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The Associated Press BAKERSFIELD Five people have been found dead in the widely spread wreckage of a small plane that crashed into an almond orchard in California near Bakersfield, authorities said. The plane became the subject of a search after dis- appearing from radar, Kern County sheriff's Sgt. Mark King said, and federal au- thorities are investigating the cause. He expected the names of the victims to be released Monday. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the single-en- gine Piper PA32 around 4 p.m. Saturday as it headed from Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose to Henderson Executive Airport in a Las Vegas suburb, Federal Avia- tion Administration spokes- man Ian Gregor said. The plane sent a may- day call before disappear- ing. Searchers spotted the wreckage southwest of Ba- kersfield about three hours after receiving an alert from the FAA about a missing plane that was last detected an estimated 10 miles south of the city, the Kern County sheriff's office said. A meteorologist with the National Weather Ser- vice in Hanford said it was rainy and cloudy in the area south of Bakersfield around the time the plane dropped off radar. A National Transporta- tion Safety Board investi- gator also was on site Sun- day, Gregor said. FAA records list an ad- dress for an owner of the plane. A woman who an- swered a number listed for that address would only say that her husband used to be part owner of the plane but sold his share. The crash was only about 30 miles from the site of a medical helicopter crash that killed four people in heavy rain and fog 10 days earlier. KERN COUNTY 5 bodies found in plane wreckage in orchard By Sudhin Thanawala The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO The de- fendant at the center of an organized crime investiga- tion in San Francisco's Chi- natown acknowledged his criminal past during testi- mony Monday, but said law enforcement hounded him after he tried to go straight and got jobs. Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow took the stand for the first time in the racketeer- ing, money laundering and murder trial against him in federal court. Prosecutors say Chow took over a Chinese frater- nal group with criminal ties after having its previ- ous leader killed and ran a racketeeringenterprisethat engagedindrugtrafficking, money laundering and the sale of stolen cigarettes and alcohol. Themulti-yearinvestiga- tionincludedanundercover FBI agent posing as a mem- ber of an East Coast crime syndicate and led to the convictionofastatesenator. Chow appeared relaxed as he testified in a maroon suitunderquestioningfrom his attorney. He said he ran an escort service, dealt cocaine and was involved in a street gang, but upon his release from prison in 1989 for a second time, he got jobs at a supermarket and law of- fice. That did not last, how- ever, as he continued to face scrutiny from police, he said. San Francisco po- lice talked to his employ- ers, and the FBI picked him up on suspicion of involvement in a jewelry heist. Chow testified in Eng- lish, though it's not his first language and he has used a translator during other courthearings.Hisattorney said during opening state- ments he wanted the jury to hear that Chow doesn't always understand English and that his diction and tenses are not always used correctly. "I try very hard to stay out, to not be the criminal at the time," Chow said dur- ing testimony. Chowwas convictedona federal gun charge in 1995 and released in 2003 af- ter agreeing to cooperate in another prosecution. He saidprosecutorsrenegedon promises to put him in wit- ness protection. An undercover agent, who testified earlier under the pseudonym David Jor- dan to protect his identify, said Chow tried to distance himself from any criminal activity during the probe. But, the agent said, Chow repeatedly accepted money after introducing the agent to money launderers. The agent spent hours with Chow and people con- nected to him at fancy res- taurantsandnightclubs,re- cording many of their con- versationsashebuiltacase. That case ultimately led to charges against Chow and more than two dozen oth- ers in 2014 and the convic- tion of state Sen. Leland Yee, who pleaded guilty to racketeering in July. Chow's attorneys say the FBI agent instigated the crimes for which peo- ple were later arrested and forced money on him, of- ten when Chow was drunk. They say Chow had turned his life around and re- formed. CRIMINAL PAST San Francisco Chinatown defendant says police hounded him HENRYA.BARRIOS—THEBAKERSFIELDCALIFORNIANVIAAP Investigators search a field for debris from an aircra crash in Bakersfield Sunday. 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