A highly eccentric figure from the FBI investigation that resulted in the Sheng Thao raid claims that Alameda County DA Pamela Price attempted to intimidate him for $25,000, bringing together two of the oddest political tales from the East Bay. Oh, but this guy is not very credible.
It is exceedingly inconvenient that the FBI raided Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s home in June, as you are probably aware, since she is up for recall in November. It’s also possible that you are aware that on November 5, Alameda County DA Pamela Price is up for recall. These two seemingly unconnected political storylines in East Bay may confuse you. However, a curious minor figure from the repercussions of the Sheng Thao attack has now entered the Pamela Price recall conversation. As reported by the Bay Area News Group on Friday, Mario Juarez, the alleged “straw donor” for Sheng Thao, has now charged DA Pamela Price with attempting to obtain a $25,000 bribe from him.
Juarez is referred to as “an Oakland businessman with a history of financial troubles who twice ran for city council” by the Chronicle and as “the subject of an FBI corruption probe” by the Bay Area News Group. He also carries some baggage. Price’s office is looking into Juarez for allegedly defrauding investors of $4 million. Juarez is also being investigated for allegedly bouncing checks totalling $50,000. Juarez claims he has been beaten up and had his house attacked, most likely by people who are upset about their previous business dealings with him.
Juarez also has a dislike for Pamela Price. He founded the recall website BadPam.com, which calls Pamela Price out for being “4 TIMES A LOSER!” in past elections. It’s funny because Juarez has lost two elections for office. The claims of bribes, however, are less amusing. Juarez’s lawyer has filed a new lawsuit alleging that Price approached Juarez following Oakland police officer Tuan Le’s burial and offered to drop the felony charges related to the bounced checks in exchange for Juarez contributing $25,000 to Price’s recall campaign.
She clarified that she could assist Mr. Juarez in her capacity as the District Attorney for Alameda County, but that in order to do so, he would “need to show love and support her,” according to the petition, which the Chronicle has obtained. She specifically asked him for $25,000 in cash to help her fight the ongoing recall movement against her. The idea that a prosecuting attorney would want a $25,000 check from a client while also pursuing charges against them for $50,000 worth of returned checks may seem illogical. Nonetheless, the Chronicle has access to Angelina Clay’s case notes. According to Juarez’s lawyer, Price’s administration stopped Clay from dismissing the case due to a lack of evidence and removed Clay from the case. The Chron attests that Clay did, in fact, write, “Overall it appears to me that what we can prove is that Mr. Juarez is a sloppy business man, which is not a crime,” in that notebook. “Proving ALL of the elements of a (writing a bad cheque offence) appears to be impossible given the facts of this case,” according to the notes. Although those statements are verified, the Chronicle was unable to ascertain if Clay had really been removed from the case or whether Price’s office had prevented the case from being dismissed.
And we will once more draw attention to the most significant unanswered question surrounding the Sheng Thao raid incident: does the FBI even accuse Mayor Thao, or Mario Juarez for that matter, of any wrongdoing?
