Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas sued the city July 28 over the decision to suspend his pay and benefits following his indictment in a federal corruption case.
The lawsuit names City Controller Ron Galperin and alleges that Galperin’s decision was “unauthorized, unlawful and politicized.” It seeks a ruling to strike down the decision as unlawful, along with attorneys’ fees.
Ridley-Thomas was suspended from the council last October after his indictment.
Chelsea Lucktenberg, Galperin’s director of communications, declined comment Thursday, citing pending litigation. But in a statement after suspending Ridley-Thomas’s pay last year, Galperin said he “could not use city money to pay the salary of an elected official facing federal bribery and fraud charges who is now legally unable to do his job.”…