Star witness says he helped distribute bags of cash in Thao trial
Mario Juarez, whom defense attorneys say has a decades-long history of fraud, testifies he helped distribute cash, including one gym bag with up to $300,000, after a recycling contract
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.