The defendant at the centre of an organised crime investigation in San Francisco’s Chinatown acknowledged his criminal past during testimony, but said law enforcement hounded him after he tried to go straight and got jobs.
Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow took the stand on Monday for the first time in the racketeering, money laundering and murder trial against him in federal court.
Prosecutors say Chow took over as dragonhead of the Chee Kung Tong, a Chinese fraternal group with criminal ties after having its previous leader killed and ran a racketeering enterprise that engaged in drug trafficking, money laundering and the sale of stolen cigarettes and alcohol.
The multi-year investigation included an undercover FBI agent posing as a member of an East Coast crime syndicate and led to the conviction of a state senator.
Chow appeared relaxed as he testified in a maroon suit under questioning from his attorney.
He said he ran an escort service, dealt cocaine and was involved in a street gang, but upon his release from prison in 1989 for a second time, he got jobs at a supermarket and law office. That did not last, however, as he continued to face scrutiny from police, he said. San Francisco police talked to his employers, and the FBI picked him up on suspicion of involvement in a jewellery heist.