OAKLAND >> A political operative and key figure in the FBI’s massive political corruption investigation is accusing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price of attempting a $25,000 shakedown before charging him with a felony.

Mario Juarez’s claim, filed Thursday in Alameda County Superior Court, describes back-alley dealing among Oakland’s ruling class and corruption within the criminal justice system, set against the backdrop of a city reeling from the shocking killing of an undercover police officer by a brazen burglary crew.

Juarez’s claims are part of his defense to a felony charge of grand theft that Price’s office filed against him earlier this year. He says it came after he rebuffed the district attorney’s request for “love and support” in the form of a $25,000 cash donation to oppose the recall effort against her, which eventually qualified for the Nov. 5 ballot.

While Price’s office opted to withhold comment on Juarez’s allegations Friday, the district attorney’s former top lieutenant, Otis Bruce Jr., described the alleged statements in the motion as “outright lies.”

The motion filed by Juarez’s lawyer, Ernie Castillo, seeks to dismiss the charge, citing “outrageous government conduct” and vindictive prosecution in “what can only be called quid pro quo political corruption.”

It includes a sworn statement by Castillo, a longtime and widely respected criminal defense attorney, alleging that the deputy district attorney assigned to prosecute Juarez had confided in Castillo that she would have dropped the case if Price’s administration hadn’t insisted on moving forward. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for next month.

The allegations come from a man who has been on Oakland’s political scene for years who twice unsuccessfully ran for City Council, peddled sensational election mailers and racked up friends and foes amid his financial troubles and multiple failed business ventures. Most recently, he became a critical subject in the sweeping FBI probe encircling Oakland City Hall — an investigation that has yet to result in any arrests.

Juarez and Price were already political rivals at the time of the alleged meeting in January, each of them running on opposing slates for seats to control the influential Alameda County Democratic Committee. Juarez had earlier created a website — badpam.com — bashing Price as a “loser with a shady history of fraud, violence and racism.”

In a statement, Price’s communications team said her office “cannot comment on pending matters,” adding that “we will address any motions filed by the defense in court where it is appropriate.” Her recall campaign spokesperson referred questions from this news organization back to her office.

Juarez’s political differences with Price alone should have been enough to ensure that Price referred any potential prosecution to the state Attorney General’s office, Castillo contended.

The most damning allegation in Castillo’s motion says Price attempted to solicit thousands of dollars from Juarez and urged him to ease up on his own outspoken support for her ouster, as she prepared to fight a recall election.

It was after Juarez and Price, separately, attended the Jan. 10 funeral of slain Oakland police Officer Tuan Le that Juarez claims he was approached by Price with the not-so-subtle request to “show love and support for her” with the $25,000 donation the filing says.

After Juarez told Price “he would continue his ‘quest’ against her political efforts,” Price laughed and responded that “it will not be pretty especially during the political campaign that we are both facing,” according to the court filing. She allegedly warned that “he would be hearing from her office soon,” the motion says.

Price’s office charged Juarez with a felony on Jan. 23 for allegedly bouncing three checks — a case filed just 16 days after the conversation, the motion says. Oakland police records indicate the department finished its investigation months earlier, in May 2023.

Castillo’s filing claims Price’s office sat on the check fraud investigation — which stemmed from political mailers Juarez made to attack Mayor Sheng Thao’s opponents in her first campaign for the office, in 2022 — for eight months before the alleged shakedown.

He also stressed that her office never had proof he planned to commit fraud, and he subsequently filed a complaint with the State Bar of California against Price.

The private meeting after the group saw each other at the funeral took place at 1211 Embarcadero, the same Oakland waterfront building the FBI raided on June 20 as part of its ongoing public corruption investigation. Also raided that day were homes belonging to Mayor Thao and the father-and-son duo of David and Andy Duong, owners of California Waste Solutions, the city’s curbside recycling contractor.

Two people have filed sworn declarations supporting Juarez’s claims against Price. One is Cecilia Mendez, the contract administrator for Evolutionary Homes LLC, the housing company Juarez co-founded with the Duongs. She is a former girlfriend who had a child with Juarez as well as a two-decade long business partner, previous court and business filings show. The other is a maintenance man who was present that day to repair surveillance cameras and heard Price tell Juarez she needed “thousands” of dollars but couldn’t recall the specific amount, according to court records.

Juarez — a two-time Oakland City Council candidate and ever-present political operative — has been a central figure in the FBI’s public corruption probe and the subject of at least one FBI subpoena delivered to Oakland’s city attorney.

In addition to the fraud charge connected to the 2022 election mailers, Price’s office is also investigating accusations that Juarez stiffed the Duong family out of a $1 million investment in Evolutionary Homes, court investigative records show.

Other business ventures in entertainment and clean energy led by Juarez have led to litigation or ended in closure. He also was forced to surrender his real estate license in 2015 amid allegations of wrongful business dealings.

His business history appeared of little concern to Price’s second-in-command on the day of the officer’s funeral, according to Castillo’s motion.

After Price and members of the Duong family left the Embarcadero building, then-Chief Assistant District Attorney Otis Bruce Jr. remained with Juarez. They both allegedly became intoxicated after drinking alcohol, and Bruce allegedly pitched Juarez on the possibility of becoming business partners, the filing said. His stated goal: Take Evolutionary Homes’ work to Alabama or Mississippi, where “he could help with political hurdles,” the motion alleged.

Bruce also assured Juarez “he would not have any problems with the District Attorney’s office if they became business partners,” the motion said. Juarez declined the invitation, according to the filing.

Bruce resigned from the DA’s office on June 25.

In an interview Friday with the Bay Area News Group, Bruce said he was “totally shocked” by the allegations and called them a “total fabrication.” He said he visited Evolutionary Homes that day but said it was a “happenstance encounter” where he only spoke to Juarez for five to 10 seconds.

“At no time did I make any statements or have any conversations as alleged by Mr. Juarez,” said Bruce, adding that an inspector not identified in the motion overheard the entire, brief interaction. “These are false, fabricated, outright lies.”

Castillo claims Bruce’s advances “essentially interfered with Mr. Juarez’s right to do business as he saw fit,” adding that “this is conduct and language to expect from a crime boss, not from the chief law enforcement official of Alameda County.”