April 07, 2009

FORMER SAN FRANCISCO SUPERVISOR EDMUND JEW SENTENCED TO 64 MONTHS

SAN FRANCISCO – Former San Francisco Supervisor Edmund Jew was sentenced today to 64 months in prison for bribery, extortion, and mail fraud by deprivation of honest services, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.

Jew, 49, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 6, 2007, and, without a plea agreement, pleaded guilty to the charges in the indictment on Oct. 10, 2008. In pleading guilty, Jew admitted to extorting $80,000 from Cantonese-speaking small business owners in the Sunset District as payment for his offer to “help” them deal with permitting violations issued by the City’s Planning Department.

“The sentence handed down today demonstrates that elected officials are not above the law,” Russoniello said. “Anyone who abuses his or her office for personal financial benefit will be held accountable.”

“Mr. Jew selfishly pursued personal gain at the expense of the some of the most vulnerable of his constituents,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Charlene B. Thornton. “The sentence he received today reminds us no one – regardless of power or position – is above the law, and there is a heavy price to pay for the abuse of power and betrayal of public trust.”

The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston following the Defendant’s guilty plea to one count of bribery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 666(a)(1)(B) (bribery); extortion under color of official right, in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 1951(a); and mail fraud by deprivation of honest services, in violation of 18 U.S.C. sections 1341 and 1346. Judge Illston also sentenced the defendant to a 3-year period of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine and $5,000 in restitution. The Defendant is currently out on pretrial release and will begin serving the sentence on July 1.

Tracie L. Brown is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Rayneisha Booth. The prosecution is the result of a 23-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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For more information on federal criminal defense law, contact the Law Offices of Joseph Shemaria of Los Angeles, California.