LOS ANGELES — A former University of Southern California dean agreed Thursday to plead guilty to bribery, admitting that she arranged an illicit $100,000 payment for Mark Ridley-Thomas when he was on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in return for a USC contract with the county.
Marilyn Flynn, 83, who was dean of USC’s School of Social Work from 1997 to 2018, struck a plea agreement with federal prosecutors that was filed in court late Thursday.
Her admission of guilt strikes a major blow to Ridley-Thomas, now a Los Angeles city councilman who has been suspended while he awaits trial on federal bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges. It was not immediately clear whether Flynn had agreed to testify against Ridley-Thomas.
