Opening statements began Wednesday in the federal corruption trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, who is accused with her partner and two recycling executives of trading city business for campaign cash and a no-show paycheck.
Opening statements began Wednesday in the federal corruption trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, the latest California Democrat to face a jury over allegations that public power was traded for money and political favors. Thao, her longtime partner Andre Jones, and recycling executives David and Andy Duong are accused of conspiring to steer city business to a favored contractor in exchange for campaign help and cash.
All four have pleaded not guilty. The trial, expected to run about six weeks, opened in federal court in Oakland before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who spent Tuesday questioning jurors one by one about whether they could judge the case fairly. By the close of jury selection, seven women and five men had been seated, with six alternates on standby.
Prosecutors say the Duongs -- David is the chief executive of California Waste Solutions, Oakland's curbside recycling contractor -- set out to install a friendly mayor and then cash in on the relationship.
The government alleges the family spent $75,000 on negative mailers against Thao's 2022 opponents and paid Jones $95,000 for a job that amounted to no-show work. In return, prosecutors say, Thao promised lucrative contract extensions for California Waste Solutions, the appointment of department heads friendly to the company, and city purchases of tiny-home shelters built by a firm tied to the Duongs, Evolutionary Homes.
At the center of the case is Mario Juarez, a former business partner of the Duongs who is the government's key informant. Juarez, who owned a housing company with the family until their relationship collapsed in allegations of a physical altercation, has pleaded guilty in the case, along with former San Leandro City Councilman Bryan Azevedo.
Prosecutors also plan to use a cellphone video recorded by Andy Duong that allegedly captures Juarez discussing cash payments to Oakland officials after California Waste Solutions won a 2015 city recycling contract. By the government's account, Juarez later told federal agents he counted out $300,000 and placed it in a gym bag meant for an unnamed politician.
All four defendants face federal counts of conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, and accepting a bribe. Andy Duong faces an additional charge of making false statements to the FBI.
Defense attorneys are working to puncture the prosecution's story by discrediting Juarez, pointing to his own guilty plea and a long record of legal disputes and allegations that he defrauded onetime partners. They also pressed prospective jurors on whether Thao's removal from office could color their judgment.
The former mayor's political collapse is part of the backdrop. Thao was elected in 2022 and recalled by Oakland voters in 2024 amid anger over crime, a yawning budget shortfall and a leadership shakeup at the police department. She was indicted in 2025, and the FBI raid that launched the probe -- carried out at her home and the homes of the Duongs more than two years ago -- remains a defining image of the case.
The trial unfolds at a moment when federal prosecutors face a higher bar in public corruption cases. A series of Supreme Court rulings has narrowed what counts as an official act, forcing the government to tie favors to specific, concrete exercises of power rather than the winks and nods that once sustained such cases.
Stanford Law School professor Robert Weisberg, who has followed the case, still called the government's evidence strong. "This is a very strong case for the prosecution, very strong," he said.
The matter also fits a wider pattern of federal scrutiny aimed at Democratic-run cities and their political machines. It comes as a federal judge refers Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation.
Opening statements set the stage for weeks of testimony from city officials, political operatives and the informant at the heart of the government's case. With four defendants and separate defense teams, the proceedings could stretch beyond the projected six weeks, and jurors have been told to evaluate each defendant individually.
The outcome will carry weight well past Oakland. A conviction would hand federal prosecutors a marquee win against a machine-style political operation in one of America's most progressive cities. An acquittal or a hung jury would feed the argument that a narrowed corruption standard has made it nearly impossible to hold public officials accountable for trading power for money.
For Oakland, the coming weeks will decide whether a relationship voters long suspected was rigged in favor of the connected ends in prison sentences or in another round of frustration.
Opening statements began Wednesday in the federal corruption trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, who is accused with her partner and two recycling executives of trading city business for campaign cash and a no-show paycheck.
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