Disgraced former Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas was given a 42-month prison term by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer for four charges of honest services wire fraud, one count of honest services mail fraud, one count of bribery, and one count of conspiracy.
Ridley-Thomas donated $100,000 from his political campaign fund to the USC School of Social Work
The case against Mark Ridley-Thomas, who alternately held the offices of Los Angeles County Supervisor, Assemblyman, State Senator, and Los Angeles City Councilman between 1991 and 2022, began in the middle of that decade. The indictment claims that Ridley-Thomas donated $100,000 from his political campaign fund to the USC School of Social Work.
A report from California Globe said that the money was then given to a think tank managed by his son Sebastian Ridley-Thomas by the dean of the university, Marilyn Flynn. In exchange for the senior Ridley-Thomas supporting contracts between the County and USC, his son, who served as a state assemblyman from 2013 until 2017, when he resigned in the wake of sexual harassment allegations, was to receive perks from USC, including graduate school admittance and a scholarship.
Despite the fact that Mark Ridley-Thomas has a long history of controversy, none of them have persisted long enough to seriously consider his ouster from office. The USC scandal, though, altered everything. Authorities began looking into the senior Ridley-Thomas in 2019 as a result of their investigation into his son, and by October 2021, he had been charged with one crime of conspiracy, one count of bribery, two counts of honest services mail fraud, and fifteen counts of honest services wire fraud. The City Council decided to suspend him after hearing this enough times. While the lawsuit against Mark Ridley-Thomasproceeded in court, his suspended seat was finally removed permanently in March 2022 when Herb Wesson was appointed. In the meantime, Flynn formally received his 18-month home confinement sentence in July after pleading guilty to one count of bribery in September 2022.
Ridley-Thomas made one more attempt to clear his name in June by requesting that the guilty decision be overturned in favor of a new trial or that he be cleared of all charges. But that effort fell short, and on Monday, Mark Ridley-Thomas was forced to appear once more before Judge Fischer in Los Angeles. Ridley-Thomas was sentenced to 42 months in jail, a $30,000 fine, and three years of supervision after his release. Ridley-Thomas, who will turn 69 in November, won’t be an adult until he turns 72 and will remain under supervision until he turns 75.
Ridley-Thomas’ motivation, according to Judge Fischer, who was appointed by then-President George W. Bush to the United States District Court for the Central District of California in 2003, was to benefit both his son and himself. He was prepared to violate the community’s faith in him to do so. Ridley-Thomas has committed significant crimes but hasn’t admitted guilt or expressed regret. The driving force behind this plan was him. Simply said, there is no justification for making money out of one’s position.
Ridley Thomas spoke before the sentence was handed down and asked with the judge to sentence him to probation rather than any prison time, despite the fact that federal officials had recommended a sentence of between 18 months and 6 years. Despite being found guilty earlier this year, he added that he did not infringe the law.
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42 months in prison
Following the punishment on Monday, Ridley-Thomas’ attorneys echoed his declaration that they will appeal the verdict.
As reported in Los Angeles Times, U.S. Attorneys, on the other hand, merely stated that justice had been done and that the punishment will make politicians and other public figures think twice before trying anything similar in the future.
Legal professionals told the Boston Globe on Monday that the 42 months will probably remain in place on appeal because there are no significant health issues or other circumstances that would reduce the amount of time he actually spends.
By November 5th, Ridley-Thomas is anticipated to turn himself in and start serving his sentence.