Overview
- Jury selection finished this week and opening statements began Wednesday as a federal trial over alleged bribery and influence-peddling involving Sheng Thao and three co-defendants gets under way.
- Prosecutors disclosed more than 1,800 items of potential evidence, including secretly recorded videos, phone calls, texts and financial documents, and said they will call cooperating witness Mario Juarez to testify.
- The indictment accuses California Waste Solutions owners David and Andy Duong of funneling payments and favors to benefit Thao’s 2022 mayoral bid and paying alleged bribes to Andre Jones in return for promises to steer city business.
- All four defendants have pleaded not guilty and defense teams have attacked witness credibility while legal experts say recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings raise the bar for proving the kind of quid pro quo the government must show.
- The trial is expected to run about six weeks with testimony possibly starting next week and carries heavy stakes for Thao and others, with reported potential prison exposure if convicted on all counts.