10 quotes from indictment against Sen. Leland Yee

28 Mar, 2014 by John

This week State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, was arraigned in federal court on charges of working with Chinatown gangsters and brokering arms deals with a Muslim rebel group based in the Philippines. Although a leading proponent of gun control, the investigation involved accusations of arms dealing, murder-for-hire money laundering and international weapons trafficking.

Here are the Top 10 Quotes allegedly made by Yee and others, as quoted verbatim from the FBI’s 137-page criminal complaint. Some references are to his campaign, which he just quit, to be California’s secretary of state, which oversees all state elections.

10. Think Globally, Arms Deal Locally

Yee, allegedly on his expanding weapons trafficking business: “Because, I’m getting a little more into this, it’s not just Russia; the Muslim countries have sources too. And so, that has been brought to my attention recently.”

Yee: “I want to protect the entire enterprise.”

9. Chinatown Gangster: San Francisco politicians are dirty

Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow was previously convicted and jailed on other charges. In the new indictment, he allegedly told an undercover agent that, while San Francisco may look clean, the city was dirtier because of public corruption. Chow disapproved of San Francisco politicians.

Shrimp Boy: “If I’m into the game, I would step on them, I would nail those guys … all the people, they play the little dirty s— around me… Oh, I’m dirty too, you know, but I’m not dirty to my people.”

8. The Allure of Secretary of State?

Yee: “I’m just trying to run for secretary of state. I hope I don’t get indicted.”

7. Life imitates ‘The Wire’

The catch-phrase of “The Wire” TV show’s Clay Davis appears frequently in the indictment.

Yee: “$15k man, s—. For what we did man? S—. You know, we got him close to [State Senator 1].”

Yee: “There’s got to be some trust around here man, s—”

Yee: “S—, as much as I want that five thousand, I can’t do that man. S—. F—. S—.”

Yee: “S—. That’ s pay to play and you can’t do that. You cannot connect. You could go to jail for that . … They got to understand, it’ s about the long term. It ‘s not about the short term.”

Yee: On his possible election as mayor of San Francisco: “We control 6.8 billion, man. S—.” The number was the approximate size of the city’s budget at the time.

6. Psychoanalyze this: Because I’m unhappy as a child psychologist

When an undercover agent allegedly told Yee, a child psychologist, that Yee lived a great life, Yee allegedly responded that he was unhappy and thought about hiding out in the Philippines.

Yee: “There’s a part of me that wants to be like you. You know how I’m going to be like you? Just be a free agent there.”

5. It’s a marathon, not a sprint

Keith Jackson (not the sports announcer), the political operative who also was indicted, allegedly on the relationship: “You know, he just, he sees this as a long-term relationship and he don’t, he don’t you know, he don’t want to f— things up.”

4. Liberal SF Democrat driven by money

Allegedly Yee, who thought Africa was a largely untapped market for trade, was eager to get the goods and make money.

Yee: “Do I think we can make some money? I think we can make some money. Do I think we can get the goods? I think we can get the goods.”

3. Pillow talk for Capitol fundraisers

Yee: “Just give me the g—– money, man s— … you should just tell them, write some f—ing checks, man.”

2. Playing Mortal Kombat in the Philippines

Yee authored California’s ban on the sale of violent video games to children that the Supreme Court found unconstitutional. In the indictment, he allegedly said he was “agnostic” to working with a Muslim rebel group, which he knew to be responsible for “kidnapping individuals, killing individuals and extorting them for ransom.”

Yee: “People want to get whatever they want to get. Do I care? No, I don’t care.”