{"id":48213,"date":"2021-10-13T18:09:01","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T01:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213"},"modified":"2021-10-13T19:40:37","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T02:40:37","slug":"l-a-councilman-and-ex-usc-dean-indicted-on-bribery-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213","title":{"rendered":"L.A. Councilman and Ex-USC Dean Indicted on Bribery Charges \u2014 \u201cYour wish is my command.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">LOS ANGELES<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-48218 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/download-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" \/>A federal grand jury indicted former L.A. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas along with the former USC dean for taking bribes in exchange for supporting millions of dollars in L.A. County&#8217;s lucrative contracts with the university.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"> Ridley-Thomas allegedly did this when he was on the county Board of Supervisors,\u00a0 U.S. Department of Justice officials announced Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_48217\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-48217\" style=\"width: 208px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-48217 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Flynn_Marilyn-208x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"208\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Flynn_Marilyn-208x300.jpg 208w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Flynn_Marilyn.jpg 627w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 208px) 100vw, 208px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-48217\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marilyn Louise Flynn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 The 20-count indictment alleges that Mark Ridley-Thomas, now a member of the Los Angeles City Council, conspired with Marilyn Louise Flynn, formerly a tenured professor and the dean of the university\u2019s School of Social Work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Flynn agreed to provide the Ridley-Thomas son Sebastian Ridley-Thomas with graduate school admission, a full-tuition scholarship, a paid professorship. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">She also set up a mechanism to funnel Ridley-Thomas campaign funds through the university to a non-profit to be operated by his son Sebastian, the federal indictment states.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In exchange, the indictment alleges that Mark Ridley-Thomas supported contracts involving the Social Work School, including contracts to provide services to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and Probation Department along with an amendment to a contract with the Department of Mental Health (DMH) that would bring the school millions of dollars in new revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ridley-Thomas, 66, of Los Angeles, and Flynn, 83, also of Los Angeles, were informed of the indictment Wednesday and have agreed to appear for their arraignments in U.S. District Court in the coming weeks, according to the indictment.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_48219\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-48219\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-48219 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/dsc_29951.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"201\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-48219\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis indictment charges a seasoned lawmaker who allegedly abused the public\u2019s trust by taking official actions to benefit his family member and himself,\u201d said Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison. \u201cThe corrupt activities alleged in the indictment were facilitated by a major university\u2019s high-ranking administrator whose desire for funding apparently trumped notions of integrity and fair play. Public corruption cases are among the most important matters we pursue, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute whenever public officials and others entrusted with taxpayer funds break the law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The Los Angeles Times reported that USC alerted federal prosecutors to the unusual arrangement following an internal investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w3.mp.lura.live\/player\/prod\/v3\/anvload.html?key=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%2Fc3o9MXgxMDAwJml1PS81Njc4L254Lmt0bGEvbmV3cy9sb2NhbF9uZXdzJmltcGw9cyZnZGZwX3JlcT0xJmVudj12cCZvdXRwdXQ9dm1hcCZ1bnZpZXdlZF9wb3NpdGlvbl9zdGFydD0xJmFkX3J1bGU9MSZkZXNjcmlwdGlvbl91cmw9aHR0cHM6Ly9rdGxhLmNvbS9uZXdzL2xvY2FsLW5ld3MvcmlkbGV5LXRob21hcy1leC11c2MtZGVhbi1pbmRpY3RlZC1vbi1mZWRlcmFsLWNvcnJ1cHRpb24tY2hhcmdlcy8mdmNvbnA9MiZjdXN0X3BhcmFtcz12aWQlM0Q3MDYyOTU1JTI2Y21zaWQlM0QxNjY4NTM0JTI2cGlkJTNEMTY2ODUzNCUyNnZpZGNhdCUzRCUyRm5ld3MlMkZsb2NhbF9uZXdzJTI2Ym9iX2NrJTNEJTVCYm9iX2NrX3ZhbCU1RCUyNmRfY29kZSUzRG5hMDAzJTI2cGxheWVyd2lkdGglM0Q4NzYlMjZwbGF5ZXJoZWlnaHQlM0Q0OTMifX0sIm5pZWxzZW4iOnsiYXBpZCI6IlA4MDExRDcxMC1GQjVGLTQ0NjctOTVBRi0yNTczMTczN0YyRUYiLCJzZmNvZGUiOiJkY3IiLCJ0eXBlIjoiZGNyIiwiYXBuIjoiQW52YXRvIiwiZW52aXJvbm1lbnQiOiJwcm9kdWN0aW9uIiwidXNlRGVyaXZlZE1ldGFkYXRhIjp0cnVlLCJtYXBwaW5nIjp7ImFkbG9hZHR5cGUiOjIsImFkTW9kZWwiOjJ9LCJvcHRPdXQiOmZhbHNlfSwic2VnbWVudEN1c3RvbSI6eyJzY3JpcHQiOiJodHRwczovL3NlZ21lbnQucHNnLm5leHN0YXJkaWdpdGFsLm5ldC9hbnZhdG8uanMiLCJ3cml0ZUtleSI6ImhnRmpBMzJwMXV5ZWh6dkdjVDlMRWZQeWtCQUpKNmpPIn0sImdvb2dsZUFuYWx5dGljcyI6eyJ0cmFja2luZ0lkIjoiVUEtMzQxMzM4ODQtNyIsImV2ZW50cyI6eyJBRF9TVEFSVEVEIjp7ImFsaWFzIjoiVmlkZW8tQWQiLCJjYXRlZ29yeSI6IlZpZGVvIiwibGFiZWwiOiJbW1RJVExFXV0ifSwiVklERU9fU1RBUlRFRCI6eyJhbGlhcyI6IlZpZGVvLVBsYXkiLCJjYXRlZ29yeSI6IlZpZGVvIiwibGFiZWwiOiJbW1RJVExFXV0ifSwiVklERU9fRklSU1RfUVVBUlRJTEUiOnsiYWxpYXMiOiJWaWRlby0yNSUiLCJjYXRlZ29yeSI6IlZpZGVvIiwibGFiZWwiOiJbW1RJVExFXV0ifSwiVklERU9fTUlEX1BPSU5UIjp7ImFsaWFzIjoiVmlkZW8tNTAlIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnkiOiJWaWRlbyIsImxhYmVsIjoiW1tUSVRMRV1dIn0sIlZJREVPX1RISVJEX1FVQVJUSUxFIjp7ImFsaWFzIjoiVmlkZW8tNzUlIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnkiOiJWaWRlbyIsImxhYmVsIjoiW1tUSVRMRV1dIn0sIlZJREVPX0NPTVBMRVRFRCI6eyJhbGlhcyI6IlZpZGVvLTEwMCUiLCJjYXRlZ29yeSI6IlZpZGVvIiwibGFiZWwiOiJbW1RJVExFXV0ifSwiVVNFUl9QQVVTRSI6eyJhbGlhcyI6IlBhdXNlIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnkiOiJWaWRlbyIsImxhYmVsIjoiW1tUSVRMRV1dIn0sIlVTRVJfUkVTVU1FIjp7ImFsaWFzIjoiUmVzdW1lIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnkiOiJWaWRlbyIsImxhYmVsIjoiW1tUSVRMRV1dIn19fSwiaGVhbHRoQW5hbHl0aWNzIjp7fX0sImh0bWw1Ijp0cnVlLCJ0b2tlbiI6ImV5SjBlWEFpT2lKS1YxUWlMQ0poYkdjaU9pSklVekkxTmlKOS5leUoyYVdRaU9pSTNNRFl5T1RVMUlpd2lhWE56SWpvaVdEaFFUMkUwZW5CSFdrMXRaV2x4TUhkeGFVODRTVkExY2sxeFVVMDVWazRpTENKbGVIQWlPakUyTXpReE56VTJOalo5LldWbUpnV2tpclNGU3pzeTRCemZMNlpodjhnRVQzUEMtQUJvMllmQ1RPajAifQ%3D%3D\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The indictment outlines a scheme in 2017 and 2018 in which then-supervisor Ridley-Thomas sought benefits from Flynn and university officials to benefit his son Sebastian Ridley-Thomas \u2013 described as \u201cMRT Relative 1\u201d in the indictment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">During that time, Sebastian Ridley Thomas, a former California State Assemblyman, was the subject of an internal sexual harassment investigation in the California State Assembly, likely to resign from elected office. He was significantly in debt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Sebastian Ridley Thomas resigned abruptly at the end of 2017 citing health problems, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/politics\/2019\/01\/ex-legislator-sexual-harassment-california\/\">CalMatters&#8217; June 2020 news report.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-48216 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/download-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" \/>Mark Ridley-Thomas allegedly wanted to help secure paid employment for his son Sebastian to minimize any public fallout for them both in the wake of the sudden resignation from office. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Meanwhile, the Social Work School was facing a multimillion-dollar budget deficit, which threatened the school\u2019s viability as well as Flynn\u2019s position and reputation as the school\u2019s longtime dean, according to the indictment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As part of the bribery scheme, Mark Ridley-Thomas and Flynn allegedly took steps \u201cto disguise, conceal, and cover up the bribes, kickbacks, and other benefits defendant Ridley-Thomas and MRT Relative 1 received,\u201d which included concealing the official acts Ridley-Thomas agreed to perform and did perform in exchange for the financial benefits. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1057 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Justice-Depart-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Justice-Depart-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Justice-Depart-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Justice-Depart.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The pair also concealed, according to the indictment, the true purpose of the money funneled to Sebastian Ridley-Thomas\u2019s nonprofit through the university, which also violated multiple university policies regarding the funding of nonprofits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Within weeks of Ridley-Thomas contacting Flynn in May 2017 about his relative wanting a postgraduate degree from the university, Flynn began a campaign to secure both university admission and a full scholarship for the relative. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Flynn wrote in an email that she \u201cintend[ed] to open every door for [MRT Relative 1],\u201d whom she noted was closely related to the then-supervisor, the indictment alleges. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">When a university official said Ridley-Thomas had \u201clots of discretionary money\u201d and should give the university \u201c$1M each year for three years,\u201d according to the indictment, <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Flynn responded that she and another university official intended to offer the relative a full scholarship, character<\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-39125 alignleft\" style=\"font-size: 20px;\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/cropped-Courtroom-1-300x90.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"443\" height=\"133\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">izing the exchange as a \u201cfull scholarship for our [Social Work School] funds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 During a June 2017 meeting, Ridley-Thomas and Flynn allegedly reached a quid pro quo agreement, which Flynn later memorialized in a confidential letter she had hand-delivered to Ridley-Thomas. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The indictment alleges that Flynn\u2019s letter detailed her expectations that Ridley-Thomas would steer new contracts with DCFS and Probation to the Social Work School and secure a lucrative amendment to an existing Telehealth-DMH contract. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/photo-by-billy\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-48220\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-48220 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ujpmmc5z1pg-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"tufted black chairs inside building with no people\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ujpmmc5z1pg-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ujpmmc5z1pg-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/ujpmmc5z1pg.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>With the new amendment, Flynn expected the Telehealth contract to generate approximately $9 million per year for Flynn\u2019s Social Work School.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In exchange for Flynn\u2019s efforts to help Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, the indictment alleges that Ridley-Thomas took a series of official actions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">This included voting in August 2017 to approve a motion to establish a partnership between the county and Social Work School and voting in October 2017 to approve a motion, related to \u201cProbation University,\u201d that would create a new county payment source for the school, the indictment states.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"> Flynn told university officials in emails that she was \u201cvery happy to see that [defendant Ridley-Thomas] was as good as his word\u201d and that he was \u201creally trying to deliver,\u201d the indictment alleges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1073 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/criminal_justice_jurisprudence-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"299\" height=\"188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/criminal_justice_jurisprudence-2.jpg 299w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/criminal_justice_jurisprudence-2-120x76.jpg 120w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/criminal_justice_jurisprudence-2-265x168.jpg 265w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/criminal_justice_jurisprudence-2-284x180.jpg 284w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/criminal_justice_jurisprudence-2-274x173.jpg 274w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/>In the fall of 2017, Ridley-Thomas and Sebastian Ridley-Thomas began soliciting from Flynn and other university officials a paid professorship for Sebastian while concealing that Sebastian was the subject of a sexual harassment investigation. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">By December 2017, in conjunction with speculation that Sebastian Ridley-Thomas could be forced out of office, Ridley-Thomas and his relative increased their efforts to secure a paid faculty position for MRT Relative 1, efforts that included Ridley-Thomas exerting pressure on another high-ranking public official to support the Telehealth contract amendment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4817 size-medium alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales-300x102.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"102\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales-300x102.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales.jpg 675w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">On December 14, 2017, about an hour after Mark Ridley-Thomas emailed Flynn saying the high-ranking public official was \u201cready to go,\u201d Flynn expedited the relative\u2019s enrollment at the university, instructing that the admission should be given the \u201chighest priority,\u201d according to the indictment. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Flynn also agreed, despite the school\u2019s multimillion-dollar budget deficit, to tap the Social Work School\u2019s endowed funds to award a scholarship. <\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_48222\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-48222\" style=\"width: 256px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-48222 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/images-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"256\" height=\"197\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-48222\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sebastian Ridley-Thomas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">At Flynn\u2019s direction, Sebastian Ridley-Thomas received a full scholarship worth $26,000 for the 2018 spring and summer terms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The day after learning that the high-ranking public official was \u201cready to go,\u201d Flynn also endeavored to quickly secure the paid professorship, even though Sebastian&#8217;s dual student-faculty status would violate university policy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">On December 15, 2017, Flynn allegedly sent an \u201curgent\u201d email to a university official, urging the official to get the offer letter \u201cout before the holidays\u201d to Sebastian Ridley-Thomas \u201cin the interests of showing MRT [defendant Ridley-Thomas] that we can deliver.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wyxqqpyfnk8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-48223 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wyxqqpyfnk8-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"white and black printer paper\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wyxqqpyfnk8-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wyxqqpyfnk8-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wyxqqpyfnk8-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wyxqqpyfnk8.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>The university thereafter offered Sebastian Ridley-Thomas the paid teaching position with a salary of $50,000, the indictment states.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">When Sebastian Ridley-Thomas received an email on February 13, 2018 indicating that the usual hiring process had been waived for his paid professorship, Sebastian forwarded the email to his father Mark Ridley-Thomas, who then emailed Flynn the same day to discuss the \u201cProbation Reform motion.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Days later, when Flynn emailed Mark Ridley-Thomas to request a profitable amendment to the Telehealth-DMH contract, Ridley-Thomas responded to Flynn: \u201cYour wish is my command.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">In addition to obtaining university admission, a full scholarship and the paid faculty position, Ridley-Thomas also sought to help his Sebastian become the director of a nonprofit. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/gjao3ztx9gu.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-48224 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/gjao3ztx9gu-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"person writing on white paper\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/gjao3ztx9gu-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/gjao3ztx9gu-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/gjao3ztx9gu-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/gjao3ztx9gu-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/gjao3ztx9gu.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>In December 2017, Ridley-Thomas donated $100,000 in campaign funds to a fiscal sponsor (Fiscal Sponsor A) supporting the nonprofit Sebastian was planning to head (Nonprofit A).<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"> Concerned about the optics of a politician donating campaign funds to benefit the politician\u2019s relative, Fiscal Sponsor A refunded the $100,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Sebastian Ridley-Thomas then abandoned efforts to head Nonprofit A, founded a new nonprofit (Nonprofit B) with a new fiscal sponsor (Fiscal Sponsor B), and began raising money for Nonprofit B in order to take a salary, obtain healthcare benefits and hire staff. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/photo-by-tingey-injury-law-firm-15\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-48225\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-48225 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/s2rcajbbxx0-207x300.jpg\" alt=\"brown wooden pipe in dark room\" width=\"207\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/s2rcajbbxx0-207x300.jpg 207w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/s2rcajbbxx0-706x1024.jpg 706w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/s2rcajbbxx0-768x1114.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/s2rcajbbxx0.jpg 827w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 207px) 100vw, 207px\" \/><\/a>According to the indictment, while soliciting official action from Mark Ridley-Thomas during a meeting on April 26, 2018, Flynn agreed to funnel $100,000 from the Mark Ridley-Thomas Committee for a Better L.A. through the university and Social Work School to Fiscal Sponsor B for the benefit of Nonprofit B and Sebastian Ridley Thomas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"> Around this time, Flynn allegedly told a university official that the school would get the Telehealth contract but that she had to do a \u201cfavor\u201d to get it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 After the Ridley-Thomas campaign funds were transferred through the university to Fiscal Sponsor B, Ridley-Thomas voted on July 31, 2018 in favor of the amendment to the school\u2019s Telehealth agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">This would sustain the program for an additional year and was consistent with the terms Flynn previously requested of Ridley-Thomas.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_48230\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-48230\" style=\"width: 342px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pvz1gfqeciy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-48230 \" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pvz1gfqeciy-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"342\" height=\"456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pvz1gfqeciy-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pvz1gfqeciy-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pvz1gfqeciy.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 342px) 100vw, 342px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-48230\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">USC Campus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Both Ridley-Thomas and Flynn are charged with one count of conspiracy, and each defendant is charged with one count of bribery. The indictment also charges both defendants with two counts of \u201chonest services\u201d mail fraud and 15 counts of \u201chonest services\u201d wire fraud.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"> \u201cThis investigation should send a message to public officials that government contracts are not for sale,\u201d said Kristi K. Johnson, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI\u2019s Los Angeles Field Office. \u201cThis indictment reaffirms the FBI\u2019s commitment to rooting out corruption by holding accountable those who abuse the trust of the people they serve and who exploit their powerful positions to obtain benefits at the expense of taxpayers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4228697482MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The FBI is investigating this matter.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES A federal grand jury indicted former L.A. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas along with the former USC dean for taking bribes in exchange for supporting millions of dollars in L.A. County&#8217;s lucrative&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>L.A. Councilman and Ex-USC Dean Indicted on Bribery Charges \u2014 \u201cYour wish is my command.\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LOS ANGELES A federal grand jury indicted former L.A. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas along with the former USC dean for taking bribes in exchange for\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"L.A. Councilman and Ex-USC Dean Indicted on Bribery Charges \u2014 \u201cYour wish is my command.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LOS ANGELES A federal grand jury indicted former L.A. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas along with the former USC dean for taking bribes in exchange for\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Justice Notebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-14T01:09:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-14T02:40:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/download-11.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"168\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=48213#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=48213\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Raul\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0\"},\"headline\":\"L.A. Councilman and Ex-USC Dean Indicted on Bribery Charges \u2014 \u201cYour wish is my command.\u201d\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-14T01:09:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-14T02:40:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=48213\"},\"wordCount\":1627,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=48213#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/download-11.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"U.S. Department of Justice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=48213#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=48213\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=48213\",\"name\":\"L.A. Councilman and Ex-USC Dean Indicted on Bribery Charges \u2014 \u201cYour wish is my command.\u201d\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=48213#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=48213#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/download-11.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-14T01:09:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-14T02:40:37+00:00\",\"description\":\"LOS ANGELES A federal grand jury indicted former L.A. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas along with the former USC dean for taking bribes in exchange for\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=48213\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=48213#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/download-11.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/download-11.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":168},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Justice Notebook\",\"description\":\"&quot;Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.&quot; \u2014  Thomas Jefferson\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"American Justice Notebook\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/07\\\/Justice-Scales.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/07\\\/Justice-Scales.jpg\",\"width\":675,\"height\":231,\"caption\":\"American Justice Notebook\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/AmericanJusticeNotebook\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0\",\"name\":\"Raul\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Raul\"},\"description\":\"Raul Hernandez is a former journalist. He has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than 30 years at the El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso Times, Press Enterprise in Riverside, California and the Ventura County Star in California. He was a court reporter for more than 20 years.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"L.A. Councilman and Ex-USC Dean Indicted on Bribery Charges \u2014 \u201cYour wish is my command.\u201d","description":"LOS ANGELES A federal grand jury indicted former L.A. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas along with the former USC dean for taking bribes in exchange for","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"L.A. Councilman and Ex-USC Dean Indicted on Bribery Charges \u2014 \u201cYour wish is my command.\u201d","og_description":"LOS ANGELES A federal grand jury indicted former L.A. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas along with the former USC dean for taking bribes in exchange for","og_url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213","og_site_name":"American Justice Notebook","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook","article_published_time":"2021-10-14T01:09:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-10-14T02:40:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":168,"url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/download-11.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Raul","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Raul","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213"},"author":{"name":"Raul","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0"},"headline":"L.A. Councilman and Ex-USC Dean Indicted on Bribery Charges \u2014 \u201cYour wish is my command.\u201d","datePublished":"2021-10-14T01:09:01+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-14T02:40:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213"},"wordCount":1627,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/download-11.jpg","articleSection":["U.S. Department of Justice"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213","name":"L.A. Councilman and Ex-USC Dean Indicted on Bribery Charges \u2014 \u201cYour wish is my command.\u201d","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/download-11.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-14T01:09:01+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-14T02:40:37+00:00","description":"LOS ANGELES A federal grand jury indicted former L.A. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas along with the former USC dean for taking bribes in exchange for","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=48213#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/download-11.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/download-11.jpg","width":300,"height":168},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/","name":"American Justice Notebook","description":"&quot;Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.&quot; \u2014  Thomas Jefferson","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization","name":"American Justice Notebook","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales.jpg","width":675,"height":231,"caption":"American Justice Notebook"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0","name":"Raul","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","caption":"Raul"},"description":"Raul Hernandez is a former journalist. He has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than 30 years at the El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso Times, Press Enterprise in Riverside, California and the Ventura County Star in California. He was a court reporter for more than 20 years.","sameAs":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48213"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48232,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48213\/revisions\/48232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}