USC’s Former Dean’s “Staycation” 😂: Home Confinement for Bribery? 🤑

TL:DR; A once-respected dean at the University of Southern California is set for a 1.5-year home confinement 🏠 (Netflix binge, anyone? 🍿) after bribing an LA County supervisor. Guess what? All in the quest for a profitable contract renewal. 📄💰

Home sweet home, right? 🏠 For Marilyn Flynn, this phrase will take on a whole new meaning. Why? Flynn, 84, the erstwhile dean of USC’s School of Social Work, will now be chilling at home for the next 18 months. Her crime? Dishing out some hefty bribes to ensure her university gets a piece of the financial pie. 🍰

Hold up 🖐️. Can we just pause and imagine this? Here’s a top academic from a renowned university, who went rogue! Is this an episode of Breaking Bad or what? 🤨

Flynn’s journey into the shadows 🌒 of bribery began in 2018. As dean from 1997 to 2018, she apparently missed her Business Ethics 101 classes. She devised an “innovative” plan to channel $100,000, provided by none other than Mark Ridley-Thomas from his campaign stash, right through USC and into a nonprofit managed by his son. 🤦

In exchange? Ridley-Thomas would back up county contracts for USC’s School of Social Work. I mean, who wouldn’t love millions of extra dollars, am I right? 🤷‍♂️

Now, here’s where it gets juicier 🍊. Ridley-Thomas’ son, Sebastian, who just so happened to have resigned from the state assembly after some…ahem…allegations, got a cool $100,000 for his organization. That’s not all folks! He also pocketed a $26,000 graduate scholarship for 2018 and a tempting offer of a teaching gig, which, by the way, would’ve gone against the school’s policies. I mean, why not, right? 🙄

But Ridley-Thomas Senior isn’t exactly a choir boy either. He’s worn many hats: LA City Council member, California State senator, state Assembly member. Oh, and add to that, convict of federal corruption charges. What’s next for him? A potential vacay behind bars. 🏢

In a courtroom drama that sounds like it’s straight out of a movie, Flynn expressed her profound embarrassment and the regret she feels for the ruckus caused to USC. 🎬

Ending with the ultimate cliffhanger:
So, esteemed readers, we’ve spilled all the tea 🍵, now it’s your turn. How do you feel about this top academic’s home confinement? And the bigger question: Is home confinement a worthy “punishment” or just an extended staycation? 🤔👇