Federal prosecutors say former L.A. City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas deserves 79 months in prison for his public corruption conviction. Their recommendations runs counter to a probation report that says Ridley-Thomas has done a lot of good for the community and deserves just 18 months behind bars.
On March 30, a jury found the one-time Los Angeles County supervisor guilty of conspiring to support a county contract for USC in exchange for one of the school’s deans providing Ridley-Thomas; son a full scholarship and faculty job. The dean also helped funnel money from a Ridley-Thomas political fund to one operated by his son through the university.
Ridley-Thomas, 68, has appealed his conviction.
Prosecutors: ‘This was a shakedown’
In their sentencing memo filed Monday, prosecutors cited a “strong need for general deterrence to curb the … crushing weight of public corruption” in L.A.
“This was a shakedown,” the prosecutors wrote. “Not the kind in movies with bags of cash or threats of force. But the kind that is polite and pervasive. The kind to which society, sadly, has become so accustomed that it often goes unreported and rarely yields consequences for the offender but strikes a devastating blow to the integrity of our democratic system.”
The federal probation department report is confidential but prosecutors mention it in their memo. They said the report suggests “that defendant has served his community” and should get a year-and-a-half in prison.
Defense: ‘Ridley-Thomas has made an historic impact’
Ridley-Thomas was born and raised in L.A. and was president of the city’s chapter of the Southern Christian…
Read the full article here