Beginning in early 2011, state Sen. Leland Yee repeatedly solicited bribes to fund his San Francisco mayor and California secretary of state campaigns, according to the FBI agents who brought him down last month.
But he appears to have devoted more time and energy to a far more lucrative pursuit: crafting or carrying legislation benefiting special interests who supply campaign contributions. It’s a practice that’s all too common in Sacramento, but Yee was a master.
A review of Yee’s legislation and campaign finance records during the time of the FBI investigation shows that, when he wasn’t allegedly trading his influence and trying to broker an international arms deal with undercover agents for $62,600 in illegal cash payments, the San Francisco Democratic lawmaker raised more than $150,000 in perfectly legal fashion, scooping up donations from labor unions, trade associations and other groups whose bills he advocated in the hearing rooms and hallways of the Capitol.
|
|