Sen. Leland Yee, S.F. Chinatown figure arrested in corruption raids

State Sen. Leland Yee and a San Francisco figure known as “Shrimp Boy” were arrested Wednesday as part of a public corruption probe after a series of raids by federal and gang task force officials, the FBI confirmed.

FBI spokesman Peter Lee confirmed the arrest to The Times but declined to provide information on possible charges. Yee, a Democrat who is also running for California secretary of state, was expected to appear in a federal courthouse in downtown San Francisco at 1:30 p.m.

Also arrested was Raymond Chow, a well-known San Francisco Chinatown figure who has been connected over the years to the criminal gang Wo Hop To. Chow, also known as “Shrimp Boy,” has faced federal charges in the past.

FBI agents searched Yee’s state Senate office Wednesday morning but declined to comment to The Times on the nature of their investigation. Yee was taken to the courthouse in the backseat of a patrol car.

Dan Lieberman, Yee’s press secretary, told The Times his office would not comment on the FBI raids.

Representatives for the U.S. attorney’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr described the raids to KCBS as “massive.”

“Hundreds of officers are involved in this,” he said.

Among the locations being searched by authorities Wednesday was the Ghee Kung Tong Supreme Lodge belonging to the Chinese Freemasons on Spofford Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. An FBI evidence response team also searched a building in the 1700 block of Hyde Street.