SAN LEANDRO — The FBI on Wednesday raided the home of a San Leandro City councilman who was among several officials who visited Vietnam two years ago alongside targets of an ongoing corruption investigation in the East Bay.
In a brief statement, an FBI spokeswoman confirmed agents conducted “law enforcement activity” on Wednesday at a Dillo Street residence; the block is the location of the home of Councilman Bryan Azevedo, who was elected in 2020 and secured a second term last year.
Reached Wednesday afternoon, Azevedo declined to share anything when asked whether the FBI had raided his house.
“I have no comment at this time,” Azevedo said. “I am innocent until proven guilty.”
A San Leandro city spokesperson said City Hall was “aware of the FBI activity at Councilmember Bryan Azevedo’s home” and “will fully cooperate with all law enforcement authorities.”
The FBI did not say whether Wednesday’s raid was related to an ongoing corruption investigation in the East Bay.
But Azevedo was one of several East Bay officials who attended a 2023 trip to Vietnam sponsored by a business group led by David Duong, owner of the Oakland-based company California Waste Solutions, which was raided by the FBI last June. Also in attendance was former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, whose home was also hit by the FBI on June 20.
David Duong and his son, Andy Duong, have been the subject of an investigation by Oakland’s Public Ethics Commission since 2020 over allegations they used “straw donors,” or obscure third-party entities, to funnel money to City Council candidates in past elections.
Days after the June 20 raids, Azevedo sought to distance himself from the FBI’s inquiry in a letter to the San Leandro Times.
“There have been a lot of rumors recently tying me to Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s alleged corruption scandal and I want to set the record straight,” Azevedo wrote in the letter, published June 27, 2024. “I don’t know anything about this alleged corruption nor do I believe that we should assume that corruption has happened until the facts come out.”
Azevedo also appeared to be among the many East Bay politicians and government officials who planned to tour a little-known housing company owned by two key figures in the FBI’s ongoing corruption investigation, public documents show.
Azevedo’s planned visit to Evolutionary Homes LLC was expected to include Tom Liao, the city’s community development director, and potentially other city officials in the latter half of 2023, according to one of Liao’s emails obtained by this newspaper.
The company was created by David Duong and Mario Juarez, a political operative and two-time Oakland City Council candidate who has become a central figure in the FBI’s ongoing probe. The company began with the goal of building homes out of revamped shipping containers for homeless women and children, and it shared a business address with the Duongs’ main business venture, California Waste Solutions. Its showroom occupied another floor of that same Oakland waterfront office building.
Yet the venture appears to have fizzled in spring 2024, when Duong family members and Juarez accused the other of assault during a May 3 confrontation at the company’s headquarters. The dispute appears to have stemmed from allegations by the Duongs that Juarez bilked them out of a $1 million investment in the company.
During its heyday in late 2023 and early 2024, the company was frequented by politicians from across the region, including from Oakland City Hall. Another visitor was then-District Attorney Pamela Price, who was later accused by Juarez of orchestrating an alleged $25,000 shakedown attempt while touring the facility in January 2024.
On late Wednesday afternoon, the window curtains were drawn on Azevedo’s home, which is painted the same shade of blue as a “little free library” packed with novels and bearing the family name out front on the sidewalk. Neighbors on the quiet residential block were surprised to learn that the councilmember down the street may be of interest to federal investigators.
One man, who only gave his name as Keith, said he often sees Azevedo leaving home with his children. Between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, he and another neighbor, Thomas, said they’d observed numerous cars parked along the sidewalk and what looked to be several uniformed men idling on Azevedo’s front lawn.
San Leandro’s councilman for District 2, Azevedo has deep roots in his hometown.
A fourth-generation San Leandro resident, he works as a foreperson for Sheet Metal Workers and is a routine volunteer with his wife at their children’s public schools, according to the city’s website. On social media, Azevedo has also touted his relationship with Andy Duong, referring to him as a “buddy” and California Waste Solutions as “a great union company.”
In April 2022, Andy Duong gave $2,000 to Azevedo’s unsuccessful campaign for mayor, according to city campaign finance reports. Later that year, Duong Family Investments, an Oakland-based entity tied to the recycling company’s owners, gave another $3,000 to Azevedo’s campaign.
Azevedo’s presence on the Vietnam trip appears to have been courtesy of a special invite from Andy Duong, who texted the councilman that he “wanted to personally invite you bro,” according to a text message obtained by this newspaper. Andy Duong pitched the trip as “a delegation to Vietnam visiting our site and meeting president/prime minister,” the text read.
Azevedo narrowly retained his council seat in the November election, squeaking out a win against Ed Hernandez by claiming 50.8% of the vote. He campaigned on a platform that included reducing crime and addressing housing and homelessness.
In the lead-up to that contest, Azevedo came under criminal investigation after police suspect he got into a physical altercation with former San Leandro Councilmember Lee Thomas at a Democratic Club candidate forum, according to the San Leandro Police Department.
The skirmish sent Thomas and San Leandro city Councilmember Corina Lopez to the emergency room; each of them filed police reports after the incident, authorities said. Thomas told this newspaper he was accosted after he began filming a conversation outside of the forum between Azevedo and journalist Steven Tavares of East Bay Insiders.
“I should not have to be scared of a politician,” Thomas said after the encounter. “I should not have to worry about my safety or being attacked.”
Reached outside his home on Wednesday afternoon, Azevedo again declined to comment on the FBI raid but did add that he was “innocent” in the alleged altercation with Thomas.
“That was all cleared,” he said. “I never touched him.”
Staff writer Chase Hunter contributed to this report. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Jakob Rodgers is a senior breaking news reporter who can be reached via call, text or a Signal encrypted message at 510-390-2351, or via email at jrodgers@bayareanewsgroup.com. Shomik Mukherjee is a reporter covering Oakland who can be reached via call or text at 510-905-5495, or via email at shomik@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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Source: www.mercurynews.com