A federal judge has sentenced Mark Ridley-Thomas, once a major figure in Los Angeles politics, to the following sentence

XX months/years in federal prison // XX months/years of probation

, marking an embarrassing final chapter in his long career as a local power broker and advocate for civil rights and racial equality. U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer handed down the sentence Monday in her downtown LA courtroom packed with Ridley-Thomas’ family, friends Ridley-Thomas, 68, was convicted in March of seven felonies: bribery, conspiracy, four counts of electronic telephony fraud and one charge of honest services fraud. for a scheme that saw him take advantage of USC for himself and his son while serving on the powerful Los Angeles County Board of Trustees. He was recognized for twelve other charges.

NOTE: After the conviction, cut off the next 4 headstones and continue with ‘Ridley-Thomas has asked’, but change that headstone to ‘had’/past tense

On Monday morning, once-formidable Los Angeles County power broker turned now-disgraced ex-politician, Mark Ridley-Thomas, will learn if he will spend the next few months or years in federal prison.

The decision will be made at a sentencing hearing by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer against a George W. Bush appointee who presided over the criminal trial of Ridley-Thomas in March.

Jurors convicted him of seven felonies, bribery, conspiracy, four counts of electronic phone fraud, and one count of mail fraud with honest services in a scheme that saw him take advantage of USC for himself and his son while serving on the powerful Council of LA County supervision.

The jury acquitted Ridley-Thomas of 12 other charges related to a scholarship and professorship his son, Sebastian, received from USC.

Ridley-Thomas, 68, has asked the judge to spare him jail time and instead sentence him to probation and other alternatives to incarceration. Federal

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probation of 18 months imprisonment. Prosecutors for corruption at the US Attorney’s Office in LA have since requested a six-year prison sentence.

The Ridley-Thomas conviction has tarnished a politician’s legacy. While the guilty verdict is a lasting blot on Ridley-Thomas’ legacy, his

The name adorns a wellness center, a high school health center, a youth facility and a bridge over La Cienega Boulevard.

Prior to his sentencing at the U.S. First 1st Street Courthouse, dozens of Ridley-Thomas’s friends, allies and relatives begged for mercy and testified to his character.

Sheila Kuehl, the retired politician, praised Ridley-Thomas as “a good and honorable man” who “lived a model life” before being convicted of corruption charges.

“I maintain that MRT is still among the best our community has ever produced,” wrote Tavis Smiley, the broadcaster and radio host.

Jackie Goldberg, president of the board of directors of the Los Angeles Unified School District, wrote on official letterhead that Ridley-Thomas was “a warrior for social justice.”

S

state Senator Steven Bradford

(D Gardena)

also on official letterhead, called his friend “a compassionate servant leader.”

Those portrayed differed sharply from those of federal prosecutors who describe Ridley-Thomas as

blatantly corrupt and

the architect of a ‘shakedown’ in which he wanted to ‘enrich his family’.

“He abused the power of his elected office for personal gain. He lied, cheated and cheated repeatedly,” the prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo. “He was in a unique position to serve his constituents. Instead, he served himself.”

The jurors agreed that Ridley-Thomas acted corruptly when he sent $100,000 from a campaign committee to USC and then ordered the dean of the university’s social work school to quickly transfer the money to a nonprofit organization.

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profit run by his son. At the time, the dean of the social work school at USC Ridley-Thomas pushed for help renewing a coveted county contract. Ridley-Thomas voted on that contract extension a few months later.

Prosecutors have provided evidence that Ridley-Thomas’ dealings with USC were motivated in part to protect his son and himself from scandal. Sebastian Ridley-Thomas had served in the State Assembly, but abruptly resigned in late 2017 when faced with a confidential sexual harassment investigation. Prosecutors argued that USC’s benefits were a way to give his son a “landing spot” that preserved the family’s political brand.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Fischer will consider the dozens of letters sent to her, along with instructions from prosecutors and Tussling’s lawyers about the possible sentence. The judge is also likely to take into account the sentencing message at a time when public corruption has become endemic.

Prosecutors told the judge in their sentencing papers that the Ridley-Thomas case presented “an opportunity” to combat the local government’s “disease” of self-dealing and bribery.

“The antidote is an important punishment that must be punished justly [Ridley-Thomas] and especially to deter others who try to perpetuate this culture of corruption that has poisoned our politics for too long,” the prosecutors wrote.

Defense attorneys responded that there was no need to detain their client, adding: The disgrace of his convictions is punishment and provides a sufficiently specific deterrent.

Ridley-Thomas’ co

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The defendant in the case, former USC social worker Dean Marilyn Flynn, was sentenced this summer to three years of probation. Flynn had pleaded guilty to one charge of bribery, provided incriminating evidence to federal prosecutors, and expressed remorse and remorse.

Ridley-Thomas, on the other hand, was tried on all 19 charges against him. He and his allies have steadfastly pleaded his innocence, with supporters accusing prosecutors and the FBI of dishonesty and excess; floating anti-black racism as a motive in the case; and publicly questioning the jury foreman’s account of how jurors arrived at a guilty verdict.

Prosecutors have called for a harsh sentence and told Fischer that Ridley-Thomas undermined public confidence in the justice system

calls for severe punishment

.

“All about the defendant’s post-trial court appearances and public narratives continue to downplay his behavior and highlight themes of victimization and injustice,” the prosecutors wrote in their sentencing papers to the judge. “But the defendant is not a victim. He was not targeted by the federal government or USC. He is not a victim of false testimony. And his trial was not unfair.”

In pursuit of Ridley-Thomas, a team of federal prosecutors led by

AssistantAsst.

American Atty. Mack Jenkins relied on reams of evidence from USC and Ridley-Thomas’ AOL email inbox.

Correspondence between Ridley-Thomas and Flynn revealed that the duo attempted to funnel money to Ridley-Thomas’ son’s nonprofit in a way that masked the original source.

For example, Ridley-Thomas sent a $100,000 donation to USC in May 2018, with a letter telling Flynn, “These funds may be used at their discretion.” However, the next day, Ridley-Thomas sent Flynn an email with bank instructions on how to spend the $100,000. “At this point it is necessary to act quickly,” he wrote.

When Ridley-Thomas heard from Flynn that the money was on its way to his son’s non-profit organization, he told her, “I repeat, you are the best!!!”

Around the time money was funneled through USC, Flynn told a colleague she had done a “favor” by securing the extension of a telehealth contract, a remote mental health contract USC obtained from LA County.

The cumbersome flow of funds from Ridley-Thomas’s voting committee to USC and to his son’s nonprofit organization was just one part of a wider corruption scheme alleged by prosecutors. Ridley-Thomas was also accused of using his elected post to secure his son’s admission to USC, along with a full scholarship and professorship, but jurors acquitted him of charges directly related to the other benefits his son received.

Shortly after Ridley-Thomas was called up in 2021, he was suspended

the

LA City Council, where he represented the 10th District, which stretched from Koreatown to South LA. As a result of his conviction, he permanently lost his seat.

During his criminal trial, several longtime donors and allies donated money to two defense funds to subsidize his legal bills. He raised more than $1.5 million through a combination of outside donors and personal loans.