Friend of a Friend

Day 13 of the Sheng Thao trial. Mario Juarez spent another full day under cross-examination. The man who has already pleaded guilty to the conspiracy did not back off the central facts. He has told the jury, under oath, that he bribed a public official. “Her name is Sheng Thao.” He has also said, “I bribed Mayor Sheng Thao. We all committed bribery.” He returned to the October 7, 2022 meeting at his High Street office. He pitched Evolutionary Homes. Thao agreed to the proposal but demanded $300,000, paid through Andre Jones so her involvement stayed hidden. That number was not in the original plan he prepared with Andy Duong. He took the demand back to Duong. After she appeared to win, the same group met at Skates on the Bay in Berkeley. They discussed raising the payments—potentially into the millions—if Oakland bought the modular units. A whiteboard at California Waste Solutions listed the $300,000 to Thao and Jones as an expense against tens of millions in projected profits from the company. Juarez described it as a financial investment: she needs to pay up. They helped her win. The Duongs had already financed roughly $75,000 in last-minute attack mailers against her opponents. Jones supplied opposition research and input on the targets. Hours of questioning later, those details were still the core of the testimony. The man who pleaded guilty to the conspiracy kept describing the price Sheng Thao set and the payments that followed. His testimony continues. – at Oakland, CA