Ex-staffer for former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao speaks out

As former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao awaits her next court date on federal 
bribery charges, one of her former staffers claims she was alerted years 
ago to the alleged crimes.

Just weeks after a celebration in 2022, when Thao won the election for 
Oakland mayor, her former chief of staff, Renia Webb, said she started 
having concerns.

“When the FBI approached me and what I found out was just heartbreaking, 
and knowing that it would put Oakland further behind than we ever have 
been,” she said.

The bribery investigation into Thao, her longtime partner Andre Jones, and 
local businessmen David and Andy Duong started before the election. The 
Department of Justice alleges Thao and her partner sold business contracts 
and powerful positions for profit.

Webb said the FBI approached her that December and she started to help 
them build a case.

“It's just sickening that we were running a campaign telling people one 
thing, making promises to take care of our city and all the while you and 
Andre were in the background conspiring to be crooks,” she said.

Webb claimed when she confronted Thao with questions about Jones allegedly 
selling positions, Thao already knew and encouraged her to stay silent.

“That's when she told me, 'Oh, you're going to be making close to 
$200,000. Let's set up our families for life,' and I was like, 'No thank 
you,'” Webb said.

Webb resigned at the end of 2022 after she said she was harassed and 
targeted. She added that she tried to alert the Oakland City Council and 
others but said they all dismissed her, some accusing her of having mental 
health issues.

“I don't have no reason to lie," Webb said. "Why would I walk away from 
close to $200,000 to take about a 400% pay cut if it wasn't for a reason 
when I worked so hard to get her in the office."

The federal indictment alleges the Duongs funded a $75,000 negative 
campaign against Thao’s opponents before the election and made $95,000 in 
payments to her partner for a fake job.

Mark Goldrosen, Jones’s attorney, released the following statement on 
Monday: "Mr. Jones has pled not guilty to the indictment and vigorously 
denies all allegations contained therein as well as any other allegations 
of wrongdoing. He looks forward to the upcoming court proceedings, which 
we are confident will establish his innocence."

Jeff Tsai, Thao’s attorney, did not respond to NBC Bay Area’s request for 
comment on Monday but previously denied Thao did anything wrong.

“The indictment itself is chock full of allegations, but it is not chock 
full of evidence. And that's what we're going to prove in the course of 
our defense in this case,” he said.

Meanwhile, Webb is now running for her old boss’s job in a crowded special 
election in April.

“We are at a reset but now we have a chance to move forward," she said. 
"We have a chance to pick up, to heal and to rebuild."

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/ex-staffer-for-former-oakland-mayor-
sheng-thao-speaks-out/3773053/