California state Sen. Leland Yee, a Democrat and longtime proponent of government accountability and transparency, was arrested Wednesday morning on public corruption charges, as part of a series of federal raids in northern California.

Yee, who is also running for California Secretary of State, was arrested at his San Francisco home early Wednesday morning, reports say, as federal officials also raided his office in Sacramento. Yee's press secretary did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Also arrested was former gangster Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, who was arrested and tried on multiple occasions throughout the late 1970s to the late 1990s for charges ranging from assault to attempted murder and illegal gun sales. He now heads the Ghee Kung Tong, also referred to as the Chinese Freemasons, in San Francisco, according to a Bay Area NBC affiliate.

A San Francisco police officer stands watch as officials search a Chinatown fraternal organization. State Sen. Leland Yee was arrested Wednesday, March 26, 2014, during a series of raids by the FBI in northern California. Eric Risberg/AP

FBI spokeswoman Gina Swankie said the federal agency is "executing multiple search warrants and conducting arrests in multiple locations today," according to the Sacramento Bee.

Both Yee and Chow are expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Yee, who represents San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County in California, was the first Chinese-American elected to the state Senate. A former member of the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education, Yee has long been a proponent of education and students' rights, government transparency and accountability.

In 2011, for example, Yee co-authored the California Dream Act, which allows students who entered the country illegally to access millions of dollars in private financial aid – in the form of scholarships and grants – and also gives those students who meet the criteria for in-state tuition a chance to apply for state financial aid.





“The Dream Act is not only the right thing to do for the children of our state, but it is also the right thing to do for California’s economic prosperity,” Yee said when the first part of the bill was signed into law. “We rightfully invest in all our kids with public K-12 education, and we should also invest in them with higher education … Regardless of the debate surrounding immigration, it is time to stop punishing kids for the decisions of their parents.

Derek Cressman, a Democrat also running for California Secretary of State, said in a statement Yee's arrest "needs to be a wake up call."

Cressman also referenced the recent criminal charges against two other Democratic state senators, Rod Wright and Ron Calderon, who are currently on leaves of absence, the Sacramento Bee reports.

"We are clearly beyond the point of looking at one bad apple and instead looking at a corrupt institution in the California senate," Cressman said. "The constant begging for campaign cash clearly has a corrosive effect on a person's soul and the only solution is to get big money out of our politics once and for all."