Jury convicts man in Chinatown crime case

Chow pleaded not guilty to the new charges. Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, the leader of the Chee Kung Tong, was found guilty by a federal jury in San Francisco Friday of all the 162 charges lodged against him.

The defense plans to appeal, claiming a federal judge wrongly limited their case. The trial follows on the heels of Chow’s other legal troubles more than 15 years ago. The murder and racketeering case of Chinatown tong leader Raymond Chow was given to a federal jury in San Francisco today after two months of trial. The group was among dozens of active tongs, or family associations, in Chinatown, one of the most popular and visible tourist attractions in the city.

The jury found Chow guilty on all counts, Justice Department spokesman Abraham Simmons said, over allegations that he ran a San Francisco criminal organization that dealt drugs and laundered money. Federal prosecutors introduced evidence gleaned from audio and video surveillance of Chow, much of it through Jordan, whose Chinatown probe eventually collided with dozens of defendants, including Yee, who has pleaded guilty to racketeering charges that accused him of accepting bribes in exchange for political favors. He also was working on a biography, he said. The Chinatown probe also ensnared former California state Sen. Breyer will sentence Yee and Jackson on February 10. “This conviction represents a just and final end to Mr. Chow’s long running and deadly criminal career”, San Francisco FBI Special Agent in Charge David Johnson said in a statement. Serra said Chow was “noble” in accepting the verdict and told his attorneys, “We’ll win on the second round”, referring to the appeal. Defense lawyers were critical of Breyer, who repeatedly chastised them throughout the trial for what the judge considered improper conduct in front of the jury.

Breyer did not immediately return a call seeking comment. He derided the prosecution’s use of testimony from Chow’s alleged co-conspirators and an undercover federal agent who posed as a member of an East Coast crime syndicate during the four-year investigation. Chow willingly accepted envelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars in cash for setting up various crimes, the agent said. Defense attorney J Tony Serra argued that the government set up his client by foisting the envelopes on him and courting him with expensive dinners and high-end liquor purchased with public money.

Chow, who testified for three days in his own defense last month, said he believed the payments were gestures of love and respect and denied having anything to do with the two murders and the other crimes. ‘He is not the victim here, ‘ Badger said during her almost four-hour presentation. The notorious, self-described “sun of the underworld” goes by many names: Kwok Cheung Chow, Raymond Chow, Ha Jai or “Shrimp Boy”.