Longtime L.A. politician Mark Ridley-Thomas began the fight to overturn his fraud and bribery convictions Thursday.
In front of a Pasadena courtroom packed with supporters of the former L.A. city councilman and county supervisor, his attorney, Alyssa Bell, told the three-judge appeals panel that Ridley-Thomas' actions were legal and ethical.
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Ridley-Thomas, 70, was sentenced to three years and six months in federal prison on single counts of conspiracy, bribery, honest services mail fraud, as well as four counts of honest services wire fraud stemming from his time serving on the county Board of Supervisors.
Prosecutors defended their 2023 case against Ridley-Thomas, in which he pleaded guilty, arguing he was in a scheme to funnel funds to a USC Dean to benefit his son. Still, Bell claimed there was not enough evidence to warrant the conviction.
Bell tells KNX News' Karan Adams, "There was no legally cognizable bribe in this case. MRT used his own money, and it means he was completely, legally, practically entitled to do it, and the government has contorted that into an unprecedented bribery theory."
She admits there is a long road ahead, as it is difficult to overturn a conviction in any case, but believes they have enough to succeed.
Ridley-Thomas will remain free on bail as his appeal plays out, and the process could take six to nine months. If their bid for appeal is unsuccessful, Bell said they will petition for an 11-judge panel but hopes it will not come to that.
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