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Raymond 'Shrimp Boy' Chow Guilty on All 162 Criminal Counts

By Jonathan R. Tung, Esq. on January 09, 2016 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Raymond Chow is guilty of all 162 criminal counts brought against him in monumentally large indictment that alleged the former Chinese-mafia leader engaged in murder-for-hire, money laundering, conspiracy to traffic in stolen goods, as well as a slew of other hefty crimes. It's been almost ten years since Allen Leung was shot dead in the streets of San Francisco's Chinatown. Soon, it seems, his story will come to a close.

"Shrimp Boy" will be sentenced on March 23rd this year, and faces a life-long prison term.

Chow's Lawyer Calls Foul

Chow's lawyer Tony Serra took a moment to characterize the presiding U.S. District Court Judge as "horribly unfair." He also intimated that the jury did not know what they were doing because they believed the testimony of a litany of criminal informants without whom, the government would have no case.

On Letting Chow Take the Stand

Serra was criticized by some criminal defense attorneys who opined that letting Chow take the stand was a mistake. It was a bold move in letting his client testify in person before court because it would have meant that the prosecutors could rip into Chow because of his past criminal history. For this reasoning, defense lawyers are generally reticent to let their criminal clients even get within feet of taking the witness box seat.

The Undercover Investigation

The FBI and at least two undercover agents spearheaded a project to flush out Chow, whom it was suspected had not reformed from his criminal past as he had so publicly proclaimed, but was in fact still the de facto godfather of the local Chee Kung Tong, a fraternity involved in area organized crime.

Because agents were dead-set on obtaining not only a clean indictment against Chow but solid indictment, extra time and effort was expended in order to obtain particularly incriminating criminal behavior. But the years' long undercover operation was fruitful. Along the way, federal agents also snagged California State Senator Leland Yee and political consultant regular, Keith Jackson. The 162 guilty-on-all counts verdict is the best victory prosecutors could have hoped for.

Appeal

It has just come to light that Chow will appeal his case. What's good news for Chow is that on appeal, he won't get a chance to take the stand. At this point, he should probably let others do the talking for him.

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