San Francisco's 'tech mayor' is embroiled in bribery allegations according to court filings

ed lee commonwealth

(Commonwealth Club via Flickr Creative Commons) San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has been implicated in bribery and money laundering schemes, according to new filings related to the criminal case around Richard "Shrimp Boy" Chow, the SF Examiner reported on Tuesday.

New filings in federal court allege that Lee took "substantial bribes in exchange for favors," while some of his commission staff members engaged in money laundering activities.

The Examiner report noted that while the court fillings made the allegations, none of the people mentioned have been formally charged for the accusations. The report did not provide details on the nature of the alleged bribes.

Lee, who was elected mayor in 2011, has become intrinsically linked with San Francisco's booming tech economy and was supported during the election by many of the tech industry elite including venture capitalist Ron Conway and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.

The investigation is part of the 2014 raid that involved Chow, who was allegedly heading up organized crime in the Chinatown area of San Francisco. Other political leaders like State Senator Leland Yee and school board member Keith Jackson have also been implicated in the case as well.

Ed Lee's press officer sent us the following statement in response to this story:

"We have reviewed today’s filing. While it appears others may have tried to engage or ensnare Mayor Lee and any number of other people in their own wrongdoing, there's absolutely nothing in today's filing by Raymond Chow's attorneys that suggests that Mayor Lee himself or his 2011 campaign did anything wrong or inappropriate. As we have stated previously, Mayor Lee's campaign is committed to following the letter and spirit of all campaign finance laws. If and when the Mayor's campaign receives specific information from the government about any questionable contributions, we will take immediate and appropriate actions."

NOW WATCH: Sony has been working on this Playstation game for 8 years — and the trailer is absolutely beautiful

More From Business Insider

• People want NASA to investigate this mysterious crab-shaped object photographed on Mars
  

• Incredible pictures give a totally unexpected perspective into how the 1% lives
  

• 6 ways 50 Cent says he tricked the world into believing he was rich