Politics
Oakland corruption trial turns to former mayor’s Vietnam trip and recycling contracts
Testimony in former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s corruption trial is scheduled to resume Monday, with defense lawyers expected to continue questioning her former chief of staff. Prosecutors allege Thao offered future city contracts to California Waste Solutions owners in exchange for help getting elected; Thao and her co-defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Testimony in the corruption trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is scheduled to resume Monday, Oct. 19, with defense attorneys expected to continue cross-examining former chief of staff Leigh Hanson.
The questioning has included a 2023 trip Thao took to Vietnam shortly after becoming mayor. Hanson testified that Thao believed the Port of Oakland had paid her expenses. Prosecutors say most of the trip was paid for by David and Andy Duong, co-defendants who own California Waste Solutions, the city’s recycling contractor.
Hanson said she urged Thao not to go, citing the appearance of a new mayor traveling to Asia while Oakland faced serious budget problems.
Prosecutors allege Thao offered future contracts with a waste-recycling company in return for help from the company’s owners in her mayoral campaign. Thao, her longtime boyfriend Andre Jones, and David and Andy Duong face charges including bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud. All have pleaded not guilty.
The trial’s second day of testimony follows earlier questioning of Hanson. Last week, she testified that Thao did not intervene to install people in positions of power whom prosecutors say the Duongs supported.
Separately, organizers behind Thao’s recall effort planned a news conference outside federal court Monday. They said they would call for an end to no-bid contracts and demand accountability over alleged corruption and what they described as a political machine at City Hall.