Central Coast real estate developer accused of bribing county supervisor

A Central Coast real estate developer with a violent criminal record has been arrested again, this time on charges that he bribed an elected official.

Ryan Wright, 37, who goes by “Ryan Petetit,” was arrested Monday on a three-count federal indictment, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.

He faces charges of conspiracy, falsification of records and obstruction of justice.

From at least June 2014 to May 2017, federal prosecutors say Wright conspired with his business partner to bribe an unnamed San Luis Obispo County supervisor to win approval for his real estate projects.

The money and gifts totaled more than $95,000 and included a trip for the supervisor to see a Major League Baseball playoff game involving the San Francisco Giants, prosecutors allege.

“To conceal the scheme, in response to a federal grand jury subpoena served on his development company, Wright allegedly caused the company to produce falsified records to the FBI,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

If convicted, Wright would face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy count, 10 years for the obstruction of justice count, and up to 20 years in federal prison for the falsification of records count, according to the DOJ.

In 2019, Wright was ordered to serve 270 days in jail after pleading guilty in a domestic violence case where he was accused of choking a woman and smashing her head through a bathroom glass window, The Tribune reported.

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