An independent investigation ordered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors found no evidence of corruption and fraud during the period former Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas served on the board.
Ridley-Thomas, who served a dozen years on the Board of Supervisors and more than 12 nonconcurrent years on L.A. City Council, was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison in 2023 for voting in favor of contracts benefiting USC in exchange for favors involving his son, Sebastian, a student at the time.
Law firm Covington & Burling presented the report and investigation Tuesday, revealing that while the board did not show any apparent corruption or fraud at large, the county still has substantive ways to go to develop “improvement opportunities in the County’s systems and controls.”
The report states that investigators reviewed over 13,800 documents, including those provided by USC, and also conducted 60 interviews with current and former county and USC employees.
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in an emailed statement that the report emphasized the importance of county charter reforms she and Supervisor Janice Hahn introduced in July.
“The Covington report makes clear that an Ethics and Compliance Officer is needed in Los Angeles County,” Horvath said in an emailed statement. “With a $49 billion budget and as the region’s largest employer, it’s imperative that Los Angeles County safeguard the public’s trust by adopting accountability best practices that exist in other governments, corporations, and organizations our size.”
The reforms – now known as Measure G – are on the ballot in Tuesday’s general election. If passed, it will create an elected county executive, expand the board to nine seats and establish ethics reforms, including introducing an ethics and compliance officer.
Another issue highlighted by the report is the “revolving door” policy between county employees and lobbyists.
Jamie York, a former nominee to the L.A. City Ethics Commission, said from an ethics perspective, the last thing the county should want is somebody working for them and then immediately leaving to lobby the county on issues they’ve worked on.
However, the report’s timing with Measure G’s status during Tuesday’s election leaves room for a rapid transition between the current status quo and reforms, both in the measure and those in motion – like creating an ethics commission for the county.
“It feels like they’re trying to build the plane while they’re flying it,” York said.
The report also recommends that the county avoid no-bid contracts. According to the report, the investigation found that there was often an absence of a vetting process for county contractors and a lack of documentation regarding their justification and verification.
York said the problem with no-bid contracts is that they are usually more about “who you know” or rushing a process rather than taking time to “solve a problem” that may need to be addressed by finding the right contractor for the job.
Supervisor Hilda Solis said in the meeting that while she agrees with the report’s recommendations, she hopes the board can help guide the county’s employees to prevent future missteps or errors relating to the contracting process that led Ridley-Thomas to abuse the system.
“It is a really sobering report,” Solis said in the meeting.
While the county is only now addressing its needs regarding ethics and corruption in its charter, the city of L.A. established its own ethics commission in 1990.
“It seems to be like the county needs to catch up to the city of L.A., at least in terms of establishment and institutions,” York said. “But I think both entities have a long way to go in getting the people’s trust back.”