California Mayor Charged With Secretly Recording Underage Strip Poker Game
Anthony Silva, the Republican mayor of Stockton, California, was arrested at a summer camp he hosts for disadvantaged youth on Thursday after authorities say they found evidence the mayor played strip poker with and provided alcohol to minors, The L.A. Times reports.
According to prosecutors, investigators found an audio file on Silva’s cellphone that was recorded during an underage strip poker game in the mayor’s bedroom at the camp, where a witness says Silva had installed cameras. From Reuters:
Prosecutors said in a press statement that the taped conversation indicated that the participants, who were naked, were recorded against their will.
“Witnesses stated that Silva had supplied alcohol and made it available to a number of underage counselors at the camp,” the statement said.
The incident, according to prosecutors, took place last August at the Stockton Silver Lake Camp in Amador County, California.
Silva now faces one felony count of eavesdropping along with misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, providing alcohol to a minor and cruelty to a child by endangering their health.
According to The L.A. Times, this is not the mayor’s first brush with the law:
In 2012, a 19-year-old woman accused Silva of committing sexual battery a year before. No charges were filed and Silva told a local TV station that the woman was a disgruntled former employee.
A year later, then-City Manager Bob Deis sought an investigation by the San Joaquin County district attorney, claiming that Silva secretly recorded their conversations.
In 2014, the mayor was handcuffed but never arrested after a fight in a limousine. The limousine driver and passengers sued Silva, including a woman who alleged inappropriate advances by the mayor.
In 2015, a gun stolen from the mayor’s home was used to kill 13-year-old Rayshawn Harris, according to the the San Joaquin County district attorney’s office. Rayshawn was shot to death Feb. 23, 2015, while he stood in his driveway. The .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol was registered to Silva.
“They have had all of this evidence for over a year,” said Silva’s lawyer in a statement. “The timing is extremely suspicious as people will only hear 1/2 of the story before the election. He will clear his name.”