Prosecutors: Waste Company Exec Filmed Oakland Officials for Potential Blackmail in Sheng Thao Bribery Case

Prosecutors Detail Alleged Blackmail Videos Ahead of October Trial

Federal prosecutors last week unveiled new details in the corruption case against former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, alleging that a waste-management executive secretly filmed city officials partying, apparently to hold over their heads later.

The filings, made public Friday, name Andy Duong, son of California Waste Solutions founder David Duong, as the alleged source of a trove of videos found on his phone after it was seized by the FBI in June 2024. Prosecutors say the phone contained dozens of clips "showing various public officials dancing at clubs, drinking alcohol, or engaging in party-like behavior," according to The Oaklandside.

Thao, her boyfriend Andre Jones, and both Duongs have pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an alleged bribery conspiracy involving city contracts for California Waste Solutions and a tiny-home company called Evolutionary Homes.

The Gallegos Example

Prosecutors cited one specific instance of alleged blackmail: video and photos of Larry Gallegos, a project manager in Oakland's Economic and Workforce Development Department, at a karaoke bar "with scantily clad women in the background," according to the New York Post.

The government alleges the Duongs pushed Thao to appoint Gallegos to a senior housing department post, a move prosecutors say was meant to smooth the way for a contract award to Evolutionary Homes. A text cited in the filings, sent from Mario Juarez to Andy Duong, allegedly read: "[t]ake Larry Gallegos to party — he is a devoted Christian — think of his sins while he parties."

Gallegos himself is not charged with any wrongdoing. Prosecutors say he's expected to testify that Duong photographed him with women at a club, according to the Post.

Juarez, a Fruitvale businessman who partnered with the Duongs on Evolutionary Homes, has already pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government. He's expected to testify that Andy Duong told him he "regularly took surreptitious photos and videos of politicians in compromising positions for potential use against them," according to prosecutors cited by both the Post and The Oaklandside.

A 2023 Trip to Vietnam

The filings also point to an August 2023 trip to Vietnam that Thao and other local officials attended alongside the Duongs. Prosecutors suggest additional compromising material from that trip may exist, though the specifics remain unclear from what's been made public so far. A local reporter had previously started asking questions about the delegation's conduct on that trip.

None of this blackmail material has been shown to have actually been used against Thao or anyone else in a proven quid pro quo. The filings describe an alleged capability and alleged intent to use the footage as leverage, not a confirmed instance of successful blackmail beyond the Gallegos appointment allegation.

Why This Is Coming Out Now

This wave of disclosures surfaced because Thao's own attorneys, along with David Duong's legal team, asked a federal judge to exclude much of this evidence from the October trial. They argue the material is "too remote, too dissimilar, and too marginally probative" to the actual bribery charges, according to court documents cited by The Oaklandside.

Thao's attorneys specifically pushed back on prosecutors' use of a 2019 recorded call in which Thao, then a councilmember, allegedly shared internal council discussions with Andy Duong about pending litigation over customer overcharging by California Waste Solutions. Her lawyers argue it's "hardly unusual for elected officials to be circumspect about appearing in public with contractors involved in active litigation with the city."

Winston Chan, an attorney for Andy Duong, told The Oaklandside in an email that the defense motion targets "the admissibility of the government's proffered and alleged evidence, which relates to conduct that Andy Duong has never been charged with," adding that the motion "does not concede the veracity or characterization" of the government's claims.

A judge will decide what evidence actually makes it in front of a jury. That ruling will shape how much of this material the public ever sees argued at trial.

What's Still Unresolved

Juarez's cooperation deal, and the credibility fight around it, is central to the defense strategy. Thao's team has previously tried to suppress other evidence and has challenged Juarez's reliability given his own history of lawsuits and alleged misconduct, according to The Oaklandside.

The trial is set for October. Until then, the scope of what jurors will actually hear about videos, karaoke bars, and a trip to Vietnam remains up to the presiding federal judge, not the prosecutors or the press.