A San Luis Obispo real estate developer is facing federal charges of conspiracy, falsification of records, and obstruction of justice.
Ryan Wright, 37, also known as Ryan Petetit, is accused of paying a San Luis Obispo County supervisor more than $95,000 in bribes and gifts in exchange for official acts and votes that would benefit Wright's projects.
He was arrested Monday morning and arraigned in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
According to the indictment against him, between June 2014 and May 2017, Wright conspired with his business partner to bribe the supervisor. Those bribes included money, a leased Volvo, and a flight on a jet to watch a San Francisco Giants game. Wright allegedly funneled the bribes through the supervisor's consulting company.
Wright is also accused of presenting falsified records to the FBI when his development company was served with a federal grand jury subpoena.
While the indictment does not specifically name the county supervisor who allegedly took the bribes, it explains that FBI agents served search warrants at the supervisor's county office on March 11, 2020, which was the same day late supervisor Adam Hill was hospitalized for a suicide attempt.
Hill was found dead at his home on August 6, 2020. Nearly a year later, it was revealed that Hill had accepted thousands of dollars worth of bribes from cannabis business owner Helios Dayspring. Dayspring pleaded guilty to federal charges and was sentenced to 22 months in prison. In March 2023, he was released to community confinement.
If convicted of all charges, Wright faces a maximum sentence totaling 35 years in federal prison.
