Yee is seen inside the vehicle with his hands behind his back.

Advertisement Sen. Leland Yee arrested on public corruption charges Yee is candidate for secretary of state Share Shares Copy Link Copy

State Sen. Leland Yee was escorted into San Francisco's Federal Building wearing handcuffs after he was arrested Wednesday morning during a series of raids in the Bay Area and Sacramento.NBC Bay Area was first to report that Yee, a Democrat, was detained by federal agents on charges that include public corruption.Watch report: FBI agents take files from Sen. Leland Yee's officeA second man, Raymond Chow, was also arrested, according to the FBI.Chow was reportedly the head of Ghee Kung Tong, one of several fraternal organizations in San Francisco's Chinatown. Chow had returned to Chinatown after serving time in prison on gun charges.Photos: Sen. Leland Yee taken into federal custodyAgents with the FBI were also at the state Capitol Wednesday morning, searching Yee's office.KCRA's David Bienick reported that agents removed at least nine boxes and a paper bag from Yee's office. California Highway Patrol officers and the Senate sergeant-at-arms remained stationed outside Yee's office until about 12:15 p.m."This is obviously a very negative and upsetting development here today," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg told KCRA's Sharokina Shams. "I've got 37 senators up here from both parties who work hard, work with integrity and produce a lot on behalf of their districts and the people of California."Riggs Report: What is Leland Yee's future in the state Senate?Just after 7 a.m. Wednesday, the FBI confirmed with KCRA 3 that it was conducting raids at homes and businesses in the Bay Area and Sacramento.A spokeswoman for the FBI would not elaborate because the raids were ongoing, but did confirm that the agency served search warrants and made multiple arrests. The report of Yee's arrest comes just one month after Los Angeles-area Democrat Ron Calderon pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted $100,000 in bribes in return for pushing legislation, charges that could send him to federal prison for years.Lawmakers who found themselves in trouble with the lawEarlier in the year, Sen. Rod Wright, D-Inglewood, was convicted in a perjury and voter fraud case.Yee, 65, represents California's 8th Senate District, which covers about half of San Francisco. He is also a candidate for California secretary of state.Yee is best known publicly for his efforts to strengthen open records, government transparency and whistleblower protection laws, including legislation to close a loophole in state public records laws after the CSU Stanislaus Foundation refused to release its $75,000 speaking contract with former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in 2010.For his efforts to uphold the California Public Records Act, Yee was honored last week by the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, which awarded him its public official citation for his efforts last year to maintain the requirements of the California Public Records Act.Yee has at times clashed with fellow Democrats for casting votes of conscience, refusing to support the Democratic budget proposal in 2011 because of its deep cuts to education, social services and education. He also opposed legislation by a fellow Democrat, Assemblyman Paul Fong of Cupertino, that banned the sale of shark fins used for Chinese shark fin soup, saying that it unfairly targeted the Chinese-American community.Stay with KCRA 3 News for more on this developing story.