Former LA City Councilman Convicted of Corruption Charges

Mark Ridley-Thomas, a prominent Los Angeles politician, has been found guilty of federal corruption charges related to special benefits his son received at USC. He faces the possibility of years in federal prison and the permanent loss of his seat on the L.A. City Council. Ridley-Thomas was found guilty of seven of the 19 counts against him, including conspiracy, bribery, honest services mail fraud, and four counts of honest services wire fraud. The verdict is the most high-profile in a string of victories for public corruption prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Ridley-Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced on August 14.