By FRED SHUSTER | City News Service
Suspended Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas was convicted today of federal bribery and conspiracy charges, along with mail and wire fraud, stemming from his time serving on the county Board of Supervisors and accommodations provided to his son by a then-USC dean.
Ridley-Thomas showed no reaction as the verdict was read late Thursday morning in a packed downtown Los Angeles courtroom. He was convicted on single counts of bribery and conspiracy, along with one count of honest services mail fraud and four counts of honest services wire fraud. Jurors, who reached their verdict on their fifth day of deliberations, acquitted the Southland political giant of 12 other fraud counts.
Related: Quick guide to corruption allegations and other scandals gnarling the scene at LA City Hall
The charges stemmed from what prosecutors called a quid pro quo arrangement between Ridley-Thomas and a former head of the USC School of Social Work, with the politician accused of steering county contracts toward the school in exchange for benefits provided to Ridley-Thomas’ son, former Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas.
U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer set sentencing for Aug. 14. Ridley-Thomas has been suspended from the City Council since the indictment was announced.
Prosecutors alleged that the longtime local politician, while serving as a county supervisor, “put his hand out” and accepted perks from USC to benefit his son, Sebastian. Federal prosecutors based their case on a long string of emails and letters to bolster allegations that Ridley-Thomas and the former dean of the USC School of Social Work, Marilyn Flynn, had a quid pro quo arrangement during 2017 and 2018 in which the then-dean arranged for Sebastian’s admission to USC, a full-tuition scholarship and a paid professorship in exchange for his father’s support for county proposals that would ostensibly shore up the school’s shoddy financial picture and save…
Read the full article here
