The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to suspend Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas as he faces a federal indictment on charges of bribery and conspiracy.
The council voted 11 to 3 in favor of suspension. Ridley-Thomas will be temporarily stripped of all council duties, including leadership of the city's Homelessness and Poverty Committee.
The indictment alleges that during his time serving on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, Ridley-Thomas schemed with a University of Southern California dean to push millions of dollars worth of county contracts to the school. It was allegedly a quid-pro-quo arrangement to secure admission to the university for his son, along with a paid professorship.
Ridley-Thomas will appear in federal court in L.A. on Wednesday for arraignment. The councilmember has characterized the allegations as "outrageous" and vowed to disprove them.
"I am humbled by the support of my colleagues who did not rush to judgment and disappointed in those who did," the councilmember said in a statement after the vote. "I will continue fighting to clear my name, and I remain confident that such will be the case. But in the interim, the council has disenfranchised the residents of the 10th District."
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