Audit Finds No Systemic Corruption in LA County Contracting System

An audit of Los Angeles County contracting processes requested after former Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ indictment on fraud and bribery charges found no systemic pattern of corruption in the system, but auditors offered a series of recommendations for improving operations and oversight, according to a report that will be presented Tuesday.

Ridley-Thomas was convicted last year of conspiracy, bribery, honest services mail fraud and four counts of honest services wire fraud stemming from a scheme in which prosecutors said he backed county contracts for USC while accepting benefits for his son from the university. He was sentenced to three years and six months in federal prison, but remains free pending his appeal.

Following his indictment in 2021, when Ridley-Thomas was serving on the Los Angeles City Council, the county Board of Supervisors voted to hire an outside firm to conduct a thorough audit of the county’s contracting processes and policies. The board also called for a review of high-dollar contracts awarded by the county between 2008-2020 to check for possible improprieties.

In early 2022, the county hired the Covington law firm to conduct the audit.

According to a report set to be presented to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, the Covington analysis “did not reveal a pattern of corruption and fraud within the county service contracting process during the relevant period.” Auditors, however, identified several “process improvement opportunities in the county’s systems and controls.”

Among the issues cited were the lack of a “centralized repository of complete and accurate contracting data and documents for all contracts,” the absence of a thorough “due diligence and vetting process” for current and prospective contractors, and issues with contract monitoring across various county departments.

Auditors offered a series of recommendations for improvements, including:

• continue ongoing efforts to centralize contracting documents and data;
• enhance procedures to improve competition regarding contract awards and renewals;
• enhance contract monitoring procedures;
• implement standardized and robust due diligence process for current and prospective vendors;
• evaluate the Auditor-Controller’s resources; and
• review and enhance contractor accountability procedures.

The auditors also recommended that the county create a chief ethics and compliance officer, something the county is already working toward with the establishment of an Ethics Commission. The creation of an Ethics Commission and establishment of a compliance officer would also be codified in the county charter if voters approve Measure G on the Nov. 5 ballot.

The audit also calls for “contracting-specific” ethics and conflict-of-interest training for supervisors, deputies and other senior staff, among other recommendations.

Ridley-Thomas has continued to maintain his innocence, although during his sentencing hearing last year he apologized to his family and constituents for causing the “perception that I deviated from proper conduct.” He said the actions he took that resulted in his conviction were “ill-advised, but not illegal.”

The charges stemmed from what prosecutors called a quid pro quo arrangement between Ridley-Thomas and Marilyn Flynn, a former head of the USC School of Social Work, with the politician accused of steering county contracts toward the school in exchange for benefits provided to Ridley-Thomas’ son, former Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas.

Federal prosecutors based their case on a long string of emails and letters to bolster allegations that Ridley-Thomas and Flynn had an agreement in 2017 and 2018 in which Flynn arranged for Sebastian’s admission to USC, a full- tuition scholarship and a paid professorship in exchange for his father’s support for county proposals that would ostensibly shore up the school’s shoddy financial picture.

Flynn pleaded guilty to one count of bribery, admitting that she agreed to disguise and funnel $100,000 from the then-supervisor to USC, then to United Ways of California, which ultimately passed the money on to a nonprofit run by Sebastian.

She was sentenced last year to 18 months home confinement and ordered to pay a $150,000 fine.