Updated 1:55 p.m. PT Wednesday, Oct. 14 — what each side told jurors: Assistant U.S. Attorney Abraham Fine told the jury that Thao made "three corrupt promises": to steer city tax dollars toward Evolutionary Homes, the modular-housing company tied to the Duongs and political fixer Mario Juarez; to help California Waste Solutions, the Duongs' recycling firm that already holds an Oakland contract; and to place the Duongs' preferred candidates in senior city jobs, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in its live coverage. "Sheng Thao was a public official on the take, and she and Andre Jones were open for business," Fine said. Prosecutors described a March 2023 meeting at Skates by the Bay in Berkeley, a note on Juarez's phone laying out the city buying 300 housing units in return for $300,000 to Jones, about $95,000 of which prosecutors say was paid, and secret audio recordings of Evolutionary Homes board meetings. Fine acknowledged that Juarez, who has pleaded guilty to bribery and is the government's key witness, is "no angel." Thao's lawyer, Jeffrey Tsai, countered that jurors would not see "a single word reflecting the existence of a bribe," said Thao was keeping a "volatile political figure" at arm's length rather than conspiring with him, and noted she still rents in Oakland and drives the same Hyundai Santa Fe. Jones' lawyer said Jones did real work for Evolutionary Homes. CBS News reported that the 12 jurors, seven women and five men, plus six alternates, were chosen from about 70 people questioned.
Updated 12:15 p.m. PT Wednesday, Oct. 14: Opening statements began Wednesday morning at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in downtown Oakland in the federal corruption trial of former Mayor Sheng Thao, CBS News and NBC Bay Area reported. Prosecutors spent about an hour outlining their case and told jurors, according to NBC Bay Area, "This is a case about a public official who put her power up for sale." Defense lawyers began their openings the same morning and immediately disputed that account. Thao arrived with her attorney; her partner and co-defendant Andre Jones and California Waste Solutions executives David Duong and Andy Duong arrived separately. The four face bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges tied to an alleged pay-to-play scheme around recycling contracts and city influence; all have pleaded not guilty. CBS News says the trial is expected to last about a month; other outlets have described a roughly six-week schedule. If convicted on all counts, CBS News reports, the defendants face up to 35 years in prison.
Updated 8:35 p.m. PT Tuesday, Oct. 13: A jury of seven women and five men was seated Tuesday in the federal corruption trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao after a full day of questioning at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in downtown Oakland, NBC Bay Area and The Oaklandside reported. Opening statements are set for Wednesday, Oct. 14. The government is expected to call Thao's former chief of staff, Leigh Hanson, among its first witnesses, according to The Oaklandside.
Thao, 41; her longtime partner, Andre Jones, 55; California Waste Solutions CEO David Duong, 68; and his son, Andy Duong, 37, each face conspiracy, bribery, mail-fraud and wire-fraud charges tied to what prosecutors call a pay-to-play deal around the 2022 mayoral race. Andy Duong also faces a false-statements count for allegedly lying to the FBI. All four have pleaded not guilty. The trial is expected to run about six weeks, into the Thanksgiving stretch.
Who made the jury
NBC Bay Area reported the defense struck 15 potential jurors and the prosecution dismissed eight before the panel was finalized. The Oaklandside said the 12 jurors include a security guard, someone who works with children who have autism, an environmental modeler and someone who works on Muni vehicles, among others, drawn from around the region. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers spent hours probing whether jurors could stay open-minded if a defendant declines to testify, and whether Thao's 2024 recall or feelings about law enforcement would skew their view.
"What I'm looking for is jurors who can be open-minded," Gonzalez Rogers told the roughly 80 people assembled in her courtroom, The Oaklandside reported. "I've been doing this long enough to know there are two sides to a story." Defense lawyer Jeffrey Tsai asked whether anyone would treat the recall itself as proof Thao could not get a fair shake; no hands went up, according to The Oaklandside.
What prosecutors say happened
The government alleges that ahead of the 2022 election — when Thao was still a City Council member — the Duongs spent about $75,000 on negative campaign mailers against her rivals and paid Jones about $95,000 for a "no-show" job at Evolutionary Homes, a shipping-container housing venture they launched with Oakland businessman Mario Juarez. In exchange, prosecutors say, Thao pledged favorable treatment: extending California Waste Solutions' Oakland recycling contract, steering city purchases toward Evolutionary Homes, and helping place allies in senior city posts.
KQED and earlier court coverage have described larger sums discussed if the city bought more units. The Duongs' recycling firm already held Oakland's curbside contract; Evolutionary Homes aimed to sell container shelters to Bay Area governments.
Star witness and the road ahead
Juarez, who fell out with the Duongs and pleaded guilty after cooperating with the FBI, remains the prosecution's key witness. Defense lawyers have hammered what they call his long record of fraud lawsuits. On the eve of trial, Gonzalez Rogers denied David Duong's request that the government produce Juarez's tax returns, Courthouse News reported.
FBI agents raided the defendants' Oakland Hills homes and the Embarcadero recycling offices in June 2024; Thao was recalled later that year. With a jury now seated, the next six weeks will test whether texts, recordings and Juarez's testimony convince the panel — or whether doubts about the informant sink the biggest corruption case Oakland has seen in years.