#ThePowerOfProsecutors

In a mixed & confusing verdict, jury finds Mark Ridley-Thomas guilty of 7 of the 19 charges in corruption trial, which could mean a lengthy prison term

Martin Estrada, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, talks about Thursday's verdict in the Mark Ridley-Thomas trial, with members of his investigation and prosecution team behind him.
Celeste Fremon
Written by Celeste Fremon

Midway through their fifth day of deliberation, the jury in the federal bribery and corruption trial of Mark Ridley-Thomas came in with a verdict, in which they found former member of the LA County Board of Supervisors, two time member of the Los Angeles City Council, and former member of the state assembly, and also the state senate guilty of seven of the 19 counts of which he was charged.

When it came parsing out what exactly Ridley-Thomas had done that was criminal in the perception of the jury members, things got a little less clear.

The conviction means that Ridley-Thomas could face the possibility of years in federal prison and the permanent loss of his seat on the L.A. City Council, from which he has been suspended. 

There’s lots more to both the case and the verdict, so watch for a full story soon.

In other words…watch this space.

7 Comments

  • Not to relish in anybody’s misfortune, but this guy deserved what he got. He was involved in shady dealings which not only benefitted him, but his family as well.

    If I am not mistaken, the mayor of L.A. made a statement, something to the effect that L.A. has lost a great person? How can he be a great person when he lied, cheated and stole from his constituents and the hard working tax payers?

    What is even worse, is that he bamboozled the members of the black community. Once again, a black man who has been disgraced and brought down in shame.

    People must wake up and start to seriously consider who they choose to put in a position of authority and trust. Some of these so called leaders of the community make emotional statements which resonate with the community. However, in the long run these so called leaders are really doing what is in their own selfish interest.

    I hope this is a wake up call for those individuals who vote along party lines and or the color of the candidates skin. I guess that voting for the person who will do what the community needs is not a worthwhile attribute anymore.

  • Mixed? Perhaps. Confusing? Only in the sense that he was not found guilty on all counts. This is only the tip of the iceberg of his corruptness and are not bound to race and political ideology – no matter the perception of him (of Trump) for that matter and their public service. They both served themselves. For a supposedly religiously pious person, this is the most troubling part. There’s a lot more where this came from. He’ll sing like a bird if he thinks it will help him avoid a stretch in the same joint (meaning prison industrial complex) he and his advocate cronies have been bent on taking down.

  • Pretty simple, when people Celeste doesn’t like are accused it’s like a “Smoking gun”. The “bomb shell” allegations prove what Celeste knew all along , these people are guilty regardless of due process.

    When one of Celeste’s friends are convicted in federal court it’s a different matter. It becomes “confusing”, that is when Celeste isn’t just burying the story in the first place.

    This Blog is designed to appeal to the west LA AWFLs, (affluent white female liberals) Celeste will never write anything that might upset them.

  • MRT was justly convicted for violating federal bribery and conspiracy charges, the fact the jury did not find him guilty of all charges does not make it “mixed and confusing”,,, he simply used his power and influence to illegally benefit his alma mater (USC) and his son and must now pay the price for his hubris,,, the one other crime he should have been tried for was his failure to keep Martin Luther King Hospital open, this hospital (which was in his district) is in an area that needs medical access desperately and yet he let it be mismanaged into oblivion by selecting incompetent race-based (Black only) administrators,,,the feds gave years of warnings to the County but nothing was done: that was a crime!

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