(San Jose Mercury News) Beginning in early 2011, State Sen. Leland Yee repeatedly solicited bribes to fund his San Francisco mayor and California secretary of state campaigns, according to the FBI agents who brought him down last month.
But he appears to have devoted more time and energy to a far more lucrative pursuit: crafting or carrying legislation benefiting special interests who supply campaign contributions. It's a practice that's all too common in Sacramento, but Yee was a master.
"Leland Yee symbolizes the pay-to-play virus that has infected our entire body politic," said David Lee, a political science professor at San Francisco State.