Marilyn Flynn formally pleaded guilty to bribery in a downtown L.A. federal courtroom.
For more than two decades leading USC’s social work school, Marilyn Flynn seemed like the model university dean.
Flynn, 83, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of bribery, admitting that in her desire to secure the renewal of an L.A. County contract for USC’s online mental health clinic, she had agreed to route money from then-Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas to his son’s newly formed nonprofit. Citing the pandemic’s impact on healthcare and the wider adoption of virtual appointments, Podberesky called her client a “visionary,” adding, “Telehealth has turned out to be quite an important tool for all of us.”
Flynn’s plea strikes a blow to Ridley-Thomas’ reputation, with his co-defendant now admitting to joining a bribery scheme in which both had an “implicit” understanding. But prosecutors could still introduce evidence related to Bass , now a front-runner for mayor. The congresswoman accepted a full scholarship from Flynn in 2011 during her first term in office and later proposed legislation with “input” from the dean. The U.S. attorney’s office in L.A. said earlier this month that Bass was not “a target or a subject of our office’s investigation.”