Ex-California lawmaker Yee should serve 8 years for corruption, prosecutors say
(Reuters) - Prosecutors in the federal corruption case against former California Democratic state Senator Leland Yee have asked a judge to sentence him to eight years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Yee, 67, who was arrested in 2014 in a sweep that included suspected leaders of organized crime in San Francisco, pleaded guilty to conspiracy involving bribery, weapons trafficking and money laundering.
His guilty plea in federal court in San Francisco last July marked the end of a long political career that included two terms on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, as well as election to the California Assembly and Senate.
In a sentencing memo filed in federal court in San Francisco on Wednesday, prosecutors said Yee agreed to exchange official acts for money, in part to retire $70,000 in debts left over from a failed mayoral race.
The prosecutors asked Judge Charles Breyer to sentence Yee to 96 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $25,000.
Yee was the third California state senator charged in 2014 in separate criminal cases. All three eventually left office, costing the Democrats a key two-thirds legislative majority.
Yee's sentencing is set for Feb. 24 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif; Editing by Peter Cooney)
