Prosecutors shed new light on Wednesday on the elusive housing startup that’s at the center of Sheng Thao’s Oakland corruption trial and its founders’ diminishing patience roughly a year into the alleged bribery scheme, as the former mayor seemed to lag on her end of the alleged deal.
Prosecutors played a series of audio recordings of Evolutionary Homes board meetings between November 2023 and February 2024 that were secretly recorded by Cecilia Mendez, who worked for the company and is the former romantic partner of government witness Mario Juarez, who’s pleaded guilty to participating in the alleged scheme.
Juarez cofounded Evolutionary Homes with two of the co-defendants in the trial — Oakland recycling executive David Duong and his son, Andy Duong. The company sought to convert shipping containers into housing for people exiting homelessness…