Federal prosecutors are recommending a six-year prison sentence for former Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was convicted of bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges.
, who was convicted of bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges for steering county contracts toward the USC School of Social Work in exchange for the secret funneling of a $100,000 contribution to an organization run by his son, according to court papers filed Monday."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.
According to the prosecution's memo, Ridley-Thomas shook down Flynn, and in doing so made his demands known: "Help me and my son in exchange for Los Angeles County business." Aware that Flynn needed county contracts and an amendment to the Telehealth contract, Ridley-Thomas made county business contingent on benefits for his son, Sebastian, including admission to USC to obtain a master's degree, a full-tuition scholarship to attend USC for free, a paid professorship to teach at USC while simultaneously enrolled as a student, and the secret funneling of $100,000 from the father's campaign committee account through USC to a nonprofit his son was spearheading...
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