The arrest of Senator Leland Yee, a gun control activist who turned out to be taking orders for machine guns and shoulder fired missiles, is getting most of the attention. But there’s no reason to forget that part of the case involves a violent Triad thug embraced by the Democratic establishment.
Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow is a former member of a Chinatown street gang and later a member of a Hong Kong-based triad. He was convicted of six gun charges in federal court in 1995 and sentenced to 23 years in prison. He was the leader of a criminal faction of the San Francisco group called the Hop Sing Tong.
Chow was among 26 defendants in court, including state Sen. Leland Yee and San Francisco political consultant Keith Jackson. The group faces charges ranging from murder for hire and drug trafficking to gun smuggling.
Chow’s criminal history started early, and by age 16 he was the leader of 30 underlings collecting money from gambling dens in Hong Kong. After coming to the U.S., he organized the Hop Sing Tong to collect money from gambling dens in San Francisco.
He was arrested on robbery charges in 1978, paroled in 1985, but quickly returned to crime and was sent back to prison.
Chow was sentenced to 25 years in prison for gun charges related to a 1992 indictment that included alleged heroin trafficking and prostitution. Chow was released in 2003 when he testified against an associate.
Chow testified in the 2002 trial of Peter “Uncle” Chong that he was Chong’s right-hand man when Chong was head of the Wo Hop To criminal organization after Chow’s Hop Sing Tong gang merged with Chong’s to take over Chinatown’s criminal activity in 1990.
Chow is rumored to have some role in the 2006 San Francisco execution-style murder of Allen Leung , the head of Chinatown fraternal organization, a murder which remains unsolved.
Chow was born in Hong Kong and is not a U.S. citizen, but lives in San Francisco with his girlfriend of six years, according to Falk. Chow, who is currently monitored by immigration officials with an ankle bracelet, was not granted bail after federal attorneys said he was a flight risk, a danger to the community and had an “extremely violent criminal history.” That history includes assault with a firearm, extortion, arson and murder for hire, the federal attorney noted.
The Department of Homeland Security has been trying to deport Chow, who is not a U.S. citizen, since he was released from prison in 2005.
Chow should have been deported, but instead he built up ties with the California Democratic establishment.
In the photo above, he’s posing with former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom. Here’s a certificate from current San Francisco Mayor Ed Yee’s office honoring Chow as a “Change Agent” and thanking him for “providing outstanding service to the residents of San Francisco.”
And here’s another one from Democratic Assemblyman and “civil rights leader” Tom Ammiano.
And here’s a letter from Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office.
The Democratic Party continues to live up to its reputation as the party of criminals.
