Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s lawyer is considering a bid to move her bribery trial out of Oakland, and in other news, it seems Sheng Thao may have broken up with the boyfriend whose $95k no-show job is at the heart of this scandal.
Recalled Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao not only has the indignity of having been recalled from office, but also of having to face a federal trial on eight counts of bribery and fraud after the FBI raided her home while she was still in office. Her romantic partner Andre Jones, also a former City of Oakland employee, is also being put on trial for allegedly accepting a $95,000 no-show job from a city contractor that paid him for doing nothing. Also on trial are Oakland recycling businessmen David and Andy Duong, for allegedly creating that job and paying that $95,000 in exchange for lucrative city contracts and the ability to influence Thao’s City Hall appointments.
All four will likely be tried together, and a new report today from Bay Area News Group suggests that the trial is expected to begin “by mid-2026.”…