Bay Bridge intrigue sees another twist
The building of the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge has many stories — including one right out of a spy novel.
And the plot has thickened with word that a former Caltrans engineer pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy after being caught by a Department of Homeland Security agent trying to smuggle high tech defense chips onto a ship owned by the same Chinese company that fabricated the new Bay Bridge span.
Philip Chohui He, 43, also known as Philip Hope, worked on the bridge project for 3½ years before his arrest in 2011. He avoided the most serious of the smuggling and illegal export charges that could have sent him to prison for up to 20 years.
According to the feds, he had illegally purchased hundreds of integrated circuits with radiation-hardened memory microchips used in U.S. satellite technology.
He then allegedly tried to smuggle the chips out of the country in boxes marked “milk powder.”
Adding to the intrigue, He was caught when he parked in
a secure area at Long Beach Harbor where a ship owned by Zhenhua Port Machinery Co. Ltd., or ZPMC, was docked.
ZPMC — which is owned by the Chinese government — was also the fabricator of the huge steel tower and road decks for the new $6.4 billion Bay Bridge eastern span.
According to federal documents released to us Friday detailing He’s crime, “One of the men that the defendant met with, L.Z., possessed a People’s Republic of China passport and is affiliated with ZPMC.
“The second man, J.Y., is an individual with whom the defendant had communicated with previously, including the night before.’’
That would appear to be Jieyi “Jim” Yang, the ZPMC representative on the Bay Bridge project and the company’s major contact in the U.S., who early last year told us he had joined He at the Long Beach dock to help the engineer ship some personal belongings back to China.
However, Yang emphatically denied that ZPMC or any of its employees had any knowledge of He’s smuggling.
The feds have been very tight lipped about the case.
As we reported last year, He was indicted for conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act. He is due back in court in Colorado for sentencing on Dec. 18, and he now faces a maximum five-year sentence.
Robert Pepin, He’s public defender, did not return our calls seeking comment. But according to the just-released documents, during a phone call after his arrest, He “apologized to his wife and told her that the crime he had committed was very serious’’ and that “he had brought shame on the family.’’
Deal time? There hasn’t even been a preliminary hearing, but already Marin County District Attorney Edward Berberian Jr. is looking into a possible plea deal in the highlytouted fraud case of Brett Richards, the former Ross Valley Sanitary District Manager accused of making off with $350,000 he was given to help buy a house.
Instead of buying a house, Richards allegedly moved the money to a series of personal bank accounts.
Richards resigned after Independent Journal columnist Dick Spotswood raised questions about whether he had used the money to buy a house.
He was later tracked down and arrested in the Philippines and returned to Marin where he has been charged with three counts of embezzlement and six counts of money laundering.
Richards has pleaded not guilty, meaning the case could result in a long and complicated trial.
Now comes word that that Berberian has asked to meet privately with each of the district’s directors in order to get their thoughts on a possible settlement.
Berberian said it was too early to say what, if any, offer will be made. “I’m just gathering information, but I will have a certain bottom line,” he said.
Richardson’s attorney Jai Gohel said it was too early into proceedings to discuss the case.
Eeny, meeny…: Deciding on a replacement for recently departed $228,368-a-year county Transportation Authority chief Jose Luis Moscovich has produced plenty of political hand-wringing and indecision down at City Hall.
The authority, one of the few agencies that the Board of Supervisors has direct control over, can influence spending on big transportation projects such as the Doyle Drive replacement.
Three finalists are in the hunt — the authority’s deputy director Tilly Chang (whose strength is planning); Municipal Transportation Agency finance director Sonali Bose (who knows financing); and
Stephanie Wiggins, an executive with the Orange Country Transportation Authority (who has experience in project management).
Progressives appear squarely behind Chang; moderates are leaning toward Bose. Others see outsider Wiggins as a possible compromise.
After failing to reach a consensus before their August break, the supervisors are scheduled to resume private deliberations Tuesday.