California state Sen. Leland Yee has been arrested on public corruption charges as part of several arrests made by the FBI Wednesday morning during a massive FBI sting, the FBI told NBC Bay Area.
U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag of the Northern District of California said that Yee and current Chee Kung Tong leader Raymond Chow were among 26 defendants charged in a federal criminal complaint.
The FBI office in San Francisco said that those arrrested in Wednesday's sweep, including Yee, will appear before Federal Magistrate Judge Nathaniel Cousins in San Francisco at 1:30 p.m for arraignment.
One of the places the FBI searched Wednesday was at the San Francisco Chinatown office of the Ghee Kung Tong Free Masons at 36 Spofford St., where Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, a notorious former Chinatown gangster, conducts business. Chow was also arrested during the raid.
Firefighters were seen going inside with a circular saw and later said they had cracked a safe.
The FBI also arrested Keith Jackson, a well-known political consultant in San Francisco who is on the board of the Hunters Point Boys and Girls Club.
"The FBI executed multiple search warrants in the city and beyond," FBI spokesperson Peter Lee said, adding that the agency is not giving out detailed information at the moment because they are concerned about officer safety.
Yee, who has served in the state Legislature for more than a decade, was elected to the State Senate in November 2006 and represents District 8, which includes San Francisco and San Mateo County. The former San Francisco supervisor and 2011 mayoral candidate is currently running for secretary of state.
Yee has promised to "increase government transparency, support small businesses, reform campaign financing and protect the most vulnerable," as a candidate.
Sources told NBC Bay Area that Yee faces corruption charges in relation to his work as a state senator as well as his campaign for secretary of state.
Sources also told NBC Bay Area that some of the complaints against Yee may be related to medical marijuana and martial arts companies.
Yee is best known publicly for his efforts to strengthen open records, government transparency and whistleblower protection laws, including legislation to close a loophole in state public records laws after the CSU Stanislaus Foundation refused to release its $75,000 speaking contract with former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in 2010.
Chow ran a Chinese criminal organization with ties to Hong Kong and was convicted of gun charges. But he had recently been held up as an example of successful rehabilitation and was praised for his work in the community.
Yee's arrest came as a shock to Chinese-Americans who see the senator as a pioneering leader in the community and a mainstay of San Francisco politics, said David Lee, director of the Chinese American Voters Education Committee.
"People are waiting to see what happens, and they are hoping for the best, that the charges turn out not to be true," said Lee, whose organization just held a get-out-the-vote event with Yee and other Chinese-American elected officials last week.
For his efforts to uphold the California Public Records Act, Yee was honored last week by the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, which awarded him its public official citation for his efforts last year to maintain the requirements of the California Public Records Act.
Yee has at times clashed with fellow Democrats for casting votes of conscience, refusing to support the Democratic budget proposal in 2011 because of its deep cuts to education, social services and education. He also opposed legislation by a fellow Democrat, Assemblyman Paul Fong of Cupertino, that banned the sale of shark fins used for Chinese shark fin soup, saying that it unfairly targeted the Chinese-American community.
Officers from the California Highway Patrol and Sergeant at Arms were stationed outside Yee's state Capitol office in Sacramento Wednesday morning, where the FBI agents conducted a raid, taking computers and other documents, according to KCRA-TV.
The FBI confirmed to KCRA-TV that it had raided homes and businesses in the Bay Area and Sacramento Wednesday morning, issuing multiple search warrants and making arrests.
Sources told NBC Bay Area that the FBI investigation dates back years. NBC Bay Area has learned that the FBI is making a number of arrests connected to the investigation.
Yee’s press secretary, Dan Lieberman, declined to comment when contacted by NBC Bay Area. An official statement would be released sometime Wednesday afternoon, he said.
Yee's arrest would make him the third Democratic state senator fighting charges this year.
His arrest comes just one month after prosecutors announced federal bribery and corruption charges filed against state Sen. Ron Calderon.
Prosecutors say the Los Angeles-area Democrat accepted about $100,000 in cash bribes and other perks in exchange for his supporting or opposing bills. Calderon has pleaded not guilty.
Earlier in the year, Democratic Sen. Rod Wright was found guilty of multiple charges that stemmed from accusations he did not actually live in the Southern California district he represents. Wright is appealing the conviction.
Both Wright and Calderon have taken a leave of absence from the state Senate.
Democrat Derek Cressman, who is one of several candidates also running for secretary of state, released the folowing statement:
"Coming on the heels of the corruption charges of Senator Calderon and the conviction of Senator Wright, today's actions need to be a wake up call. We are clearly beyond the point of looking at one bad apple and instead looking at a corrupt institution in the California senate," Cressman said. "The constant begging for campaign cash clearly has a corrosive effect on a person's soul and the only solution is to get big money out of our politics once and for all."
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said that he was shocked and disapppointed by the news.
"Leland Yee has been a part of public service for a long time, sorry to see that tainted by these allegations," Lee said.
A man was charged last year for threatening Yee over legislation that he proposed to limit rapid reloading of assault weapons.
In 1992, Chow was among more than two-dozen people indicted on racketeering charges for their alleged involvement in crimes ranging from teenage prostitution to an international drug trade mostly involving heroin.
He was later convicted of gun charges and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He spent 11 years in prison and was released in 2003 after he cut a deal with the government to testify against another high-ranking associate, Peter Chong. Chong was later convicted of racketeering.
On what appears to be Raymond Chow's Facebook page, Chow displayed a picture of a certificate of honor presented to him by Lee that honored him "for his tenacity and willingness to give back to the community and working 'in the trenches' as a change agent."
Chow also appears to have been tweeting from the Twitter handle @RaymondChow10, using hashtags that included "sunoftheunderworld," "mafia." and "chinatown." His last tweet was on Nov. 17, which shows him at his sister's birthday, enjoying a glass of red wine.
Chow has also posted pictures of him with other notable public figures and local business owners, including former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and a picture of another certificate of recognition from state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano.
Yee is the first Chinese American ever elected to the California State Senate. He emigrated to San Francisco from China at age 3. Yee graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and receieved a master's degree from San Francisco State University. Yee and his wife Maxine have four children.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Photo Credit: Diane Dwyer