Red Bluff Daily News

April 05, 2014

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By Paul Elias The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO » A Califor- nia state senator and more than two dozen other defen- dants have been formally indicted in a sweeping San Francisco political corruption and organized crime case, of - ficials announced Friday. The grand jury indict- ment released by the U.S. attorney's office replaces a criminal complaint filed last week. State Sen. Leland Yee and 19 others were arrested on March 26. Yee, a San Francisco Democrat, is accused of con - spiring to connect an un- dercover FBI agent with a Philippines arms dealer in exchange f o r c a m - paign con- tr ibution s , and of trad- ing political influence for cash. The indictment contains the same charges as the criminal complaint and adds two more defendants. A total of 29 people have been charged in connection with the organized crime investigation centered on a Chinatown social orga - nization that the FBI says is a front for a gang. It ap- peared that nine defendants remained at large. Campaign donation re- cords show Yee made trips to the Philippines in 2008 and in 2012, the Sacramento Bee reported. His Senate campaign committee paid $894 for a flight to Manila "to meet with Filipino officials" in September 2008, the re - cords show. Another trip in July 2012 included a $246 payment from Yee's office- holder account for an Asiana Airlines flight to Manila for what was called a "govern- mental fact-finding" trip. The Bee also reported that Yee spent at least $62,000 at the New Asia restaurant, a Chinatown eatery that FBI investigators allege hosted many events of the Chee Kung Tong, the organiza - tion at the heart of the case. The senator's new lawyer, former federal prosecutor Jim Lassart, didn't imme - diately return a phone call Friday. Yee is free on $500,000 bond pending trial and has not yet entered a plea. He and most of the other defendants, including Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. Chow remains in jail af - ter a magistrate judge de- clared the Hong Kong na- tive and convicted felon a flight risk and a danger to the community. CAlIFORNIA Dozens indicted in corruption case Yee The Associated Press SACRAMENTO » The family of a Gulf War veteran who was fatally shot by police filed a federal civil rights lawsuit claiming the officers used excessive force. The suit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Sacra - mento includes statements from 17 people who say they witnessed parts of the Jan. 25 incident involving Lodi police officers and Par - minder Singh Shergill out- side a neighbor's home, The Sacramento Bee reported. Shergill, 43, who partic- ipated in Operation Desert Storm, had post-traumatic stress disorder and was ex- hibiting signs of a flare-up before two officers shot him, the newspaper said. The shooting occurred after Shergill's worried mother asked police to look for him after he abruptly left the house in a bad men - tal state, relatives said. Lodi police have said of- ficers Scott Bratton and Adam Lockie opened fire after Shergill charged them with a knife. However, the lawsuit says witnesses reported that Shergill was non-threat - ening and never appeared to charge the officers. Wit- nesses also said they saw no weapon in his hands before he was struck with a volley of bullets, the lawsuit states. Only two witnesses said they saw the actual shoot - ing. Timothy Antolin said in his statement that he was on the second floor of his home when he heard some - one say, "'Stop, we want to talk to you,' and then, 'Drop the weapon.'" Antolin said he went to a window and heard Shergill shout, "'You talking to me?'" followed by a curse word. As Shergill spoke, he turned to his left, facing the officers, "but not in a threat - ening manner, nor did he move toward the officers or close the distance between them," Antolin said in his account. After the shooting, An - tolin saw officers hand- cuff Shergill and rummage through his clothing. After leaving his house, Antolin said, he saw items strewn about Shergill's body, in - cluding a 3-inch folding knife with a belt clip, accord- ing to the lawsuit. Lodi police have de - clined to release details of the shooting, citing an on- going investigation involv- ing multiple agencies. The department has released a general explanation say- ing the two officers had no choice but to kill Shergill after he charged them with a knife. ShOOTINg Fa mi ly fi le s su it a e r ve te ra n ki ll ed b y po li ce By Martha Mendoza The Associated Press SAN JOSE » The res- ignation of Mozil- la's CEO amid out- rage that he sup- ported an anti-gay marriage campaign is prompting concerns about how Silicon Valley's strongly liberal culture might quash the very openness that is at the region's foundation. M o z i l l a c o - f o u n d e r B r end a n E ich s t e pp e d down Thursday as CEO, just days a f ter h is ap - pointment. He left the non- profit maker of the Firefox browser after furious at- tacks, largely on Twitter, over his $1,000 contribu- tion to support of a now- overturned 2008 gay-mar- riage ban in California. "There was no interest in creating an Internet lynch mob," OkCupid co-founder Sam Yagun, whose dat - ing service site was among those engaged in online pro- test, said Friday. "I am op- posed to that with very bone in my body." But Eich's abrupt depar- ture has stirred the debate over the fairness of forcing out a highly qualified tech- nology executive over his per- sonal views and a single cam- paign contribution six years ago. And it raises questions about how far corporate lead- ers are allowed to go in ex- pressing their political views. Some are also question- ing whether the episode un- dercuts the well-groomed im- age of Silicon Valley as a marketplace of ideas and diversity of thought, and whether, in this case, the tech world surrendered to political correctness enforced through a public shaming on so - cial media. O k C u p i d n e v e r d e - manded Eich resign, and after discussing the issue with Mozilla, Yagun ended the call for a Firefox boycott Wednesday afternoon. In retrospect, however, Yagun said he wished he had framed the Firefox boycott in a slightly different light. "I would have loved to have engaged in a debate over what happens when freedoms collide," Yagun said. "We have freedom of speech, which I would de - fend to the end. And we have what I believe is a fundamen- tal liberty of people to marry and love whoever they want." Moz i l l a Ch a i r wom a n Mitchell Baker touched on the delicate balancing act in her Thursday blog post an - nouncing Eich's resignation. "Mozilla believes both in equality and freedom of speech," Baker said. "Equal - ity is necessary for mean- ingful speech. And you need free speech to fight for equality. Figuring out how to stand for both at the same time can be hard." Eich' s technical reputa - tion is strong. He created JavaScript and helped write the code to run Netscape's Navigator web browser be - fore co-founding Mozilla. BuSINESS Mozilla CEO resignation raises speech concerns Eich No Strings Attached! Start growing local with us today! Redding Branch 530-222-1460 150 East Cypress Ave. Red Bluff Branch 530-529-1222 237 South Main St. 9 MONTH CD .65% APY INTEREST RATE .65% $10,000 minimum deposit required to open the CD at the stated Annual Percentage Yield (APY). .65% APY is accurate as of 03/23/14. APY assumes principal and interest remain on deposit for the term of the certificate. Interest compounded daily. New money only. No public funds. No fees to open or maintain. Applies to personal and business CDs. 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