staffer Larry Gallegos at California Waste Solutions on February 7, 2023. Credit: Government exhibit<\/p>\n

After Andy agrees to the lunch, Juarez responds, \u201cHe needs to say that he is on board with CWS\u2026And the appointment is the direct result of the lobbying taking place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Andy texts.<\/p>\n

Later in the text thread, Andy writes that he wanted to meet with Gallegos first, stating, \u201cIts us who got him appointed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you get a good vibe he should go with you to walk with Sheng and you take him,\u201d Juarez says about a scheduled walk Thao and Andy were going to take in Chinatown.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Andy, seemingly confused, asks if Gallegos is a \u201cmaybe.\u201d Juarez reassures him that \u201che is in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd last I asked him point direct,\u201d Juarez continues. \u201cCWS extension and Army Base deal are priorities he said he knows and he will deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prosecution hasn\u2019t yet introduced any texts, recordings, or other evidence from Gallegos confirming these claims Juarez made about him and his intentions. Gallegos is on the government\u2019s witness list.<\/p>\n

Later in the same thread, Juarez says Gallegos would \u201cresolve ABC too,\u201d seemingly referring to ABC Security Services, a city contractor that Juarez lobbied for.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Andy asks if Gallegos had asked for the city appointment, or if Juarez wanted him specifically. Juarez explains that he wanted Gallegos because \u201cwhile at the City he make sure my projects got done and grants were given to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The following day, Gallegos visited CWS\u2019 office, which Andy memorialized with a smiling selfie. It appears the Duongs had high hopes for Gallegos. In a calendar invitation a week later for a meeting between Andy and David, the subject line refers to Gallegos as the \u201cupcoming new city administrator or director.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Later in February, Juarez, Andy, Gallegos, and a local businessman named Stewart Chen went out to a sushi dinner, according to photos shared with the jury. Another photo seized from Andy\u2019s phone shows the same group of men later that night at a bar with several young women.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Salacious photos come under scrutiny <\/p>\n

\"\"Bottles of champagne and cigars from a meeting between Mario Juarez, David Duong, and Andy Duong on October 5, 2022. Credit: Screenshot of photograph from government exhibit<\/p>\n

As the defense team has for the duration of the trial, Andy\u2019s attorney, Babcock, tried to highlight how much the government is relying on the testimony of Juarez, a controversial character.<\/p>\n

He also grilled the FBI agent about why certain pieces of evidence were shown to the jury.<\/p>\n

He zeroed in on a photo appearing to show bottles of champagne and cigars at the Evolutionary Homes launch party.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government didn\u2019t need to present that photo in order to prove this meeting occurred, did they?\u201d Babcock said. The prosecution tried to stop his line of questioning, but the judge allowed it, reminding prosecutors that \u201cyou had her up there for two days.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government is just gilding the lily, adding these photos \u2014 the only possible reason is prejudice against our client,\u201d Babcock said. This time, the judge admonished him.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the week, the defense attorneys have fought with the prosecution about several pieces of evidence, including photos from the Vietnam trip and Thao\u2019s use of the Signal messaging app.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones\u2019 attorney also filed an objection to most of Barclay\u2019s testimony, accusing the government of presenting a \u201clengthy overview summary of its entire case\u201d through the FBI agent, rather than other witnesses who \u201cdo not support their narrative and a cooperator with extraordinary credibility issues.\u201d Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers didn\u2019t appear to buy this argument and said that if the defense doesn\u2019t agree with her they can take it up on appeal if the case results in convictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeffrey Tsai, Thao\u2019s defense attorney, also previewed what he plans to ask Barclay as cross-examination continues next week. He said he\u2019ll question her about a meeting Thao had with federal agents on March 19, 2024, three months before the raids on her home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A person engaged in a federal bribery scheme wouldn\u2019t willfully engage with federal law enforcement, Tsai argued. Prosecutors balked at this and said that Thao\u2019s pre-raid meeting with the government was irrelevant to the trial.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monday will pick up with further cross-examination of the FBI witness.<\/p>\n

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