D.C. restaurant owner and son charged with bribery

The owner of a popular Chinatown restaurant and his son are being charged for bribing public officials in order to obtain taxicab licenses.

Anthony “Tony” Cheng and his son Anthony Cheng Jr. were indicted on Tuesday by federal prosecutors. The younger Cheng faces two counts of bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. His father faces single counts of bribery and conspiracy.

According to prosecutors, the Chengs bribed the former head of the D.C. Taxicab Commission while trying to launch a new taxicab service. A moratorium had been placed on taxicab licenses at the time, and the Chengs backdated documents to falsely show that their company had been in place before the moratorium was put into effect.

The elder Cheng is the owner of Tony Cheng’s Mongolian Restaurant.