"The filing comes amid claims by attorneys for Thao and her three co-defendants that key federal warrants used to search their homes - and any evidence collected there - should be tossed. In a flurry of motions last year, the quartet blasted the government's case as being propped up by nothing more than the "self-serving spin" of an unnamed co-conspirator with a "shockingly long history of criminal charges and civil disputes.""
"Months before speaking to their controversial star informant, federal investigators had already amassed a trove of eyebrow-raising texts, Apple notes and other data against former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the men accused of bribing her for political favors. The existence of that evidence - obtained by federal authorities via subpoenas for iCloud data, cell phone logs and email accounts - sheds fresh light on the sprawling corruption case that FBI agents and U.S. attorneys have been building since early 2023."
Federal investigators obtained iCloud data, cell phone logs, Apple notes and emails by subpoena showing communications tied to former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and alleged bribery participants. Prosecutors said that evidence accumulated over a year predates interviews with the cooperating co-conspirator and that the informant's role was limited relative to independently gathered proof. Defense attorneys have moved to suppress warrants and the evidence seized from searches, arguing the case relies on a cooperating witness with a long history of lawsuits, criminal probes and alleged fraud. Co-Conspirator 1 is widely believed to be Mario Juarez and is alleged to have cooperated with prosecutors.
Read at The Mercury News
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]