Font ResizeSuspended State Sen,Ice hockey brings a taste of . Leland Yee pleads not guilty to racketeeringBy Howard Mintz This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. :

07/31/2014 10:25:10 AM PDTUpdated:

07/31/2014 10:34:59 AM PDT
SAN FRANCISCO -- Suspended state Sen. Leland Yee pleaded not guilty Thursday to racketeering and corruption charges, the first stage in what promises to be a prolonged legal battle that has doomed his political career and threatens him with a lengthy prison term.Making his first appearance since federal prosecutors expanded their indictment, Yee did not speak during a brief hearing before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James. James Lassart, Yee's lawyer, entered the plea on Yee's behalf, and both men left the federal courthouse without comment.The 66-year-old Yee now faces a sweeping indictment that charges him with using his political office and campaigns for San Francisco mayor and secretary of state as racketeering enterprises. The U.S. attorney's office last week added the racketeering charges against Yee and dozens of other defendants in the case, including reputed gang leader Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow.The defendants are set to return to court next Thursday before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who is expected to establish a roadmap for the case as it proceeds to trial.Yee was originally indicted in the case in March, when federal prosecutors charged him with gun trafficking and corruption charges that accused him of accepting bribes in exchange for political favors.The now-suspended San Francisco Democrat is alleged to have traded his political juice for money to pay off campaign debts as he pursued a run for secretary of state,D.C. area forecast- Strong to, caught in wiretapped conversations with undercover FBI agents offering to broker an international arms deal and carry out political favors for bribes.Among the key new allegations in the racketeering indictment is that Yee last year agreed to take $60,000 from an undercover FBI agent -- which he believed was coming from a National Football League team owner --in exchange for his and another senator's vote on a bill dealing with workers' compensation insurance for pro athletes."We gotta juice this thing," Yee allegedly told the agent.Resting on a four-year undercover FBI operation that includes countless hours of audio and video surveillance, the case originated as an investigation into San Francisco's Asian organized crime scene and Chow, a central figure in the indictment. Chow pleaded not guilty to the racketeering charges earlier this week.Chow's lawyers have already publicly blasted the government's case, saying it is an overbroad attack on conduct that is not as sinister as portrayed in the indictment. Yee and Lassart have yet to comment on the case.Federal prosecutors have relied on racketeering statutes to prosecute major criminal organizations for decades, notably using the tactic to build cases against the Mafia. But it also has been used in narrower public corruption cases, such as the indictment in the late 1980s of former San Jose U.S. District Judge Robert Aguilar, whose convictions on lesser charges were overturned before he resigned from the bench.Defense lawyers in the Yee case are now expected to attack the charges through a variety of legal maneuvers, including trying to toss out at least some of the evidence from undercover agents, informants and wiretaps. Lawyers close to the case say the undercover probe was so far-flung that it crossed paths with a number of high-profile figures not linked to any wrongdoing, including former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has barred anyone involved in the case from disclosing evidence publicly while the case proceeds.Howard Mintz covers legal affairs. Contact him at 408-286-0236 or follow him at


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