There’s more dirty laundry coming out in the whole Sheng Thao mess, as San Leandro City Councilmember Bryan Azevedo faces federal charges for taking bribes and kickbacks, and lying to the FBI about a $2,000 envelope of cash.

Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has been recalled from office, and hit with federal bribery charges alleging she and her boyfriend took a $95,000 bribe in order to steer city contracts to the people who allegedly bribed them. And those people who allegedly bribed them were father-and-son businessmen David and Andy Duong, who run Oakland’s curbside recycling program through their company Cal Waste Solutions, and then branched into a “tiny homes for the homeless” company called Evolutionary Homes. The Duongs have also been charged with bribery.  

But while all of that makes its way through federal courts, the scandal somehow spread to San Leandro. San Leandro City Councilmember Bryan Azevedo had his home raided too, and in June, he was informed he was a target of the federal investigation. The question was… why? Azevedo lives in San Leandro, what could he have to do with the Sheng Thao scandal?  

Now we know. The Chronicle reports that Azevedo was been charged with two felonies by the Justice Department: conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, and making false statements to the FBI.

Oaklandside breaks down those charges in more detail. The Duongs allegedly offered Azevedo a deal if he agreed to steer some San Leandro contracts to their company Evolutionary Homes. Azevedo then allegedly created an LLC and a bank account in his wife’s name, as a safe and concealed place for the accused kickbacks to be kept. Then, per the criminal complaint, Andy Duong had dinner with Azevedo in Alameda and passed him an envelope with a tidy $2,000 in cash.      

Azevedo claims it was a donation toward his failed 2022 San Leandro mayoral campaign, and that he reported it fully. But according to the charging document, Azevedo denied receiving any payments from Duong when questioned by the FBI, and also claimed the Duongs had no business before the City of San Leandro.

Azevedo is also accused of having been in line for a percentage of whatever money the Duongs got from San Leandro. Regardless, those percentages never materialized, as Evolutionary Homes has since gone out of business.    

Related: San Leandro City Councilmember Notified By Feds He Is Under Investigation, Could Be Indicted [SFist]

Image: Bryan Azevedo for San Leandro via Facebook