Judge denies bid to overturn Ridley-Thomas verdict

A judge denied a request by the defense for suspended Los Angeles Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas for a new trial Friday in an attempt to overturn a conviction on seven felony corruption charges including bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud. He is expected to be sentenced Aug. 21.

In response to allegations that Ridley-Thomas had supported measures as a member of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to benefit the Dworak-Peck School of Social Work in a quid pro quo agreement, the defense had alleged that the measures were “uncontroversial items” consistent with Ridley-Thomas’ legislative agenda. The defense similarly alleged that the prosecution lacked evidence to support all other charges against Ridley-Thomas and called for an acquittal in May.

The 17-page ruling issued by the court reaffirmed that the prosecution provided sufficient evidence to charge Ridley-Thomas. Evidence showed a correspondence between Ridley-Thomas and Marilyn Flynn, the former dean of Dworak-Peck, to coordinate the funneling of his funds through USC to his son’s nonprofit in exchange for his support of a measure which would benefit Dworak-Peck.

The defense also alleged that prosecutorial misconduct, misstatements of the law and inaccurate and “improper testimony” by the lead FBI agent all contributed to an unfair trial, the L.A. Times reported. The court’s ruling rejected the claims on the grounds the defense’s allegations of prosecutorial misconduct were unclear and that the court took sufficient measures to remedy any inconsistencies in testimony.

The charges stem from a quid pro quo scheme orchestrated by Ridley-Thomas and Flynn, in which Ridley-Thomas supported bills in the city council which favored Dworak-Peck in exchange for benefits for his son, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas.

The scheme, which began some time around May 2017, included admission to the graduate social work program, a full-tuition scholarship worth $26,000 and a part-time professor position with a salary of $50,000 for the younger Ridley-Thomas, who stepped down from the state Assembly amid a sexual harassment investigation in December 2017. Ridley-Thomas also funneled $100,000 through the School of Social Work into a nonprofit run by his son.
Ridley-Thomas holds a doctorate from USC in social ethics and has worked in state and local government for decades. Ridley-Thomas faces maximum sentences of five years for conspiracy, 10 years for bribery and 20 years for each count of fraud — totaling a maximum of 115 years.