Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and three other defendants were charged by federal prosecutors in an eight-count indictment unsealed on Jan. 17 alleging the group participated in a bribery and corruption scheme that sought to benefit a company with nearly $90 million in city contracts.
The recently recalled Thao, who was arraigned during a 10:30 a.m. court hearing in Oakland, pleaded not guilty to six charges and was released on a $50,000 bond.
Thao and Andre Jones, described in charging documents as her “longtime romantic partner,” and businessmen David Trung Duong and Andy Hung Duong, father and son, respectively, are charged with a litany of crimes. …