The Ninth Circuit formally upheld the bribery conviction of veteran Los Angeles politician Mark Ridley-Thomas

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By: Inglewood Today & Eye On Inglewood Founder & Writer Halimah Ginyard

The Ninth Circuit formally upheld the bribery conviction of veteran Los Angeles politician Mark Ridley-Thomas. This ruling resonates heavily across Southern California as residents grapple with the ongoing fallout of ethical breaches by elected officials.

In a unanimous decision, a three-judge appellate panel rejected arguments from Ridley-Thomas’ legal team attempting to overturn his conviction. The case centered on a 2018 scheme in which Ridley-Thomas funneled $100,000 from his ballot committee routing it through the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work to benefit a nonprofit set up for his son, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas.

At the time, Ridley-Thomas served on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, a body whose policy decisions directly intersect with the interests and well-being of neighboring municipalities like Inglewood.

Prosecutors demonstrated that the financial maneuvering was designed to mask nepotism while securing a full-tuition scholarship and a faculty appointment for his son, all in exchange for Ridley-Thomas's support of a lucrative county telehealth services contract for USC's school.

Circuit judges emphasized that even though the transaction utilized the politician's own campaign funds rather than a traditional cash bribe, the complicated transfer still constituted an illegal "thing of value" under federal program bribery and honest services fraud statutes.

Mark Ridley-Thomas whose extensive three-decade career included deep footprints across regional governance, county infrastructure, and voter mobilization initiatives like the African American Voter Registration, Education, and Participation (AAVREP) project adds to a sobering era of accountability for Southern California leadership.

For Inglewood residents who watch closely how regional county contracts, transit systems developments, and local economic booms (such as the massive sports and entertainment investments surrounding SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome) interact with regional governance, the case underscores persistent concerns regarding transparency.