By Francis Taylor, Executive Editor
Mark Ridley-Thomas was convicted March 30, while he was a suspended member of the LA City Council, on single counts of conspiracy, bribery, honest services mail fraud and four counts of honest services wire fraud, stemming from his time serving on the county Board of Supervisors. Jurors reached their verdicts on their fifth day of deliberations in Los Angeles federal court and acquitted him of a dozen fraud counts.
Ridley-Thomas was later sentenced to three years and six months in prison and was on trial for voting in support of county contracts that would favor the University of Southern California while accepting benefits for his son from the university. He also faces three years of supervised release after the prison term and was ordered to surrender to prison authorities Nov. 13.
However, on October 2nd, Ridley-Thomas filed a motion to appeal his conviction and on October 6th, U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer approved his request to remain free while he appeals his conviction in front of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
This reporter encountered Ridley Thomas recently at a Starbucks in Culver City and had an opportunity to have a brief exchange with the veteran Los Angeles politician. “I am confident about my appeal which is likely to take approximately twelve months,” Ridley-Thomas explained.
Defense attorneys had asked for a term of home confinement, community service and a fine, but no prison time. However, if incarceration was required, they requested no more than two years and three months, court papers show. “Dr. Ridley-Thomas’ legacy is far stronger and far bigger than this case,” they argued.
Ridley-Thomas has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and he reiterated that position during our brief exchange at Starbucks. However, he did not testify in his own defense during the three-week trial, while his attorneys argued repeatedly that nothing he did amounted to a crime.
Ridley-Thomas has received a substantial amount of support from community leaders, clerical leaders and private citizens familiar with the public service he has provided during his long tenure as a Los Angeles area elected official. While there have been donations for his legal defense, to offset what he described as a substantial amount, Ridley-Thomas said that he and his wife are bearing the burden of the bulk of his legal defense costs.
It was a pleasure seeing Ridley-Thomas, whom I have had the pleasure of interviewing over the years in his various elected positions. He looked healthy and was upbeat and confident, despite the serious charges he has faced. From my perspective, he was always an articulate and well-informed, no-nonsense politician who consistently demonstrated a ‘let’s get it done’ approach to problem solving.
I join the huge chorus of community members who pray for Ridley-Thomas’ successful appeal.
Federal prosecutors based their case on a long string of emails and letters they say showed that Ridley-Thomas, one of the most formidable politicians in Los Angeles, “used his publicly-provided privileges to monetize his elected office and demand benefits for his son.”
Evidence showed that $100,000 from Ridley-Thomas’ campaign committee account was quietly funneled through USC to a nonprofit his son Sebastian was spearheading called the Policy, Research & Practice. Prosecutors said Flynn arranged the transfer to please Ridley-Thomas.
“Witness testimony and hundreds of emails admitted at trial, as well as Flynn’s admissions in her plea agreement, make clear that defendant drove and orchestrated this corrupt scheme,” prosecutors wrote.
In their argument for probation and home confinement, defense attorneys maintain there is no need to incarcerate their client.
“He has been in the public eye for decades,” his lawyers wrote. “His reputation was built on ethical community empowerment. The shame of his convictions is punishment and provides ample specific deterrence. With the felony convictions, his service in public office is over. He has lost his city council position and may lose his pension. Now nearing 70 years of age, he faces a desperately uncertain financial future. And a lengthy sentence is not needed to protect the public.”
Ridley-Thomas served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1991-2002, then was a member of the Assembly and state Senate before being elected to the powerful county Board of Supervisors in 2008, serving until 2020, when he returned to the City Council.
Ridley-Thomas was suspended from the City Council following the October 2021 federal indictment that also named Flynn as co-defendant. After the guilty verdicts, Heather Hutt was appointed as the new councilwoman from District 10.
Attorneys for Ridley-Thomas are appealing the conviction.
