Who is Mark Ridley Thomas, why has he been sentenced to 42 months in jail? Know about charges in detail
Mark Ridley Thomas has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison. He has also been ordered to pay a fine of $30,000. The court has asked him to surrender to the law enforcement agency on November 13. He was accused of voting in support of the county contracts favoring the University of South Carolina and it would have benefitted his son.
Mark Ridley Thomas Found Guilty
Mark Ridley was found guilty of a single count of bribery, conspiracy, honest services mail fraud, and four counts of honest service wire fraud.
Mark Ridley Thomas Conspires
Mark Ridley was found to have conspired with Marilyn Louise Flynn, the former dean of the University of South California’s School of Social Work. He also sought a spot for his son to ensure his legacy. This would include advanced degrees, paid jobs, and titles. With the help of Flynn, he managed to get his son admitted to a graduate college so that he could complete his master's degree and get a scholarship.
Mark Ridley Thomas' Son
His son resigned from the California State Assembly and announced that he had done so on health grounds, but it was found that he was involved in a sexual harassment case and the investigation was going on when he quit.
Mark Ridley Thomas: The sentence
According to 'Sportskeeda', Ridley Thomas’s sentencing document read, «This was a shakedown. 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. The kind to which society rarely yields consequences for the offender but strikes a devastating blow to the integrity of our democratic systems.»
His lawyers urged the court to give Ridley a home confinement term and social service,
