The counts alleged that he had agreed to trade favors, such as supporting legislation or lobbying for state contracts, in exchange for campaign contributions; that he had agreed to secure a Senate proclamation for accused Chinatown gangster Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow -- again, in exchange for a donation; and that he had offered to help an undercover FBI agent secure firearms.

The count to which Yee pleaded guilty -- conspiracy to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity -- accused the state senator of using his mayoral and secretary of state campaign committees for "criminal fundraising and campaign activities." Those activities included wire fraud, honest services fraud, bribery, extortion, trafficking in firearms and money laundering.

According to the indictment and affidavits filed in the case, Yee and a political consultant he worked with, Keith Jackson, became ensnared in a federal investigation targeting Chow in 2011. The indictment recounts a long series of encounters between Yee and Jackson -- who believed they were dealing with business people seeking favors. In fact, their would-be business partners were undercover FBI agents.

Jackson also entered a guilty plea to the racketeering charges and, like Yee, faces a 20-year maximum prison sentence.

Jackson's son, Brandon Jackson, and a sports agent, Marlon Sullivan, entered guilty pleas to a separate conspiracy count and face shorter potential sentences -- 48 to 96 months for Brandon Jackson, 60 to 96 months for Sullivan. The two Jacksons and Sullivan will also be sentenced Oct. 21.

Yee and the other three defendants had been scheduled to go on trial in just a few weeks. As noted by Howard Mintz of the San Jose Mercury News, Wednesday's plea deals mean few of the details of Yee's operation will become public -- at least for now:

Yee's plea deal avoids a detailed exploration at trial of his political dealing, and likely reduced his potential punishment, while the government will not be forced to detail the scope of an undercover FBI probe that crossed paths with numerous high-profile figures who were not implicated in any wrongdoing, including former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.

Here's Yee as he arrived at the San Francisco Federal Building this morning:



