Former USC athletics official pleads guilty in college admissions scandal
LOS ANGELES — Donna Heinel, a former athletics department official at the University of Southern California, pleaded guilty Friday in the college admissions bribery scandal, admitting she helped get students into the school by passing them off as elite athletes.
At a court hearing held remotely Friday, federal prosecutors in Boston told U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani they would seek a prison sentence of between three and four years. As part of the plea deal she made with prosecutors, Heinel will forfeit nearly $300,000 she received as part of the admission scam, court records show.
Heinel’s decision to plead guilty to a fraud charge and forgo a trial marks a significant victory for the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts, which upended the elite ranks of higher education in 2019 when it unveiled a sprawling investigation dubbed Operation Varsity Blues. Dozens of wealthy parents, university coaches and others were charged in the case for allegedly working with the scheme’s admitted mastermind, William “Rick” Singer, to sneak undeserving kids into USC and other top schools.
Of the 57 people charged, Heinel was one of a remaining few who had maintained their innocence. Prosecutors portrayed Heinel, 60, as playing a crucial role in Singer’s operation. As a liaison between USC’s admissions office and the school’s vaunted athletics department, she was accused of hoodwinking admissions officials about children of Singer’s clients by presenting them as top-level athletes the school’s coaches wanted on their teams.
Among the many students Heinel is accused of pushing through the admissions process was a daughter of actress Lori Loughlin and designer Mossimo Giannulli.
—Los Angeles Times
Albany DA casts criminal groping charges against Cuomo as ‘potentially defective,’ moves arraignment to January
ALBANY, N.Y. — The criminal groping case against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo may be falling apart as prosecutors raised serious concerns Friday about the charges and pushed a scheduled arraignment back to January.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares wrote that criminal filings by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, which unexpectedly filed a misdemeanor sex offense against Cuomo last week, are “potentially defective.”
He cited the legal problems facing the case in a request, which was granted, to push Cuomo’s court appearance from next week to Jan. 7.
“We were in the middle of that investigation when the Sheriff unilaterally and inexplicably filed a complaint in this Court,” Soares wrote in his appeal to move back the court date.
The prosecutor noted that there was no sworn testimony from Cuomo’s alleged victim and that the complaint misstates relevant law.
In his application, Soares also notes that there is testimony from the victim that could potentially clear Cuomo of wrongdoing.
A footnote indicates that “a transcript of the victim’s statement given in a separate proceeding” that was excluded from the criminal complaint has been provided to Cuomo’s counsel “due to its exculpatory nature.”
Sheriff Craig Apple admitted last week that he failed to coordinate with Soares’ office and said during a news conference he was surprised when the filing was made public and “would have liked” to have spoken with prosecutors, as well as Cuomo’s attorney beforehand.
“It’s unfortunate that it came so fast, but again, criminal investigations don’t always go how you want,” Apple said.
Cuomo, 63, resigned two months ago after a damning report from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office detailed multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
—New York Daily News
Thunberg leads thousands in climate protest in Glasgow
LONDON — Greta Thunberg declared the COP26 climate summit a "greenwash festival" as she addressed thousands of young climate activists in Glasgow, Scotland.
The environmental campaigner told the crowd that the climate summit has been a "failure."
Following a march of thousands of protesters from Kelvingrove Park to George Square, passing the COP26 venue at the SEC on the way, Thunberg said world leaders are "fighting to maintain business as usual."
She said: "This is no longer a climate conference.
"This is now a global north greenwash festival, a two-week long celebration of business as usual and blah blah blah.
"The most affected people in the most affected areas still remain unheard and the voices of future generations are drowning in their greenwash and empty words and promises.
"But the facts do not lie. And we know that our emperors are naked."
Thunberg added: "The question we must now ask ourselves is, what is it that we are fighting for? Are we fighting to save ourselves and the living planet? Or are we fighting to maintain business as usual?
"Our leaders say that we can have both, but the harsh truth is that that is not possible in practice."
—PA Media/dpa
