4 Convicted of Leading Ring That Robbed Microchip Firms

SAN FRANCISCO —  Four men have been convicted on federal charges of running a gang that robbed dozens of microchip businesses in California, Oregon and Minnesota.

The thefts, in the mid-1990s, included a $10-million holdup of Centon Electronics in Irvine, one of the most costly in U.S. history.

Mady Chan of Sacramento, Hoang Ai Le of Oakland and San Francisco, and John That Luong and his cousin, Huy Chi “Jimmy” Luong, both of Elk Grove, were convicted Thursday of being the kingpins of gang, nicknamed “The Company.”

The U.S. District Court jury also found John That Luong guilty of trafficking in heroin in San Francisco, Boston and New York as a way to finance the robbery ring.

He and Le are already serving four-year prison sentences for their 1998 convictions for leading a ring that smuggled illegal immigrants.

On Thursday, the jury found each of the four men guilty of operating a racketeering enterprise and of conspiracy to operate a racketeering enterprise.

They each face up to 20 years in prison on those charges at their sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for October.

John That Luong also faces life in prison on the heroin charge.

The jury deliberated for eight days.

The Luongs and Chan are awaiting trial in U.S. District Court in Sacramento under another indictment charging them with laundering millions of dollars in gang revenue by purchasing Central Valley real estate and luxury automobiles.

During the three-month trial, more than a dozen former members of the gang testified in detail about how the gang selected microchip firms in Los Angeles, San Diego, Fremont, San Jose, Orange County, Blaine, Minn., and Beaverton, Ore., as targets.

They also discussed how gang members were recruited and how safe houses, cars, vans and weapons were procured.

Jurors heard more than 200 wiretapped telephone conversations about robberies and about providing legal help to arrested gang members.

The men convicted Thursday are the first of 19 defendants charged with various crimes related to the gang.

They were arrested as part of an investigation code-named “Bytes Dust.”