Former California state
senator Leland Yin Yee, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a felony racketeering charge
in an organized crime and public corruption case that brought down the
once-popular legislator known for good government and gun control,
ending his political career.
Yee,
who previously has pleaded not guilty to bribery, money laundering and
other felony charges, was scheduled to go on trial in late July in the
sweeping case that was centered in San Francisco's Chinatown.
But he changed his plea Wednesday in San Francisco federal court and
will likely serve some time in prison, legal analysts say. He could face
a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to
federal sentencing guidelines and the plea agreement obtained by NBC Bay
Area. He admitted to a long list of crimes, including wire fraud and
quid pro quo favors in return for campaign contributions, from 2011 to
March 2014, in a spree called the "campaign," the plea deal shows. In
many of the cases, Yee was interacting with undercover FBI agents.
The FBI arrested Yee and 19 others
last year during a series of raids throughout the San Francisco Bay
Area. NBC Bay Area first broke the news of his arrest in March 2014.
Yee
was accused of soliciting and accepting bribes from an alleged
Chinatown gang leader in exchange for providing help from Sacramento.
The FBI also alleged that the San Francisco Democrat, who was running
for secretary of state at the time, conspired to connect an undercover
agent with an international arms dealer in exchange for campaign
contributions.
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