By FRED SHUSTER | City News Service
LOS ANGELES — Jury deliberations began Friday, March 24, in the federal criminal trial of suspended L.A. City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who is accused of steering lucrative county contracts to USC’s social work school in exchange for a slate of benefits for his son.
Prosecutors rested their rebuttal case before the jury panel was sworn in and discussions began around 10 a.m. in Los Angeles federal court.
A day earlier, jurors heard from both sides — with a prosecutor arguing that Ridley-Thomas, while serving as a county supervisor, “put his hand out” and accepted perks from USC for son Sebastian, who needed media-friendly “landing spots” after resigning from the state Assembly in the midst of a brewing scandal.
A defense lawyer strenuously denied the narrative, telling the jury that nothing Ridley-Thomas did was illegal.
“This was a case about power, privilege and lies,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Greer Dotson said in her summation, describing the trial as dealing with “one of the most powerful politicians in Los Angeles who leveraged his power — and all the lies he told to cover it up.”
Ridley-Thomas, 68, of South Los Angeles, faces nearly 20 federal counts, including conspiracy, bribery, and honest services mail and wire fraud. If convicted as charged, he could be sentenced to decades behind bars.
Before the jury was handed the case, U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer warned the panel to avoid “unconscious biases” and preconceived notions of race.
During the two-week trial, audience seats in Fischer’s seventh-floor courtroom were at a premium, frequently filled with dozens of Ridley-Thomas’ family members and friends, including Dr. Cornel West, a social activist and scholar familiar from frequent television appearances. Some of those supporters have visibly reacted to the government’s accusations, prompting the judge on Friday to threaten to eject persons who cannot restrain…
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