| Edmund Jew 趙悦明 |
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|---|---|
| Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 4 |
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| In office December 5, 2006 – September 25, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Fiona Ma |
| Succeeded by | Carmen Chu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1960 (age 51–52) San Francisco, California, United States |
| Nationality | United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Other political affiliations |
Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Lorene (Lisa) Jew |
| Children | Cammie Jew |
| Residence | San Francisco Burlingame, California, United States |
| Alma mater | San Francisco State University Golden Gate University |
| Profession | Businessman Politician |
Edmund "Ed" Jew (simplified Chinese: 赵悦明; traditional Chinese: 趙悦明; Mandarin Pinyin: Zhào Yuèmíng; Jyutping: ziu6 jyut6 ming4, born 1960 in San Francisco, California) is an incarcerated former Chinese American politician based in San Francisco. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in economics and later earned a masters degree in business administration at Golden Gate University. After spending several years as a businessman managing his family enterprises, he entered politics in 1980s and went on to serve in various community organizations. In 1996, he was the volunteer liaison for then District 4 supervisor Leland Yee. In 2002, Yee successfully ran for a seat in the California Assembly, and Jew ran for Yee's seat on the Board of Supervisors in the 2002 election, but was defeated. When Yee's successor Fiona Ma in 2006 ran for state assembly, Jew again ran for supervisor in District 4, which comprises most of the Sunset District. After winning a highly competitive election decided by instant-runoff voting, he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Six months after taking office, the FBI raided his office and homes for allegedly extorting money from small business owners in his district. Shortly after the raid, the city attorney began investigating Jew for violating residency requirements necessary to hold his supervisor position. In September 2007, he was suspended by Mayor Gavin Newsom and later resigned in the face of extortion and perjury charges. In late 2008, he pled guilty to both charges. He was sentenced to 64 months in state prison for extortion, and a year in county jail for perjury.[1][2]
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Edmund Jew was born in San Francisco, California in 1960. The Jew family emigrated from China around the turn of the century. His grandfather James Jew, who arrived to the city in 1913, established an employment agency in 1925 and later the Canton Flower Shop in Chinatown in 1927. He had become a distinguished leader in the Chinese community after serving many local Chinese American associations.[3]
He was raised in Chinatown by his parents. When he was eight, he fell into a coma and had brain surgery as a result of being hit by a motorcycle.[1] After graduating from McAteer High School, Jew attended City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University, where he earned a degree in economics. In 1984, he also earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Golden Gate University.[3]
Before entering politics, Jew was an entrepreneur. Among other enterprises, he managed his family's flower shop and owned a local taxi company named Howard Mock Jew, Inc. In addition, he invested in real estate. He bought his first property in San Francisco at the age of 21 and, as of 2002, he had a real estate portfolio worth as much as $5 million.[3] It was later revealed in news reports that beside owning several houses in the Bay Area, he also purchased properties in Arizona. In 2007, he transferred most of his properties to family members and his family trust due to his legal problems.[4]
Jew has a wife named Lorene and a daughter Cammie. They live in Burlingame, California.[3][5] He also has a brother named David Jew.[4]
Jew began his political career in the 1980s, setting up the Chinese Neighborhood Resource Center, which helped to clean up alleyways in Chinatown. He was then appointed by the mayor to serve on the Ten Year Plan Council to End Chronic Homelessness and the Office of Aging Advisory Council, the later oversaw the city's senior services. Like his grandfather, Jew was heavily involved in local Chinese Americans politics, serving as president of the Jew Family Benevolent Association, the Yeong Wo Benevolent Association, the Hay Sen Benevolent Association, the Hip Sen Benevolent Association, and the Lung Kong Benevolent Association. He was also an active participant of numerous other community organizations, namely the Northeast Community Federal Credit Union, the Chinese Holocaust Museum, the Sunset Residents Association, and the Sunset Parkside Education and Action Committee.[3] Jew once served as vice chairman of the San Francisc County Republican Central Committee before re-registering as an independent and then a Democrat.[6][7]
From 1996 to 2001, Jew was then District 4 supervisor Leland Yee's volunteer community liaison.[8] Jew first ran for Yee's District 4 seat in 2002 when Yee ran for the California State Assembly. Despite Yee's endorsement, Jew finished third, missing the runoff election.[9] In 2006, Jew again ran for same supervisor seat when Fiona Ma ran for the California Assembly.[10] Jew led other candidates including his top challenger Ron Dudum in the first round with 26% first-place votes. He eventually won the closely fought election after securing a 52% majority.[11][12] In December 2006, Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Jew to serve out the remainder of Ma's term; he took office in January 2007.[10]
On May 18, 2007, six months after Jew took office as supervisor, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), armed with a federal warrant, raided his office at City Hall, his houses in San Francisco and Burlingame, and his Chinatown flower shop. In the raid, the FBI went through computers and records searching for evidence regarding what they termed "potentially criminal allegations."[13]
Jew said that he had referred the owners of a chain tapioca drink shop, Quickly, to a man named Robert Chan from land use consulting firm, Bridge Consulting, to resolve tea shop's permit issues. After several weeks, the owners paid $40,000 owed to Chan to Jew himself. Jew claimed that he turned over the money to the consultant and asked that half be donated to the Friends of Sunset Playground, a local organization set up to raise money for the renovation of a playground located at 28th Avenue and Lawton Street in San Francisco. The $10,000 donation, which was made to the group nearly a month after Jew received the money, was rejected by the group's fiscal agency after the FBI raid.[13][14]
In June 2007, the Quickly owners told the press that it was Jew who first approached them about the permit issue and told them that he could help. Fearing that Jew's involvement was illegal, they contacted the FBI. They claimed that they never handed over their own money. Instead, the money was supplied by the FBI. In fact, a law enforcement official close to the investigation leaked that the FBI used an undercover agent to meet with Jew when he handed over the money.[15]
On September 20, 2007, federal prosecutors charged Jew with one count of mail fraud in connection with extorting $80,000 from Quickly.[16] Jew denied any wrongdoing and pled not guilty to mail fraud. His attorney, Steven Gruel, said the federal case was weak and questioned what influence Jew could have over the issuing of permits. He also said that Jew had no intention of resigning despite calls from Mayor Gavin Newsom asking him to resign. If convicted of the fraud charge, Jew would have faced up to 20 years of imprisonment.[17] On November 7, 2007, a federal grand jury added five felony charges, including two counts each of bribery and mail fraud and one count of extortion. He was also accused of accepting $4,000 in cash from the owner of another local business Wonderful Desserts and Cafe. Gruel said that his client denied these allegations and would plead not guilty.[7]
In December 2007, Gruel exited the case. It was later revealed that Gruel had a conflict of interest because he had previously been a federal prosecutor and a lawyer who had represented Jew's "political opponent," Leland Yee. Gruel refused to comment citing the attorney-client confidentiality.[18]
In late May 2007, following the FBI raid, questions surfaced about whether or not Jew actually lived in his San Francisco home, and whether or not Jew therefore met the residency requirements of his supervisor position.[19] The house claimed as Jew's residence (on 28th Avenue in the Sunset District) was owned by his father, though Jew's neighbors said that the house was vacant and utility bills showed little to no usage of water or electricity. Jew claimed that he spent most of his time at his flower shop, but he was not able to provide more information in response to City Attorney Dennis Herrera's formal requests.[20][21]
On June 12, 2007, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris issued a warrant for the arrest of Ed Jew. The nine counts of felony charges included four counts of perjury, three counts of election code violations, voter fraud, and providing false documents.[22] Later that day, Jew turned himself in to the Burlingame Police Department with bail set at $135,000. His attorney Steven Gruel said that Jew denied these allegations and explained that his client surrendered in Burlingame because of convenience.[23]
On June 18, 2007, City Attorney Dennis Herrera sought approval from then California Attorney General Jerry Brown to remove Ed Jew from office. Citing records that showed little use of utilities and interviews of 32 neighbors, he declared that the supervisor had violated the residency requirements of the City Charter.[24][25] Mayor Gavin Newsom said the case against Jew was "very damning" and urged the supervisor to explain himself. He also raised concern about Jew continuing to cast votes while the legitimacy of his residency was in question and said that he was reviewing city law to find out what power he had to remove Jew from office.[26]
On July 4, 2007, Jew's attorneys issued a 138-page response to Herrera's petition arguing that even if Jew had not lived full time in his home in District 4, his election has not violated any laws. They also accused Herrara of bias and of being politically motivated in bringing charges against Jew.[27] Herrera denied Jew's accusations, calling it a desperate act. He also disclosed new evidences to the media suggesting his residency violation including signed bank loan documents which identified Jew's address in Burlingame.[5]
On July 17, 2007, Jew pled not guilty to the perjury charges. His attorney asked Superior Court Judge Harold Kahn to repeal his $135,000 bail saying that he was not a flight risk. He also waived his right for a speedy trial on behalf of Jew. Kahn agreed to void the bail after Jew agreed to surrender his passport.[28]
During the preliminary hearing in late July, prosecutors presented testimonies from Jew's neighbors at both of his homes, indicating that Jew had never lived in his 28th Avenue apartment and spent most of his time in Burlingame. Testimony from a U.S. Postal Service inspector also indicated that Jew's first-class mail went to Burlingame while junk mail went to his San Francisco address. Finally, prosecutors cited records including utility bills showing low usage of water and electricity at his home in 28th Avenue, as well as loan applications that indicate he lived in Burlingame. In defense, Jew's attorney presented a jury duty summons to indicate his address in San Francisco. He also questioned the possible bias in the testimonies of witnesses.[29] On August 2, 2007, Kahn ruled there was sufficient evidence to compel Jew to stand trial. If convicted on any one of the charges, Jew would have been removed from office.[30]
In October, defense attorney Bill Fazio exited the case, citing "irreconcilable differences." In a written note, Jew agreed that he did not oppose Fazio's exit and that they have mutual consent. Jew's trial was postponed to give him more time to seek another legal counsel.[31] He eventually retained the service of Stuart Hanlon, who also represented Jew in the federal case.[32]
| Edmund Jew | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1960 (age 51–52) San Francisco, California |
| Charge(s) | Bribery Mail fraud Extortion Perjury |
| Conviction(s) | Guilty |
| Penalty | Bribery/extortion: 64 months in prison and $10,000 fine Perjury: 12 months in jail, 3 years in probation and $2,000 fine |
| Status | In prison since July 1, 2009 |
On September 25, 2007, Mayor Gavin Newsom suspended Jew for alleged official misconduct and began the process of removing him from office. Jew was also served with an outline drawn by the city attorney regarding charges of misconduct for allegedly lying about where he lived. Deputy budget director Carmen Chu was appointed as a temporary replacement for Jew on the SF Board of Supervisors.[33] On January 10, 2008, Jew tendered his resignation in exchange for Herrera and Newsom dropping both the civil lawsuit and misconduct proceeding before the Ethics Commission regarding his residency violation. In a letter, he noted that he resigned due to tremendous legal expenses and swore never to seek public office again in the best interest of his family. Chu became Jew's interim successor until the election in November 2008.[32]
On October 10, 2008, Jew pled guilty in federal court to the mail fraud and extortion charges, which has a maximum sentence of up to a decade.[34] The following month, he changed his plea to guilty in response to the perjury charges regarding his residency violation after accepting a plea bargain that could spare him from serving more time than what he gets in the federal case. Jew could face up to three years of jail term, which may run concurrently with the other one.[35]
On April 3, 2009, Jew was sentenced to 64 months in state prison and fined $10,000 for extortion. The sentence was longer than the one prosecutors had asked for; they had originally sought a 57-month prison term, saying that he "preyed upon and victimized the very people whom he had proposed to support in his campaign: small business owners in the Sunset District."[1] On April 22, 2009, he was sentenced to one year in county jail, three years of probation, and a fine of $2,000.[2] Jew reported to a federal prison in Safford, Arizona on June 30 and his prison term began on July 1.[36]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Fiona Ma |
Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 4 2006–2007 |
Succeeded by Carmen Chu |