Mark Ridley-Thomas was found guilty March 30, 2023, of seven federal charges related to special benefits his son received at USC in exchange for steering Los Angeles County contracts to the university’s School of Social Work while he was on the county Board of Supervisors.
Ridley-Thomas, 68, was convicted of conspiracy, bribery, honest services mail fraud and four counts of honest services wire fraud. The suspended L.A. city councilman was acquitted of a dozen other charges.
With the conviction, Ridley-Thomas will be permanently removed from his City Council seat, according to the City Charter. He had been suspended for the last 17 months, a week after he was indicted on Oct. 13, 2021.
Ridley-Thomas could face years in federal prison, a devastating fall for a man who for more than 30 years was a power broker in L.A. politics and a vocal advocate for civil rights and racial justice.
