now, the indictment returned by the grand jury, describes the corrupt scheme in which the defendants used bribes, mail fraud, wire fraud and other

illegal practices to manipulate and corruptly influence the levers of local government. the case is built on allegations from an unknown coconspirator that we believe, when the evidence is revealed, will show that my client has committed no crimes. >> former oakland mayor shengtao, her longtime romantic partner andre jones, and david and andy duong, father and son owners of california waste solutions, now all facing federal bribery and conspiracy charges. almost seven months after federal officials raided their homes. good evening. thank you for joining us. >> i'm dan ashley, and i'm karina nova. today, investigators detailed that pay to play scheme that included $95,000 in payments benefiting the former mayor and her boyfriend in exchange for the mayor's help in deals supporting the two businessmen. >> abc seven news reporter anser hassan has covered this story since the very beginning, and as the u.s. attorney announced, the

result of months long fbi corruption investigation has come to this as often the case. >> the accused left a money trail from their deceptive acts of corruption. >> special agent linda nguyen, with the irs oakland field office, says the money trail led to a federal indictment that exposed a pay to play scheme where allegedly former oakland mayor xiang tao and her romantic partner andre jones, traded political promises for campaign financing and cash. >> the indictment charges a scheme that the defendants entered into knowing that bribes would be offered and accepted by tao and jones in exchange for allowing the duong's to exercise illegal influence over the levers of city government. >> the eight count indictment was unsealed friday morning as part of a joint investigation by the fbi, irs, and the united states postal service. along with tao and jones, david and andy duong are also named the father and son of a high profile family in oakland, which has contracts with the city for its recycling program. >> today's announcement stems

from an ongoing multi-year investigation into public corruption, initiated by information shared with the fbi from the oakland ethics commission. >> examples include allegedly agreeing to purchase modular homes from the duong's business, extend the duong's recycling contracts with the city, and for mayor tao to appoint a high level city official to benefit the duong's business interests. in exchange, the duong's allegedly paid $75,000 for campaign mailers attacking tao's opponents in her 2022 bid for mayor and $95,000 in direct payments disguised for a no show job. all four pled not guilty in federal court in oakland on friday. tao alone faces six counts related to bribery, conspiracy and mail and wire fraud. she faces a maximum of 95 years in prison and upwards of $1.5 million in fines. but tao's lawyer, who spoke after the hearing, claims the evidence in the u.s. government's case is weak. >> the case is built on allegations from an unknown

coconspirator that we believe when the evidence is revealed, will show that my client has committed no crimes. >> tao was released on an unsecured $50,000 bond with travel restrictions. her next court appearance is set for february 6th in oakland, anser hassan abc seven news. >> that indictment details alleged bribes spent on a negative mailer that helped shengtao just before the 2022 oakland mayor's election. >> and that raises an intriguing question, actually, could we actually have had a different mayor, had that money not exchanged hands? >> i-team reporter dan noyes first broke details of the flier back in june, and he joins us now with the latest, dan. >> well, karina and dan sheng, tao's opponent in the 2022 race, lauren taylor, told me today. there's no question he would have won. he was leading in the polls, and after that, mailer wound up losing by just 677 votes. and any comment about what's happening in his white suit and white tennis shoes? andy duong would not answer questions as he entered federal

court to face bribery, conspiracy, mail and wire fraud charges in connection with former oakland mayor xiang tao. but the indictment says in exchange for future favors, contracts and political appointments to wong and his father, david wong, who owned california waste solutions, funded a negative mailer campaign costing approximately $75,000 in support of tao's mayoral campaign. >> look, i am, i am angry. this is ridiculous that uh- democracy has been trampled on here in oakland. >> former council member lauren taylor was ahead at one point during the ranked choice voting tally by 3587 votes, but wound up losing the mayor's race by just 677 out of about 125,000 votes cast. the difference, according to taylor and his chief of staff, this mailer slamming taylor sent just days before the election. >> they obviously had darkened his his face and darkened his skin and had outrageous

allegations. it just seemed incredibly unfair and disappointing in public. >> real estate agent and political activist mario suarez always said that he paid for the fliers, and this anti-law and taylor website. but last summer, mayor sheng tao's former chief of staff told me she watched suarez approach tao and andy duong at this campaign event in october 2022, asking for more money for the fliers. >> and that was the first time i ever saw mario. and i was like, what is he doing here? and he straight up said he needed $25,000 to finish that mail piece. and i walked away because i knew that they shouldn't even be dealing with that or talking about that type of stuff. >> webb said andy duong indicated he would take care of it and that he had already paid $50,000 for the project. mario suarez is not charged or even named in the indictment released today. he could be listed as coconspirator one. i asked his lawyer, ernie castillo, if warz is a cooperating witness. he texted. i can't discuss the

situation at all at the moment. for the upcoming mayor's race, lauren taylor has filed to be on the ballot once again, hoping for a more level playing field. >> this time. i think it says to all of us, we absolutely have to stay vigilant. we have to make sure that we have the right leaders in place who are going to make the right decisions, who have the right judgment, and are not simply going to continue, you know, business as usual. >> you have to consider lauren taylor, a leading candidate for oakland mayor in the upcoming special election, along with former member of congress barbara lee and more than a dozen others. they include tao's former chief of staff, virginia webb, also running for mayor. so a crowded field. >> well, you talk about palace intrigue here. >> absolutely. >> thanks, dan, very much. >> and this case has been months in the making, and abc seven news has been there for each development. check out a timeline of this major moment. and the moment's passed. you can catch up on some of the forgotten details and see what's next. it's all on abc seven news.com and our abc seven bay

area app. all right. >> we'll move now to that major developing news out of monterey county. a fire at one of the world's largest lithium battery storage facilities, continuing to burn more than 24 hours after it started again. this is one of the largest such facilities in the world. residents near the moss landing facility are still out of their homes this afternoon. abc seven news south bay reporter dustin dorsey is on. >> the story best be described as a worst case scenario of a disaster that's happened here. nobody predicted anything on this line, and this is really a lot more than just a fire. it's really a wake up call for this industry. there must be accountability for this and there will be accountability. >> tempers ran about as hot as the fire that started thursday night and continued friday at one of the world's largest lithium battery plants. flames could be seen from miles away, raging some 30ft high or more. a water based suppression system at the vistra energy plant failed to contain the fire at the start. why that was, as well

as the initial cause, remain under investigation. >> our company takes very seriously what happened last night and we are hurting today because we know primarily it's impacted and disrupted the people who live around our site, our neighbors, our friends and businesses. and for that we are sincerely sorry. >> while preliminary testing found no traces of deadly hydrogen fluoride in the air as the batteries burned, the hazardous smoke from the large structure fire still created health impacts for the surrounding communities, like for linda pacheco, her three children and their dog. a few of the 1200 residents forced to evacuate. >> my 16 year old daughter has asthma. that's what came up in our head right away because of the of the smell. as soon as we came out of the door, we smelled that strong air. the chemicals. i started getting dizzy. >> this is the fourth fire pacheco has lived through at this location since 2019. the third at a vistra energy operated plant. monterey county

supervisor glenn church says he was assured that safety protocols would never allow this to happen when the plant was constructed after this latest fire, he says, failure can no longer be an option. >> what we have right now and protocols and safety and standards, which are state of the art, i'm sure. but they failed. we have to make sure we're going ahead here that things are going to be safe for the sake of the health and safety of the entire community. >> in monterey county, dustin dorsey, abc seven news. >> still ahead, a man already convicted of kidnaping and rape in the bay area is now charged in two more incidents. how prosecutors say two victims turned their trauma into power. >> plus, taking a live look outside at the conditions right now, we have your holiday weekend forecast still ahead. abc i mean, i know how the fire affected me, and there's always a constant fear that who's to say something like that won't happen again?

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of vallejo residents, denise huskins pleaded guilty to two home invasions in santa clara county. the invasions took place in 2009, but were investigated again, in part thanks to huskins case. abc seven news reporter tim johns spoke with the santa clara county district attorney's office and has more details. >> matthew mueller pled guilty in a san jose courtroom friday. mueller admitting he committed two home invasions in 2009, one in palo alto and one in mountain view. during those home invasions, mueller held captive, interrogated and threatened to rape two women. the minimum sentence for each of mueller's friday convictions is seven years to life in prison. santa clara county deputy district attorney brian king says he hopes friday's events can help bring closure to those involved. >> when a case goes unsolved, it leaves an open wound. and whi a conviction might not heal that

wound, it starts the next chapter in that process. >> whatever jail time mueller serves from his friday convictions will be on top of his existing sentences related to the 2015 kidnaping and rape of denise huskins. that incident attracted international attention after the vallejo police department wrongfully called huskins story a hoax. king says with huskins support, the police chief of a monterey county town began corresponding with mueller by letter while he was in prison. those exchanges ultimately leading to mueller confessing to the two south bay home invasions. >> it's important to recognize that what happened to denise and aaron was awful. it was horrible, but they turned it into a force for good and a force for change. >> mueller also confessed to a previously unreported kidnaping in san ramon in 2015. he is now facing charges in contra costa county for that crime in santa clara county. tim johns, abc seven news. >> a rape conviction was reversed for 40 niners star dana stubblefield, but today a judge

ruled he will stay in prison for the time being. a judge in santa clara county declined to make a bail ruling today in stubblefield's case. an appellate court vacated stubblefield's conviction last month after finding racial bias tainted his trial. his attorneys say stubblefield should be released on bail until prosecutors decide whether to refile charges against him. the judge declined to rule today, saying he does not have jurisdiction since it was an appeals court that vacated the conviction. >> after the break, the latest on the situation in los angeles as fire evacuees begin to return home and we'll show you the outpouring of support from professional sports teams

are helping firefighters battle those devastating blazes in southern california. at least 27 people have died, and more than a dozen are still reported missing. some evacuation zones have been lifted, allowing thousands of families to finally return to their homes.

>> knowing that, you know, the police officers protected our neighborhood. so grateful. really happy to be back home. >> officials say the neighborhoods directly impacted by the fire may be restricted for at least another week. the eaton fire that ripped through altadena and forced evacuations through pasadena is now 65% contained. the palisades fire is 31% contained, while firefighters have the upper hand on containment, there is the threat of another round of santa ana winds next week. >> a dozen professional sports teams in the los angeles area are providing relief to those affected by the fires. they include the los angeles dodgers, lakers, rams, chargers, kings, ducks, galaxy, clippers and angels. together, they've pledged over $8 million in donations. the money will go to groups providing critical assistance and animal rescue. team officials say some players and coaches have lost their homes in the fires, and teams schedules have been disrupted.

>> so nice to see them get involved like that and make a difference. and the bay area is stepping up again, sending more help and relief to those affected by the devastating l.a. wildfires. >> everyone is trying to do something, and an oakland nonprofit is ready to deliver donated pet supplies. they also plan to dig in and start cleaning up debris from the firestorms when it's safe to do so. >> abc seven news reporter cornell bernard has more now from the east bay. >> so here's what i want to do. this stuff can come out and go in the car. >> volunteers from oakland's urban compassion project are loading up this trailer with donated supplies bound for la. >> what do we have? thank you. >> oh, this is a brand new carrier litter box. >> litter box? >> all week, people have been dropping off donations of pet supplies to the nonprofit. >> yeah, there's just a ton of stuff. we're stuffed to the brim here. >> the items will be delivered to local animal shelters, some of which lost everything in the fires. >> then we're going to go to a few other places that have been burnt down to see how they can be supported, like filozoa.

animal shelter that was completely burnt down. that helped neglected dogs. >> founder vincent ray williams is packing shovels, rakes and debris grabbers. >> these are used to scoop up those piles right, and then placed in the cans so that they can be dumped. >> he says the real mission of urban compassion project is supporting unhoused communities by cleaning illegal dumping around encampments or anywhere they find it. this instagram post shows their recent efforts in oakland. williams says he'd like to put those cleanup skills to work cleaning up fire debris. >> when it's safe to do so, and as an organization that cares about the experience of the community in general with compassion, we want to go down there and we want to do our part. come on in. >> last weekend, hundreds of folks showed up to this drive through donation event in emeryville collecting items for la fire survivors. a big success. >> okay, so we have more donations now that just came in. thank you. >> chetna compassion project was

still collecting donations minutes before vincent and priya hit the road. >> and so we've done great work in oakland. but what's happened is the la fires have affected a whole lot of people. negatively headed out on our way to la. >> in oakland. cornell, bernard abc seven news. >> and of course you can help. just go to redcross.org, slash abc to help the red cross respond to those in need. it all makes a difference. >> well, let's talk about the weather here in the bay area. it was a little chilly today. >> it was downright cold. >> i thought this morning doesn't describe it. well, it was cold. let's just put it that way. >> it was. it was freezing. when the sun came out, it was a little bit better, but really, the thermometer has dropped. >> it has. it feels like winter all of a sudden. right. this morning. dan and corina, we had temperatures down to the low to mid 30s in our coldest spots. so yes, it was down to freezing in some locations. today's high temperatures in the mid 50s to

low 60s. most areas were in the 50s. so we're finally where we should be for this time of year. as we take a look at some live pictures from our towercameras. one thing that helped to drive the temperatures down, that fog that you're seeing from our mount tam cam, look at those numbers down ten degrees in livermore, nine degrees cooler, santa rosa, several degrees san francisco, oakland, seven degrees san jose and concord. the air quality is it's been a little hazy at times, lack of strong winds. and we have wood burning pollution. so it is moderate in the east bay, the peninsula and parts of the south bay. looking at what brought about the changes area of low pressure, deepening our marine layer and helping to bring in that fog. so you can see it here on live doppler seven. right now, those temperatures in the 40s and the 50s. so if you do have plans tonight, you'll want to bundle up. here's a closer view from our oaq camera. you can see that marine layer there in the distance. if you are flying out of town this weekend, it is fiesta friday travel forecast time. okay, 60 degrees

fog giving way to sun tomorrow. guadalajara 81 nice and warm and zacatecas. you're looking at windy conditions 69 degrees back here at home. from our roof camera you can see just a little bit of a breeze tonight. coastal fog spreads. holiday weekend will go from fog to sun and near average temperatures. and then monday and midweek we do have gusty offshore winds back in the picture. so tonight if you are stepping out 40s and 50s at 620. fog makes a push by 9:00 this evening. and then as we head towards tomorrow morning it's going to be a gray start. a chilly one, but not quite as cold as this morning as we'll have that blanket of fog right overhead tomorrow afternoon. 50s and 60s, and most areas will see the sun before the temperatures start to drop again. 34 degrees in napa tomorrow morning. 37 in livermore, 35 santa rosa, 40s right around richmond, oakland, san francisco, 41 in san jose. and there will be plenty of fog around. but as i mentioned in the afternoon, it's going to

brighten up temperatures mid 50s to the low 60s. they may come up a few degrees, believe it or not. you know what else is coming up? the winds on martin luther king junior day. offshore winds develop the strongest over the hills in the north bay, 33 miles an hour. at 10 a.m. on monday, 2 p.m. going up even higher, close to 40. you will notice 2025 pretty common at the lower elevations. so here is why we're expecting the winds over the weekend. it's the marine influence going on. typical pattern as we head towards monday. downsloping winds develop as high pressure builds in behind a departing trough and another round of windy conditions on wednesday. but look at what is showing up around the 26th 27th. we have an opportunity for some rain around here. the snow in the mountains certainly will help those firefighters in southern california. hopefully they have the fires out by then. but just kind of giving you an idea since they have been so dry, we've been so dry this month and it's not looking like a lot from this model. but potential is there

for some wet weather at the end of january. the accuweather seven day forecast morning fog to sun the next couple of days. martin luther king junior day. we are expecting breezy to gusty conditions, but it will be milder and dry for the holiday next week. those temperatures are going to bounce back. we're going to go above average. i know i've got low to mid 60s right now, but some areas are going to start to come up closer to the upper 60s. really? yeah. karina and diane, it's been a long stretch of dry weather which has couple almost a couple of weeks. yeah 1 to 2 weeks is not uncommon in january. but now we're getting into the third week. >> thank you very much. okay. >> well we're talking about cold temperatures, frigid temperatures in the nation's capital are forcing president elect donald trump's second inauguration to be moved indoors with the wind chill on monday. it is expected to be in the single digits. trump will now have to take the oath of office in the u.s. capitol rotunda. the last time cold weather moved the inauguration indoors was in 1985 for ronald reagan, and the

inaugural parade was also canceled. no word yet on any changes to trump's inaugural parade. >> now we will have live coverage of the inauguration monday morning. it starts at 6 a.m. right here on abc seven. this is expected to go until about two in the afternoon. that means you will not see the view. midday, live, midday, live, gma3 or general hospital. just keep that in mind. but you can record them and watch them later. a team can help you plan for your dreams. so your dream car, and vacation home, may be closer than you think. ready to meet the dream team? you can with wells fargo.

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weather and more with our abc seven bay area streaming tv app. just search abc seven bay area and download it. and don't forget we have much more news ahead at 530 and on abc seven bay area streaming tv. >> and if you're watching us here on tv world news tonight with david muir is next for sandhya patel all of us, we appreciate your time. i'm d

>> david >> david: tonight, there is breaking news involving the inauguration. for the first time since ronald reagan, the brutal cold temperatures forcing president-elect trump's inauguration indoors now.