Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow
| Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Chow Kwok-cheung December 31, 1959 Hong Kong |
| Other names | Shrimp Boy |
| Occupation | Former Triad member |
| Conviction(s) | Murder, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery, aggravated assault, illegal possession of firearms, racketeering. |
| Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 周國祥 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 周国祥 | ||||||||||
|
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Zhōu Guóxiáng |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Jyutping | zau1 gwok3 coeng4 |
Raymond Chow Kwok-cheung (Chinese: 周國祥; born December 31, 1959), nicknamed "Shrimp Boy", is a Hong Kong-born felon with ties to a San Francisco Chinatown street gang and an organized crime syndicate, including the American branch of the Hong Kong-based triad Wo Hop To and the Hop Sing Boys.
In 2006, Chow became the leader of the Ghee Kung Tong, a Chinese fraternal association based in San Francisco, California. In 2014, Chow along with 28 other defendants including former California State Senator Leland Yee, were indicted for racketeering, money laundering, and a host of other alleged criminal activities. Leland Yee pleaded guilty to racketeering in July 2015 for conspiring with his campaign fundraiser to defeat donation limits through money laundering. Despite initial press releases, Chow was not indicted in a racketeering conspiracy with Leland Yee. Chow was indicted in a racketeering conspiracy which alleged that he oversaw a criminal faction of the Ghee Kung Tong. Chow is the only co-defendant of 29 to publicly profess his innocence and ask for an expedited jury trial. His trial began on November 9, 2015. On January 8, 2016, Chow was found guilty on all 162 counts, including one of murder which carries a probable life sentence.
Chow was born on December 31, 1959 in Hong Kong. He is of Taishanese descent, and has four brothers. On the program Gangland, Chow said he first joined a gang in his native Hong Kong when he was nine years old. Chow came to the United States at the age of 16, and was reportedly nicknamed "Shrimp Boy" by his grandmother, due to his small stature. He dropped out of high school and became involved with the Hop Sing Tong gang.
From 2008 until his arrest, Chow lived with Alicia Lo, her 11-year-old daughter, and two dogs. Chow had publicly renounced his former life of crime, and Lo, a UC Berkeley graduate without Chow's criminal ties, believed she was gradually rehabilitating Chow by introducing him to mainstream American culture.
Chow's first conviction was in 1978, for robbery in Chinatown, San Francisco. Chow received an 11-year sentence, of which he served 7 years and 4 months. He was released in 1985. In 1986, Chow was charged with 28 counts of assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, mayhem, and illegal possession of a firearm. He served three years in prison and was released in 1989. In 1992 Chow was arrested for racketeering, later separated into two separate trials. The first was for illegal gun sales and the second was for prostitution, drugs and money laundering. Convicted in 1995, Chow was sentenced to 24 years. When Peter Chong was captured, Chow became an informant, turned informer on his old boss, testifying against him in exchange for a reduced sentence. He was released from prison in 2003. In 1996, Chow was tried again for racketeering, but the indictment was dismissed.
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Wikipedia