A San Leandro city councilmember who federal prosecutors allege was wrapped up in a bribery and kickback scheme involving an Oakland-based housing developer pleaded not guilty last week to wire fraud and lying to agents.
Bryan Azevedo was federally charged in late October and is facing one count each of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and making false statements to a government agency.
Prosecutors allege Azevedo accepted a $2,000 cash bribe from an unnamed owner of the housing company that had business interests with the city, according to documents filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland.
During the fall of 2023 and spring of 2024, Azevedo took steps to benefit the company, including advocating for an emergency shelter ordinance with San Leandro government officials, taking city officials on a tour of the company’s model units, and advocating for the purchase of units by the city of San Leandro, according to court documents.
Then, in June of 2024, prosecutors say Azevedo allegedly voted “in furtherance of an emergency ordinance that would have benefitted” the company.
During an investigation into the alleged scheme, Azevedo is accused of lying about it to FBI and IRS agents, according to prosecutors.
Court documents show that prosecutors believe Azevedo worked on the alleged scheme with two unnamed “coconspirators,” owners of the unnamed affordable housing company, for about a year starting in August of 2023.
The company was building and selling prefabricated modular homes made from shipping containers.
In January, the FBI raided Azevedo’s home on Dillo Street in San Leandro.
The case is being prosecuted by Abraham Fine, the assistant U.S. attorney who is also prosecuting former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and her partner Andre Jones on several federal corruption and bribery charges.
Also facing charges in that case are David Duong and his son Andy, who own a recycling company, California Waste Solutions, that does business with Oakland.
The Duongs also ran a company that was trying to build and sell modular homes made from shipping containers to help with local homelessness issues.
Azevedo received thousands of dollars from Andy Duong and a business called Duong Family Investments when he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of San Leandro in 2022, according to campaign finance records.
Azevedo took a trip to Vietnam in 2023 that was also attended by members of the Port of Oakland, Thao, and Andy Duong.
The trip has drawn scrutiny because of attendance of political contributors on a visit that was ostensibly about official city business, which involved lobbying the Vietnamese to use the Port of Oakland more.
The Duongs have contributed to multiple political candidates around the Bay Area in recent election cycles, including Thao, whose home was also searched by the FBI in June 2024.
David Duong was investigated in 2020 by the Oakland Public Ethics Commission for allegedly using straw donors to illegally steer money to certain candidates.
If convicted, Azevedo could face up to 25 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000. He was released on bond on Nov. 12 and is next scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 8, according to the DOJ.
Azevedo remains on the City Council and his term runs out in 2028. According to the City Charter, councilmembers must step down only after being convicted of a felony.
Azevedo is a fourth-generation San Leandro resident, graduated from Castro Valley High School in 1995 and works as a sheet metal foreman, according to his biography on the city website. He was first elected in 2020 and reelected in 2024.