By FRED SHUSTER | City News Service
Jury deliberations resume today 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 early Friday before the jury panel was sworn in and deliberations began around 10 a.m. in Los Angeles federal court. The panel left for the day at about 2:30 p.m., and is due to resume deliberations at 8 a.m. Monday.
After jurors left Friday, a brief hearing with the judge and attorneys took place to address a note the panel sent asking about certain elements of the bribery charge. Lawyers said they would file their responses over the weekend and the issue would be addressed when the jury returns Monday morning.
The note asked if a “thing of value” has to be tangible “or can it be an action, favor, information?”
In their response filed Saturday, prosecutors proposed the following answer: “A ‘thing of value’ does not have to be a tangible item. A ‘thing of value’ can be anything of value, including an action, a favor, or information.”
The defense did not immediately file its response.
Jurors on Thursday 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 his son Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, who needed media-friendly “landing spots” after resigning from the state Assembly in the midst of a brewing scandal.
But a defense lawyer strenuously denied the narrative, telling the jury that nothing Mark 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.”
Mark…
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