FBI agents conducted an early-morning raid on the home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Thursday morning, one of several federal raids on other properties in the city.
Agents served warrants at Thao’s house on Maiden Lane in the city’s Lincoln Highlands neighborhood at around 5:30 a.m.
In an emailed statement to CBS News Bay Area, the FBI said, “The FBI is conducting court authorized law enforcement activity on Maiden Lane. We are unable to provide additional information at this time.”
Just after 10 a.m., several FBI agents emerged from the home carrying boxes as news crews staked out positions across the street. It was unclear what the agents were seeking or what was seized.
Federal agents also served warrants at a nearby home on Viewcrest Court in the city’s Ridgemont neighborhood and at the offices shared by the Vietnamese American Business Association (VABA) and recycler California Waste Solutions on the city’s Embarcadero.
The owner of the Viewcrest Court house is listed as Andrew Duong, the son of VABA chairman David Duong. The elder Duong is also CEO of California Waste Solutions. Both VABA and California Waste Solutions count on multiple members of the Duong family for their leadership teams.
A California Waste Solutions staffer who identified herself as Teresa Huong said the company was cooperating with authorities and that it was “confident the government will conclude that they are not involved in anything unlawful.”
CBS News Bay Area reached out to Mayor Thao’s office for a response to the raids. Thao was a no-show Thursday morning at a scheduled press conference in San Francisco on affordable housing with the mayors of San Francisco, San Jose and Berkeley.
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The raids come two days after the Alameda County Registrar of Voters announced there were enough signatures on a petition to recall Thao from office to move the process forward.
Supporters of a recall blame the mayor for not doing enough to fight crime which has led many businesses to close down in the city. They also blame Thao for the city’s failure to apply for millions of dollars in state money to fight retail crime.
Thao was also criticized for firing former police chief LeRonne Armstrong and not hiring a replacement for more than a year.
This is a breaking news update. More information to be added as available.
