Oh, California Democrats. Whatever is the matter with you? First there was Ron Calderon, and now Leland Yee.
Yee was arrested after an FBI raid on his offices Wednesday, and has been charged with gun trafficking and wire fraud.
The affidavit paints a portrait of Yee that is by turns seedy and bumbling, and one deeply at odds with the high-minded image he had long cultivated. Yee, a candidate for secretary of state, is accused of being willing to take varied and numerous steps to solicit campaign donations and sidestep legal donation limits.
For instance, he is accused of seeking an official state Senate proclamation in the spring of 2013 praising the Ghee Kung Tong Freemason lodge in San Francisco. Yee sought the proclamation, according to the court complaint, in exchange for a $6,800 donation to one of his campaigns — a donation that was paid by an undercover FBI agent.
The organized crime figure known as Shrimp Boy, whose name is Raymond Chow, identifies himself as the "dragon head" of that Freemason organization on his Facebook page. The indictment says that Chow, 54, whose criminal history includes racketeering and robbery, has a position of "supreme authority" in the Triad, an international organized crime group.
Yee is, of course, innocent until proven guilty, but it sure doesn't look good for him.
Yee's arrest follows the arrest and charges against State Senator Ron Calderon, who has been charged with receiving $100,000 in bribes and accepting gifts from wealthy donors. Again, he's innocent until proven guilty. We shall see.
Then there is the case of Roderick Wright, who was convicted of perjury for lying about living in Inglewood when he didn't. They got him on voter fraud related to the bogus address too. Compared to the other two, it's a relatively minor offense but still one that ended with a leave of absence.
Enough, already. Clean house, Democrats. Spiff it up and get it in order.
And then get money the hell out of our political process on both sides of the aisle.
