On Friday, the government’s star witness in the federal corruption trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao testified that he helped distribute cash in gym bags, including to a sitting city council member and another person, after California Waste Solutions won a city contract in 2014. Mario Juarez, who has pleaded guilty to participating in an alleged scheme to bribe Thao, told the jury he loaded the bags, including one with up to $300,000, and helped David Duong distribute them.
Prosecutors allege the Duongs agreed to provide financial support for Thao’s 2022 mayoral campaign and give her former romantic partner Andre Jones a no-show job for $300,000 at Evolutionary Homes. In return, prosecutors say Thao allegedly agreed to help elevate city staffers to director-level positions and help the Duongs’ other business, California Waste Solutions, with city deals. Juarez, who co-founded the container-housing startup Evolutionary Homes with the Duongs, is cooperating with prosecutors in hope of leniency.
Juarez detailed a long relationship with the Duongs, dating to his own unsuccessful City Council runs in 2008 and 2012. He said he helped them lobby for Oakland’s curbside recycling contract, which California Waste Solutions won in a 7-1 vote despite staff opposition. “They were the underdog at the time,” Juarez told the court. “And they wanted to win.” The following day, he alleged, he helped David Duong distribute cash from gym bags to a sitting council member and a person who came on behalf of another council member.
Defense attorneys have sought to discredit Juarez from the outset, calling him a “consummate hustler” with a “decades-long history” of fraud. Juarez has been involved in 33 lawsuits between 1992 and 2022, and his former romantic partner was convicted of theft in 2019. The defense argues Juarez manufactured the corruption allegations after his business partnership with the Duongs soured. “Only when he realized he was losing,” said Winston Chan, attorney for Andy Duong, “that he manufactured his latest rebranding: to headline this trial as the prosecution’s star witness.”
Relations between Juarez and the Duongs began to fray in spring 2024. After finding himself locked out of Evolutionary Homes’ office, Juarez got into an altercation with the Duongs and called police, accusing them of racketeering. The FBI, which had already opened an investigation into a possible bribery scheme involving Juarez and the co-defendants, approached him for an interview after hearing his allegations. He pleaded guilty to participating in an alleged scheme to bribe Thao and agreed to testify.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Abraham Fine told the jury Juarez is “no angel” but said his testimony would line up with thousands of text messages, audio recordings and taped phone calls introduced in evidence. Juarez, Fine said, will give “an insider’s view” of the alleged bribery scheme.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The trial tests the strength of a corruption case built around a witness with a lengthy record of fraud accusations, putting the jury’s assessment of credibility at the center.
- A conviction could restore public confidence in Oakland’s political accountability, while an acquittal may deepen cynicism about local government.
- The case illustrates how federal prosecutors rely on compromised cooperating witnesses to pursue high‑profile public corruption.
Background
Sheng Thao, elected Oakland’s first Hmong American mayor in 2022, is on trial alongside her former partner Andre Jones and recycling executives David and Andy Duong. The indictment alleges the Duongs financed Thao’s campaign and gave Jones a no‑show job at Evolutionary Homes in exchange for city contracts and influence. Mario Juarez, a businessman who co‑founded Evolutionary Homes with the Duongs, pleaded guilty to bribery and is the government’s key witness despite his own history of lawsuits and fraud allegations.
Key Perspectives
- Prosecution (Assistant U.S. Attorney Abraham Fine): Juarez is a flawed but valuable witness whose testimony is corroborated by extensive documentary evidence, including texts, recordings and Apple notes.
- Defense attorneys (Winston Chan for Andy Duong, Jeffrey Tsai for Sheng Thao, Ed Swanson for David Duong): Juarez is a “consummate hustler” and a serial liar who turned on the Duongs only when their business deal collapsed; his testimony is pure invention.
- Mario Juarez (in testimony): He claims he did “dirty work” for the Duong family for years, including distributing cash bribes to elected officials after the 2014 recycling contract was awarded.
What to Watch
- The cross‑examination of Juarez, expected to be aggressive and lengthy, will be the pivotal moment of the trial.
- The jury must weigh Juarez’s credibility against the documentary evidence prosecutors say backs him up.
- A verdict could come within weeks; a conviction could spark further investigations into Oakland’s contracting process.