Former L.A. City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas Sentenced To 3-Plus Years In Prison
deadline.comProminent Los Angeles County politician Mark Ridley-Thomas was sentenced today to three years and six months in prison for voting in support of county contracts that would favor USC while accepting benefits for his son from the university. “This was a shakedown,” prosecutors wrote in sentencing papers. “Not the kind in movies with bags of cash or threats of force.
But the kind that is polite and pervasive. The kind that happens too often by sophisticated, powerful people. The kind to which society, sadly, has become so accustomed that it often goes unreported and rarely yields consequences for the offender but strikes a devastating blow to the integrity of our democratic system.” Defense attorneys asked for a term of home confinement, community service and a fine, but no prison time.
However, if incarceration is required, they requested no more than two years and three months, court papersshow. The 68-year-old Ridley-Thomas was convicted March 30, while he was a suspended member of the L.A.
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.
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