SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Former California state senator Leland Yee is expected to be sentenced Wednesday after acknowledging in a plea deal that he accepted thousands of dollars in bribes and discussed helping an undercover FBI agent buy automatic weapons from the Philippines.
Yee’s attorneys have called for no more than five years and three months behind bars, saying Yee has a history of public service and his wife is ill. Prosecutors recommended an 8-year sentence, saying that would reflect the extent of Yee’s crimes and deter others from committing such crimes.
Senior District Court Judge Charles Breyer also has the option of imposing a different prison term at the Wednesday hearing.
Yee, 67, is a long-time politician who also served in the state Assembly and on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
He pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering. The charge was filed as part of an organized crime investigation in San Francisco’s Chinatown that led to charges against more than two dozen people.