Shrimp Boy says he's been 'ensnared' by racist undercover agents as he and disgraced California lawmaker plead not guilty to conspiracy charges
- 'Shrimp Boy' Chow's lawyer says he's the victim of entrapment by FBI agents eager to prove Chinese gangster runs San Francisco's Chinatown
- Chow and 20 other defendants in the racketeering, corruption and gun running case pleaded not guilty Tuesday
- Among them was California state senator Leland Yee, who's accused of six counts of corruption and a single count of conspiracy to traffic in firearms
The flashy Chinese gangster implicated in a shocking corruption and arms dealing case along with a once-respected California lawmaker says he's the victim of entrapment by racist FBI agents.
The attorney for Raymond 'Shrimp Boy' Chow told reporters Tuesday that his client is innocent and that slavering undercover agents who took him down are the ones who've broken the law.
Chow's camp made the accusations just after the grinning gangster's arraignment in federal court Tuesday, where he pleaded not guilty to corruption and gun running charges along with disgraced state senator Leland Yee and 19 others.
'The government created the crime, the government financed the crime, and the government ensnared my client,' Shrimp Boy's attorney Tony Serra told reporters following the arraignment.
Chow's colorful dress and nickname along with a reputation as a once ruthless Chinese mobster-turned-reformed motivational speaker have made him the breakout star in a scandal full of shocking details, even with a fellow defendant as distinguished and high-profile as Mr. Yee.
Investigators say Chow is the 'dragonhead' of one of the most powerful Asian gangs in North America.
Chow's gang is said to have lured Yee into its clutches through money and campaign contributions in exchange for legislative help, as Yee sought to build his campaign coffers to run for California secretary of state.
Racism? A lawyer for the self-proclaimed 'reformed' gang leader says his client was the victim of entrapment fueled by 'unadulterated racism' from FBI agents bent on proving San Francisco's Chinatown is run by Chinese gangsters
Shocking: Also implicated in the widespread corruption sting is California state senator Leland Yee, who's accused of offering agents weapons from the Philippines and political favors in exchange for campaign contributions
Chow has admitted that as a gang leader, he ran prostitution rings, smuggled drugs and extorted thousands of dollars from business owners in the 1980s.
But he's maintained since his last release from prison in 2003 that he's reformed.
And now his attorney say's he's been implicated because of his past and because of his race.
'We will put the government rightfully on trial,' proclaimed Serra.
Serra said the undercover FBI agents who worked to snare Chow tried to get him to open a restaurant 'like the Mafia does, to process cash and launder it. He refused.'
Their reasoning? 'Unadulterated racism,' that Serra contends was aimed to prove 'Chinese gangsters control Chinatown.'
Widespread: An FBI carries out boxes of evidence following a search of a Chinatown fraternal organization March 26, part of the shocking sting that left over 20 Chinatown players accused of a range of serious crimes from arms trafficking to selling illegal cigarettes
'It's a bunch of baloney,' he said.
Chow is charged with laundering over $2 million and selling illegal booze and cigarettes. He remained jailed Tuesday with no bond set.
Meanwhile, San Francisco Democrat Leland Yee is accused of conspiring to connect an undercover FBI agent with a Philippine arms dealer in exchange for campaign contributions, and of trading political influence for cash.
Yee, who is free on $500,000 bond, has been suspended from the Legislature. He and his wife, Maxine, signed over their San Francisco home on Tuesday as collateral for the bond.
The Yees and the senator's attorney Jim Lassart declined to comment outside court.
Reformed? Chow became a sort of poster boy in San Francisco for how to leave the gang life behind after his release from prison following a sentence for racketeering in 2003. Here, he poses with former mayor Gavin Newsom. He was also named as a success story by figures as prominent as Senator Dianne Feinstein
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