Beijing, China (CNN) -- It is the start of perhaps the most salacious chapter in China's most sweeping crackdown on corruption in recent history. The trial of the most senior official implicated in an intricate web of mafia-style gangs that terrorized the central city of Chongqing has begun.
Wen Qiang, the former director of the Chongqing Justice Bureau is accused of colluding with the municipality's mafia dons, protecting a system of organized crime, money laundering and taking up to $2.63 million in bribes. He has also been charged with raping a female college student on several occasions and luring women into prostitution.
So far, local authorities have detained almost 1,200 people in the sweep, and prosecuted 12 high-ranking officials, including Wen, according to China's state-run media.
Wen, 55 years old, is the brother-in-law of the so-called "godmother" of Chongqing's underworld. Xie Caiping was already sentenced to 18 months in prison last year. She was accused of operating gambling dens, drug trafficking, giving and collecting bribes, and antagonizing citizens including policemen who tried to investigate her illicit activities.
Wen's wife, Zhou Xiaoya also went on trial Tuesday, for illegally taking $1.2 million as the spouse of a government official, along with three former senior policemen.
The trials, covered extensively by Chinese media, have transfixed the nation, and rallied Chongqing residents who claim they are fed up with being bullied by their own local officials.
Speculation is rampant about Wen's fate.
"Only capital punishment will serve him right. He deserves to be killed a thousand times," one Web user commented.
"The Wen Qiang case is only the tip of the iceberg," another wrote. "If China wants more rapid development, there should be a purge to wipe out all the corrupted officials in Communist Party."
Analysts say a harsh crackdown on corruption will be vital to maintaining public faith in the Communist leadership.
"These trials are noteworthy in that the Party leadership wants people to understand that officials who collaborate with organized crime will be dealt with harshly," says Russell Leigh Moses, a Beijing based scholar of Chinese politics.
Wen's is just the latest in a series of high-profile corruption cases across the country that have implicated a former vice president of the Supreme People's Court, the head of the China National Nuclear Corporation and the man who runs the Chinese Football Association.
The former head of Sinopec, Chen Tonghai was recently sentenced to death for taking $30 million bribes. The sentence was suspended, meaning it will likely be reduced to life in prison.
The Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection reported 106,000 officials were found guilty of corruption last year, and that the number of officials caught embezzling high amounts of money jumped by 19 percent.
Chinese President Hu Jintao spoke at the Commission's latest meeting, calling for the government to step up anti-corruption efforts.
At a meeting of the Party elite last year, Hu said, "The life or death of the party depends on whether or not we have a strong will to punish and prevent corruption."
As Wen Qiang's trial unfolds and the juicy details of his illicit activities leak to the public, analysts agree the government needs to send a strong message that cases like his will not be tolerated.
Says Moses, "A major challenge for the government is to make sure that people here see the Party as being an active opponent of large-scale corruption, not a collaborator."