LOS ANGELES _ William "Rick" Singer was already deep into running a college admissions scam at the University of Southern California when he tried to smooth talk the university's athletic director, Pat Haden, over coffee at the Los Angeles Country Club.
Working under Haden's nose, Singer had been bribing USC coaches and one of Haden's top administrators for coveted admission slots that he sold to his wealthy clients, according to federal prosecutors.
But Singer had never met Haden, a legendary figure at USC who wielded enormous influence as the head of its vaunted sports program. A word from Haden could help a kid get in to USC, and that kind of pull, for Singer, was gold.
So, in May 2015, Singer leaned on an old client who knew Haden to make an introduction.
Haden, it turned out, had a different agenda.
USC is now at the center of the sprawling college admissions scandal, in which actresses, tech figures and corporate power brokers were accused of hiring Singer to bribe and cheat their children into elite colleges. While Singer had toeholds on numerous campuses, USC stands out: Four members of the school's athletic department and 19 parents of USC students were charged in the case.
Singer's courtship of Haden, pieced together through interviews and emails reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, offers a rare window into how Singer attempted to make inroads deep into USC's senior leadership in apparent hopes of furthering his scheme to get the children of the wealthy into top colleges.
It also shows how Haden saw Singer as an unwitting conduit to one of Los Angeles' richest men, underscoring the relentless focus on fundraising so prevalent throughout the university.
Haden has remained silent about the scandal, except for a brief statement he issued last month. In it, he said only that he had met Singer once and denied knowing anything about the man's illegal dealings.
Haden, 66, declined to comment for this story. A source close to Haden, who requested anonymity, said Haden has no recollection of meeting Singer at the country club or a subsequent meeting because they were brief encounters among thousands of meetings and events Haden attended during his time as USC's athletic director.
Singer, who has pleaded guilty in the federal case and is awaiting sentencing, declined to comment through his attorney.
