A jury was seated in downtown Los Angeles on March 7 to hear the federal case against Mark Ridley-Thomas.
Opening statements are expected Wednesday, March 8, in the federal criminal trial of suspended Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who while a member of the Board of Supervisors allegedly steered county contracts to USC’s social work school in exchange for benefits for his son.
Flynn admitted helping to disguise and funnel $100,000 from Ridley-Thomas’ campaign account through the school to another nonprofit, United Ways of California, for the benefit of the Policy, Research & Practice Initiative, a new nonprofit initiative founded by Sebastian, according to her plea agreement.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that Ridley-Thomas delivered on his end of the bargain. As a supervisor in 2018, he voted on three county proposals that Flynn had sought to shore up her school’s shoddy financial situation, including a vote approving a much more lucrative amended TeleHealth agreement with the USC School of Social Work, prosecutors contend. He also allegedly sought to influence key county decision-makers associated with the approvals and made sure Flynn knew of his efforts.
Prosecutors say the amended Telehealth contract was expected to generate about $9 million a year for the social work school.
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