There’s was a flood of information available yesterday following my post about the arrest of California State Senator Leland Yee on public corruption charges.

Hawaii connections emerged. Yee completed a Ph.D. in Psychology at UH-Manoa in 1975, which is listed in the Hamilton Library catalog.

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Author: Yee, Leland Yin.

Title: Classification behavior, across age, culture, and task / by Leland Yin Yee.

1975. 164 leaves.
Series: Theses for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (University of Hawaii at Manoa). Psychology ; no. 798.

His other Hawaii connection, according to published accounts, was a 1992 arrest for allegedly shoplifting a bottle of suntan lotion, which one article described as having been dropped in the front of his shorts.

The press release about the case from the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Northern California District reads like a novel hot off the press as it summarizes the charges.

California State Senator And Chee Kung Tong Dragonhead Among Twenty-Six Defendants Charged In Federal Criminal Complaint

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 26, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal criminal complaint, filed on March 24, 2014, was unsealed in San Francisco today, charging twenty-six defendants with firearms trafficking, money laundering, murder-for-hire, drug distribution, trafficking in contraband cigarettes, and honest services fraud, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson, and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge José M. Martinez.

The defendants include Raymond “Shrimpboy” Chow, the current Dragonhead, or leader, of the San Francisco-based Chee Kung Tong organization (CKT), and State Senator Leland Yee, who represents San Mateo County and part of San Francisco County in the California Senate.

With respect to Chow, according to the Complaint, as FBI undercover agents infiltrated the CKT through introductions made by Chow and others, a pattern of alleged racketeering activity was uncovered.

According to the Complaint, as the relationship developed among the primary undercover agent, Chow, and other defendants, the undercover agent informed the defendants that he was interested in generating income from illegal schemes. The undercover agent was inducted into the CKT as a “Consultant.” Thereafter, during the course of multiple undercover operations, the undercover agent was allegedly introduced to a number of the defendants in order to launder money, traffic narcotics, traffic in firearms, traffic purportedly stolen cigarettes and liquor, and engage in murder-for-hire schemes.

Chow also introduced Keith Jackson to the undercover agent. Jackson, the owner and operator of “Jackson Consultancy,” a San Francisco based consulting firm, is a “Consultant” to the CKT. Jackson and his son, Brandon Jackson, allegedly responded to a request for weapons by the undercover agent, by indicating that Brandon Jackson, and an associate would be able to accommodate his request. Subsequently, Jackson, Brandon Jackson, and Marlon Sullivan sold various types of firearms, and two ballistic vests, to the undercover agent. Additionally, Jackson, Brandon Jackson, and Sullivan allegedly conspired to commit a purported murder for hire scheme requested by the undercover agent, in addition to other illegal activity, including the sale of stolen credit cards and the purported sale of cocaine to Jackson, Brandon Jackson, and Sullivan from the undercover agent.

Brandon Jackson introduced the undercover agent to Rinn Roeun, one of Brandon Jackson’s sources of supply for firearms. Roeun sold multiple firearms to the undercover agent and, during a series of conversations, told the undercover agent that he was willing to commit murder for a fee.

According to the Complaint, in addition to his relationship with Chow, and the CKT, Keith Jackson is also a close associate of Senator Leland Yee. From at least May 2011 through the present, Jackson has been involved in raising campaign funds for Yee.

With respect to Yee, the Complaint alleges that over the course of 2012 and continuing to the present time, Yee and Keith Jackson allegedly raised money and campaign funds for Yee’s Secretary of State campaign by soliciting donations from FBI undercover agents, in exchange for multiple official acts, and that Yee and Jackson were involved in a conspiracy to traffic firearms.

Starting in May 2011, according to the Complaint, and continuing for several months, Jackson solicited an undercover agent with the FBI to make contributions to Yee’s San Francisco mayoral campaign. These solicitations allegedly included asking the agent for donations in excess of the $500 individual donation limit. The agent declined to make any donations to Yee, but introduced Jackson and Yee to a purported business associate, another undercover FBI agent. Jackson and Yee then solicited the second undercover agent for campaign contributions. This solicitation resulted in at least one personal donation in the amount of $5,000 to Yee’s mayoral campaign.

After Yee lost the November 8, 2011, election, according to the Complaint, he had at least $70,000 in debt from that campaign. In connection with efforts to retire the mayoral campaign debt, according to the complaint, Yee and Jackson allegedly agreed that Yee would make a telephone call to a manager with the California Department of Public Health in support of a contract under consideration with the second undercover agent’s purported client, and would provide an official letter of support for the client, in exchange for a $10,000 campaign donation. Yee allegedly made the call on October 18, 2012, and provided the letter on or about January 13, 2013. On November 19, 2012, Jackson accepted the $10,000 cash donation.

According to the Complaint, in a further attempt by Jackson and Yee to gain money from one of the undercover agents, in August 2013, Jackson told the undercover agent that Yee had a contact who deals in arms trafficking. Jackson requested that the undercover agent provide a campaign donation on behalf of Yee, for Yee to facilitate a meeting with the arms dealer with the intent of the undercover agent to purportedly purchase a large number of weapons. During a meeting with the undercover agent, Yee and Jackson allegedly discussed details of the specific types of weapons the undercover agent was interested in buying and importing.

The press release goes on to list the 26 defendants and the charges in detail.

In addition, the full criminal complaint filed in federal court can be found here (fair warning–it’s a large pdf file, over 17MB).