Suspended state Senator Leland Yee pleaded not guilty on April 8 to bribery and gun charges two weeks after he was arrested as part of an FBI sting targeting political corruption and an alleged organized crime syndicate based in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Associated Press reported that Yee entered his pleas in federal court where he faced one count of conspiracy to traffic in firearms without a license and illegally import firearms; one count of conspiring to defraud citizens of honest services; and six counts of engaging in a scheme to defraud citizens of honest services. The San Francisco Democrat is accused of conspiring to connect an undercover FBI agent with a Philippine arms dealer in exchange for campaign contributions, and of trading political influence for cash, according to AP.

Yee, who is free on a $500,000 bond, has been suspended from the legislature. He and his wife signed over their San Francisco home on April 8 as collateral for the bond, said the report.

Meanwhile, the California senate has erased the names and online archives of Leland Yee and other two suspended lawmakers , who were involved in criminal cases, on April 7.

The senate removed pictures, video clips and legislative archives over the weekend involving Democratic Senator Rod Wright of Los Angeles, Ron Calderon of Montebello and Leland Yee of San Francisco. All that remains on the websites is information about their senate districts, said AP.

Reuters noted that an indictment is likely to make it more difficult for Yee's attorney to argue that the charges should be dismissed, because the process for fighting an indictment is different than  for fighting a criminal charge.

When Yee was arrested, few could reconcile the man recorded by undercover FBI agents with the face on the local news, said the Los Angeles Times.

Born in China, Yee immigrated with his family to San Francisco when he was 3. For more than two decades, Yee climbed the political ladder in San Francisco. A child psychologist turned politician, Yee straddled opposing camps in the city's bare-knuckled political fights, appealing to both right and left and catering to constituents with a strong, attentive staff, the newspaper reported.