Joe Montana and the failed FBI sting operation

If you happened to miss this bit of news in the past month or so: former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and NFL Hall of Famer Joe Montana was contacted by an undercover FBI agent who was trying to lure him into a sting operation. Actually, all we knew at the time was that Montana was "contacted as part of a series of probes," and that it was all related to the case involving Leland Yee.

But on Monday, more information came out regarding what exactly what went down. But first, let's talk about Yee and why Montana would have had his name mixed up in all of this to begin with.

First, we'll link the full complaint on Yee and all of the people involved in this government corruption and firearm trafficking case. Summing it up in those terms doesn't seem like doing it justice, so I suggest giving that a look if you get a solid hour of time to read through it. If not, you can always head to the section over at SFGate devoted to the case specifically.

Now, back to the new information from Monday. A report from Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross of SFGate had some more details about what exactly went down when the agent met with Montana, though details are still sparse. The pretext for the meeting centered on a possible investment in the hotel complex that Montana's company is developing.

The agent reportedly presented himself as an "honest businessman," but Montana showed "no interest in taking on a new partner." Further, there's no actual indication that Montana was asked to do anything illegal. It sounds like it was a very brief meeting that went absolutely nowhere. Further, Montana wasn't even particularly suspected of doing anything. So why was he involved at all?

Because this Yee case is so out of control insane. Seriously, read what you can on it. At its core, Yee, a California senator, was charged with becoming involved in illegal activities to raise money for his elections and take care of debt. Yee is accused of soliciting donations from undercover FBI agents in exchange for "official acts."

The "official acts" is where everything gets roped in. Any sizable land development, such as a complex near the new stadium in Santa Clara, would require government approval. It's one of the stereotypical corruption situations, isn't it? It seems like we've seen something similar in multiple TV shows and movies over the years. It's not surprising that anybody given contracts around when Yee was being investigated ended up getting caught in the wide net.

It seems a little irresponsible to go as far as to try and lure people with no legitimate suspicion, such as Montana, into a sting operation, but I guess at this point there's no harm done.

But seriously, guys. This Yee guy is in hot water. You might recognize him as the man who has tried multiple times to pass some very unconstitutional laws regarding the censoring or banning of violent video games. That's right, the man currently accused of all manner of things, including gun running, tried to get Grand Theft Auto banned.

Also: Shrimp Boy. That's really all I have to say about that. Shrimp Boy. (I did write about this slightly more coherently over at SB Nation, for the record)