OAKLAND — Alameda County prosecutors dismissed a grand theft case that seemed to touch on controversy at every turn, including allegations involving the former mayor and district attorney recalled last November.
At a Friday morning hearing, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office formally dismissed the felony case against Oakland political operative Mario Juarez “in the interest of justice.” Juarez had been accused of bouncing a check to pay for election mailers that benefited ex-Mayor Sheng Thao — flyers the FBI now says were part of a larger scheme by waste management barons to bribe Thao and her romantic partner.
Juarez’s lawyer had argued the charges were not criminal conduct but the result of an accounting error. Four months ago, he accused ex-District Attorney Pamela Price of using the case as political extortion, allegations that were similar to those made later by a public defender who claimed Price filed enhanced charges against her client after the public defender declined to oppose the recall against Price. Voters removed Price and Thao from office on Nov. 5, 2024.
The mailers in question sought to discredit Loren Taylor, Thao’s biggest opponent in the 2022 election.
The case took on a new significance last month, when federal prosecutor unsealed an indictment charging Thao, her longtime significant other Andre Jones, and David and Andy Duong, the father-and-son duo who own and run California Waste Solutions, with conspiracy and fraud for alleged backroom dealing.
Last October, Juarez accused Price of filing the case after he turned down a request for a $25,000 political donation when the two talked after the funeral for slain Oakland police Officer Tuan Le. Price didn’t deny being at the headquarters of California Waste Solutions that day, but flatly denied talking at length with Juarez there, claiming she arrived to discuss David Duong’s deep concerns about crime in Oakland.
Weeks after Juarez leveled the shakedown accusation against Price, a public defender signed a sworn declaration saying Price’s office authorized sentencing enhancements against her client in a murder case after she declined Price’s attempt to garner public political support. One of Price’s first actions in office was to drastically scale back sentencing enhancements, arguing they led to mass incarceration and were disproportionately used against minorities.
Price’s work and personal phones have been subpoenaed in the Oakland murder case, and her text messages were turned over to Juarez’s attorney in the grand theft case. In one, she refers to Juarez as “MF” — apparent shorthand for an expletive — and expresses surprise that he was charged.
Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Kate DeFerrari, who appeared in court Friday, signed a sworn declaration stating that Price’s then-Chief Assistant Otis Bruce warned another prosecutor not to dismiss the case against Juarez because Price “would not be happy with that.” All decisions about the case were supposed to go through Bruce. DeFerrari said she found it “strange” that she’d need her bosses to sing off on it.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors revealed the FBI has collected 140 gigabytes of data of potential evidence against Thao and her alleged co-conspirators.
Prosecutors allege the Duongs paid $75,000 for the campaign mailers just days ahead of the November 2022 election. In return, Thao agreed to favor housing and recycling companies owned by the Duongs “in exchange for various benefits” to herself and Jones. Other illicit political favors included $95,000 payments for “no-show jobs” and a “pay-to-play” scheme that offered or extended city contracts to the Duong family business, prosecutors said.
The indictment says that an unnamed “Co-Conspirator 1” — widely believed to be Juarez — helped act as a go-between for Thao and the Duongs. Juarez and the Duongs cut ties during a physical confrontation in May 2024, just a month before mysterious figures shot at Juarez outside his Oakland home. The shootout, investigated as an attempt on Juarez’s life, was followed 11 days later by FBI raids on Thao, Jones, and the Duongs’ home and businesses.
Juarez and Andy and David Duong co-owned a business that sought to build high-end trailer homes for unsheltered people. Thao agreed to use Oakland city funds to file millions of purchase orders if the Duongs could ensure her election, according to the indictment.
Juarez, widely believed to be cooperating with the federal government, was not present at Friday’s hearing in Alameda County court. Afterward, his attorney, Ernie Castillo, maintained that his client has been innocent.
Juarez agreed to pay $15,000 to the man whose company produced the mailers, according to people familiar with the case.