The FBI affidavit outlining the criminal case against state Sen. Leland Yee and others reads like a pot-boiler: gangs, drug dealing, gun running, clandestine meetings, envelopes stuffed with cash and, of course, nicknames. Yee is "Uncle Leland," another defendant is "Shrimp Boy."
The 137-page affidavit tells a tale of astonishing corruption, of an elected official with such an insatiable thirst for money that he's willing to sell favors to gangsters and broker the sale of automatic weapons and shoulder-fired missiles.
Yee, a San Francisco Democrat, allegedly took at least $42,800 in cash and campaign contributions from undercover FBI agents posing as high-tech executives, medical marijuana entrepreneurs and gangsters.
In return, the affidavit says, Yee arranged meetings with fellow senators, intervened on a state contract and arranged for a Senate proclamation honoring a fraternal organization headed by a reputed mobster. The most shocking allegations involve a series of meetings in which Yee offered to arrange illegal arms imports from a Muslim separatist group in the Philippines.
During one meeting with an undercover agent, he explained that "helping me get elected means I'm gonna take actions on your behalf." On the way to another meeting, he quipped, "I'm just trying to run for secretary of state. I hope I don't get indicted." No such luck.
Yee hasn't been convicted, but the story told by the FBI affidavit is damning in its detail.
We have applauded Yee in previous editorials for supporting government transparency and opposing extravagant salaries for UC and CSU administrators, but these charges cast a shadow over any of his accomplishments in office. His campaign for secretary of state is finished, his credibility is gone. He is innocent until proven guilty, but he isn't entitled to serve in the state Senate. He should take a leave or resign.
Yee is the second state senator charged with corruption in the past six months, joining Montebello Democrat Ron Calderon, who was indicted for accepting bribes. A third senator, Los Angeles Democrat Rod Wright, was convicted of voter fraud in January.
These cases are unrelated, but each is a black eye for the state Senate, and voters could be excused for wondering whether California legislators need some remedial training in ethics and integrity.
The case against Yee took shape as he ran for San Francisco mayor in 2011, then hustled to retire $70,000 in campaign debt before launching his campaign for secretary of state - a job that, ironically, entails keeping track of campaign fundraising.
In many ways, this case reflects a broken political system, undermined by the political arms race and a growing reliance on special interest money for campaigns that is breeding distrust for government. That isn't an excuse for corrupt behavior. Moreover, most candidates and elected officials don't resort to the methods described in the charges against Yee.
Those who do deserve to be prosecuted, and federal authorities appear to be paying close attention: On the same day Yee was arrested, FBI agents searched the offices of a New York state senator and arrested the mayor of Charlotte, N.C.
That isn't much help for disenfranchised voters in Yee's district, but let it stand as a warning to any official tempted to trade the public trust for cash.
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