Bombshell court filings in the FBI bribery and corruption case against former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, her partner, and the owners of California Waste Solutions. The government says defendant Andy Duong took secret photos and videos of politicians in compromising positions.
The trial is set in federal court for October. Prosecutors and the defendants – including former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao — are arguing over what evidence the jury should see.
MORE: San Leandro council member Bryan Azevedo 1st to plead guilty in Oakland’s federal corruption case
The federal indictment alleges that the owners of California Waste Solutions, David and Andy Duong, bribed then-Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, in exchange for Thao’s promise to use her office to help the Duongs.
In the new filings, prosecutors write that:
Andy Duong “regularly took surreptitious photos and videos of politicians in compromising positions for potential use against them.”
Investigators say they found “dozens of such videos, photos, and recordings” on his phone.
Prosecutors also allege that Thao obtained a home lease by creating a fake $150,000 job for her partner, Andre Jones, at her sister’s cannabis consulting business.
The filings include new details about a trade delegation to Vietnam in July 2023 funded by the Duong family and attended by some 50 people, and Sheng Thao.
Including video “recorded by Andy Duong that depicts Duong, (San Leandro Councilmember Bryan) Azevedo, and others driving in a car discussing sexual interactions from the previous evening … at a massage parlor.”
After the trip, the documents say Thao became furious when a “reporter was questioning the suspected drug use and activity involving prostitutes.”
Prosecutors allege the Duongs paid $10,000 to an associate of the reporter, to prevent a story from coming out.
Bryan Azevedo in April 2025: “Yeah, we got massages and there were women around,” Bryan Azevedo told Dan Noyes in April 2025. “It doesn’t mean we did anything.”
Azevedo told ABC7 Eyewitness News that the FBI questioned him about the Vietnam trip.
Azevedo: “Yeah, we have, they’re saying we had prostitutes, all this stuff. Yeah, we got massages. That doesn’t mean they’re prostitutes. We had people serving drinks or whatever.”
Dan Noyes: “But no sex acts were exchanged?”
Azevedo: “No.”
Azevedo resigned as councilmember and he is expected to testify for the prosecution. The evidence also includes recorded phone conversations — including one in which then-Mayor Sheng Thao said she did not want to be seen in public with the Duongs. Prosecutors say she was trying to conceal what they were doing.
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