LOS ANGELES (AP) – A former professor at the University of Southern California was sentenced to 1 1/2 years of home detention Monday for bribing a Los Angeles County executive in exchange for a lucrative contract renewal.
Marilyn Flynn was also ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution. U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer said he considered sending Flynn to prison but decided on home detention, noting that the former student took responsibility for his actions.
Flynn, 84, was a faculty member of the USC School of Social Work from 1997 to 2018. He pleaded guilty last year to a federal bribery charge. Prosecutors say that in 2018, he devised a scheme to funnel $100,000 that Mark Ridley-Thomas donated from university campaign funds to his son’s nonprofit.
Ridley-Thomas offered to support county contracts for USC’s School of Social Work that could have brought the institution millions of dollars in new revenue in return for helping her son, prosecutors said.
Sebastian Ridley-Thomas was a congressman who resigned on the last day of 2017 while facing allegations that he engaged in unwanted sex with Capitol staff. $100,000 went to his organization, known as Policy, Research and Action Level, prosecutors said.
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The son later received a $26,000 scholarship in 2018 and was offered a paid teaching position with a salary of $50,000, even though being a student and teacher would violate school policy, authorities said.
Mark Ridley-Thomas is also a member of the Los Angeles City Council, a California State Senator and a member of the state Assembly. In March, the council at that time was convicted of federal corruption charges. He could face years in prison when he is sentenced next month.
In his sentencing hearing, Flynn said he was “deeply ashamed” and deeply regretted the distress caused by USC’s “negligence”.
“I think I would never have imagined that in 50 years, the final stage would be in a misdemeanor conviction,” he said.
“A life of dedication and service is something that the courts don’t often see,” Fischer said, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. “It’s unfortunate that a brilliant career comes to an end (this way).”
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