Federal authorities investigating alleged union corruption have been examining a labor coalition's backing of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas' 2008 campaign and whether his supporters illegally used city property and a nonprofit group in his earlier runs for office, people familiar with the matter say.
In addition, investigators have questioned people about whether Ridley-Thomas played any improper role in the hiring of a longtime associate by a contractor building the Expo Line rail project, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the inquiries.
No charges have been brought against Ridley-Thomas or the associate, Cynthia McClain-Hill, and federal officials declined to comment.
Ridley-Thomas did not respond to Times interview requests. McClain-Hill, a lawyer who owns a lobbying firm and has contributed thousands of dollars to Ridley-Thomas' campaigns, said he had nothing to do with her being retained as a consultant by the three-company venture constructing the Expo Line that will run from downtown L.A. to Culver City. Ridley-Thomas sits on the board overseeing the enterprise.
"I have provided a great deal of advice to Supervisor Ridley-Thomas," said McClain-Hill, referring generally to their relationship. "I exercise the very best judgment that I can to avoid conflicts of interest."
Last year, Ridley-Thomas' opponent in the supervisorial election, Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks, urged local and federal officials to investigate any links between Ridley-Thomas and a local labor boss, Tyrone Freeman. He did so after The Times reported on Freeman's spending practices when he was president of a Los Angeles chapter of the Service Employees International Union. The Times accounts focused on union money paid to Freeman's relatives, and did not address Ridley-Thomas.
Sources say Parks' office later gave investigators the names of people to be interviewed. Parks told The Times that he has merely advised those who might be contacted by authorities to be truthful, and that he had "no personal knowledge" about any probe.
At least two people have told the federal authorities and an investigator for the city's Ethics Commission that they saw political work performed at a city-owned building for Ridley-Thomas' Assembly race in 2002 and his campaign for Los Angeles City Council in 1999, according to sources. The building is leased from the city for $1 a year by the nonprofit group Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education, or SCOPE.
