Did Mark Ridley-Thomas step over the line to corruption? In first day arguments, federal prosecutors say yes.
Suspended Los Angeles City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas steered county contracts to USC’s social work school while he was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in exchange for benefits for his son, including a professorship at USC, a federal prosecutor told a Los Angeles jury today. But the defense countered that nothing the veteran politician did was illegal and there was no quid pro quo arrangement.
Ridley-Thomas “monetized” and abused the power of his office and lied to cover it up in order to help his son Sebastian, who had resigned from the state Assembly and was facing a sexual harassment investigation that had not yet gone public, the prosecutor said. For federal prosecutors, the answer is clear. To help himself and his son Sebastian and protect their family name, Ridley-Thomas “reached out” to Marilyn Flynn, then dean of the USC School of Social Work, to arrange a series of benefits for Sebastian including the professorship.
“He would offer her a life raft” and preserve his family’s legacy, according to the federal prosecutor. The defense attorney, though, insisted that two of the three county contracts were approved by the county supervisors before Sebastian heard he was the subject of a sexual harassment probe. “Funneling the money was legal under campaign finance law,” Amram told the jury, adding that none of the $100,000 “went into Sebastian’s pocket.”
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