Former USC official pleads guilty in college bribery scheme

BOSTON (AP) — A former athletics official at the University of Southern California has pleaded guilty to her role in the college admissions bribery scandal. The Boston Globe reports that Donna Heinel made her plea Friday in U.S. District Court in Boston to one count of honest services wire fraud. She is the California school’s former senior associate athletic director. Court documents show that prosecutors agreed to drop several other charges in exchange for her guilty plea. An indictment accused Heinel of taking bribes to designate students as recruited athletes even though they weren’t qualified.