Former LA Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas Challenges Guilty Verdict

Former Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was found guilty of seven counts earlier this year, challenged the jury’s guilty verdict on Monday, demanding that the guilty verdict be vacated for a new trial or that he be acquitted on all charges.

The case against Ridley-Thomas, who has served as a Los Angeles City Councilman, Assemblyman, state Senator, and LA County Supervisor at different times between 1991 and 2022, dates back to the mid 2010s. According to the indictment, Ridley-Thomas gave $100,000 to the USC School of Social Work through his political campaign fund. In turn, the school’s dean, Marilyn Flynn, sent the money to a think tank run by his son, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas. His son, who was a state Assemblyman from 2013 until 2017 when he resigned after sexual harassment allegations came to light, was to get benefits from USC, such as a graduate school admission and a scholarship, in exchange for the elder Ridley-Thomas to support contracts between the County and USC.

While Ridley-Thomas has had a long history of controversies, none of them ever stuck long enough to actually threaten a removal from office. However, the USC scandal changed all that. In 2019 the investigation into his son brought authorities to investigate the elder Ridley-Thomas, and by October 2021, he was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of bribery, two counts of honest services mail fraud, and fifteen counts of honest services wire fraud. This was enough for the City Council to vote to suspend him. While his suspended seat was finally ended for good in March 2022 when Herb Wesson was brought in on an appointed basis, the case against Ridley-Thomas played out in court. Meanwhile, Flynn pleaded guilty in September 2022 to one count of bribery, and is currently waiting on sentencing which could bring her up to ten years of prison.

That led to him being found guilty in March following five days of jury deliberation. While Ridley-Thomas did beat 11 counts of wire fraud and a count of mail fraud, he was still ultimately found guilty of one count of bribery, one count of honest services mail fraud, and four counts of honest services wire fraud. As a result, Ridley-Thomas faced five years in federal prison on the conspiracy count, up to 10 years in federal prison for the bribery count, and up to 20 years in federal prison for each honest services fraud count, for a possible total of up to 115 years in jail. His sentencing date had been set for August.

However, all that changed on Monday when lawyers for Ridley-Thomas said that the case had been mishandled, specifically noting prosecutorial misconduct, insufficient evidence, and improper testimony by the head FBI agent on the case. In front of U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer, the lawyers argued that those mistakes deprived him of a fair trial and that either the previous ruling be vacated and he be given a new trial, or that Ridley-Thomas should be outright acquitted.

“This is a case in which there is a miscarriage of justice,” said defense attorney Daralyn Durie.

Ridley-Thomas’ Challenge

Fellow defense attorney Galia Amram added, “There was no evidence presented at trial showing that Ridley-Thomas actually performed an official act while on the Board of Supervisors in favor of an amendment to a telehealth contract with the county Department of Mental Health that prosecutors claim could have brought the social work school potentially millions of dollars in new revenue.”

“The government argued over and over and over again that Mark Ridley-Thomas agreed to do an official act for Marilyn Flynn, the ex-dean of the USC School of Social Work, by supporting the amendment. My client did not actually vote for the amendment. Thus, there was no official act, which was a key requirement for honest services fraud, and so the conviction should be vacated.”

Attorneys for the U.S. Government argued that the guilty verdict should not be overturned, as they had given more than sufficient evidence on Ridley-Thomas’ guilt.

“The government presented far more than sufficient evidence that Ridley-Thomas voted in favor of the contract,” explained Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Greer Dotson. “Defense counsel can argue that a vote isn’t a vote. Evidence showed there was agreement to perform an official act, which was enough to support the guilty verdict. An official act is not just the vote.”

Legal experts told the Globe Monday that while the case was presented clearly, rulings such as this often are not reversed or acquitted due to government lawyers often having more than ample amounts of evidence.

“The government often does overkill on evidence just in case something falls through, so they still have it covered,” Brad Cousins, a lawyer in the LA region, told the Globe Monday. “To many, still trying to beat the charges looks like grasping at straws. But considering the time he is facing prior to sentencing, he is trying everything he can to avoid that right now. And his team is giving it everything they got.”

“The judge will rule soon, and we’ll then see where we are.”

As of Monday, Ridley-Thomas’ sentencing is still scheduled for August.