He attended California State University, Dominguez Hills, earning his bachelor's degree in Economics and Business Administration with honors.

After completing law school, Richards took a position at the City of Compton, California as an executive level administrator and special legal counsel.

Richards drafted the Developer Relations Guidelines that helped to resolve issues within the City and its Redevelopment Agency.

While mayor, Richards was credited with presiding over Lynwood's economic turnaround and reducing crime and blight; while also being criticized for nepotism and allegations of corruption.

[16] In the November 1997 election, he became the sole African-American on the Lynwood City Council after Robert Henning was defeated in his re-election bid.

[17] Richards became embroiled in a significant legal scandal that culminated in his conviction and sentencing on federal bribery and kickback charges.

Richards' political career came to a dramatic halt when he was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme to defraud the city of Lynwood.

This scheme involved extortion, money laundering, and honest services fraud, which were all tied to the bribery and kickback offenses.

[3] Two other people, Paula Cameo Harris (Richards' sister) and Bevan Atlee Thomas, received six- and ten-year sentences, respectively.