Wednesday May 31 12:36 AM ET

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - A man authorities say tried to build a national Asian crime syndicate in the United States was arraigned in federal court on charges including murder for hire, extortion and racketeering.

Peter Chong, 58, who was extradited from Hong Kong last week, pleaded not guilty to a 14-count indictment during a brief appearance in federal court in Oakland. Chong's lawyer could not be reached for comment.

The federal indictment, handed up Tuesday, alleges that as leader of the Wo Hop To Triad, a gang based in Hong Kong and San Francisco, Chong and associates tried to build a nationwide Asian criminal organization.

``The goal of this association was the unification of all Asian organized crime groups in the United States under the leadership of Peter Chong,'' the indictment said.

Gang members allegedly took part in a host of illegal activities, including weapon and drug trafficking, loan-sharking, and gambling, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Chong was originally indicted in 1993, along with 18 others, by a federal grand jury in San Francisco. Thirty-one people connected with the case have already been convicted and sentenced, the attorney's office said.

Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Chong in 1995, although the Hong Kong citizen had fled the United States following unrelated gambling charges brought three years earlier.

Chong was arrested in Hong Kong in 1998 and escorted back to the United States on Friday by U.S. marshals after losing a two-year extradition battle .

Chong faces a detention hearing on Monday. Government lawyers want him to remain in custody because they are afraid he may flee.

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