I remember how it was -- JR
Operation 'Varsity Blues' goes to trial: College admissions scandal
Two parents are set to go on trial in the 'Operation Varsity Blues' scheme, which involved wealthy parents paying large sums of money to get their kids admitted into elite universities.
John B. Wilson, 62, and Gamal Aziz, 64, will appear before a jury in the US District Court in Boston Wednesday, two-and-a-half years after the scheme was exposed as a national college admissions scandal.
They are among the 57 parents charged over the scheme but 46, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Laughlin made plea deals.
Wilson, who is the founder of Hyannis Port Capital, is accused paying more than $1.7 million to California college admissions consultant William 'Rick' Singer - the criminal mastermind behind the entire scheme.
John B. Wilson, 62, and Gamal Aziz, 64, will appear before a jury in the US District Court in Boston Wednesday, two-and-a-half years after the scheme was exposed as a national college admissions scandal.
He has been charged with filing a false tax return, money laundering conspiracy, and federal programs bribery in relation to the scandal, which came to light in March 2019 following a widespread FBI investigation.
Between 2014 and 2018, Wilson allegedly paid Singer to fraudulently procure admission for his three children to attend the University of Southern California, Stanford, and Harvard universities as athletic recruits.
Wilson, however, has pleaded not guilty to his charges, saying his three children were admitted to the elite colleges on their own merit.
Aziz, the former CEO of Wynn Macau Limited and MGM Resorts International, is accused of shelling out $300,000 to Singer in 2018 in an attempt to get his daughter fraudulently admitted to USC as a basketball recruit.
According to prosecutors, both parents allegedly conspired to commit mail and wire fraud, in addition to committing bribery related to federally funded programs with Singer. Singer then used the payments to bribe college coaches and administrators.
In April, Wilson filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix over their feature-length documentary about the investigation titled 'Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal'. Wilson is mentioned in the film, which also features a re-enactment of his arrest.
Wilson's attorney, Howard Cooper, told Bloomberg his client's inclusion in the documentary gives 'the false and defamatory impression that the Wilsons engaged in conduct to which others have pled guilty such as having a non-athlete child apply to college as an athlete, photo-shopping pictures to fake their athleticism, and having others take college admissions tests for their children.'
It is unclear how much money Wilson is seeking in damages from the streaming service.
Singer, who began cooperating with the government in 2018, secretly began recording calls with the parents who hired him.
He pleaded guilty in 2019 to facilitating cheating on college entrance exams and using bribery to secure the admission of students to colleges as fake athletic recruits.
While it's possible Singer may not testify, prosecutors said they might rely on recordings of his calls with the parents and e-mails they exchanged, according to a filed pretrial memorandum.
Wilson and Aziz are among 57 people charged in the far-reaching college admissions bribery scheme, which also includes 'Desperate Housewives' star Felicity Huffman and 'Full House' star Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli.
Loughlin and her husband admitted to their roles in the scheme last May when they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud.
Loughlin was sentenced to two months in jail and Giannulli was sentenced to five months behind bars.
Giannulli and Loughlin's plea deals came after months of them insisting they had done no wrong.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9967025/Operation-Varsity-Blues-goes-trial.html
**************************************Auburn honors 13 US service members killed in Kabul airport attack
The Auburn University football team began its season Saturday by honoring the 13 American service members killed in the Kabul airport attacks.
The school reserved 13 seats for the game and embellished them with military hats and displays of those who died to help rescue American citizens and Afghan allies.
"These men and women sacrificed so much for our country," said Dan Heck, Auburn's assistant athletic director of marketing. "We thought this is the least that we could do to sacrifice and honor those men and women who did so much for our country."
Heck alluded to the "Auburn Creed," which he said inspires a notion of patriotism in the school's students and fans.
"In that creed, it talks about our country and freedom and why that's important," he told Fox News. "And our students — it's something they strive for every day."
"We call it the Auburn family, and the Auburn family really has always come together to support our troops and our military," he continued.
https://news.yahoo.com/auburn-honors-13-us-members-193900865.html
***************************************Fairfax teachers win $32.7 million bonus for “extraordinary” at-home work during pandemic
Virginia's largest school district is paying teachers $32.7 million in bonuses for their "extraordinary contributions and sacrifices" during the coronavirus pandemic, which they spent primarily working from home.
Fairfax County Public Schools allocated federal coronavirus relief funds to reward teachers, bus drivers, and other staff, school board member Ricardy Anderson announced Friday. District teachers lobbied successfully to keep schools closed even after it was safe to reopen. Fairfax County did not return to a full in-person schedule during the 2020-2021 school year.
Dee O'Neal, a Fairfax County parent who leads the Open FCPS Coalition, said not all teachers deserve bonuses.
"The union members who pushed to stay home are not deserving of this bonus," O'Neal told the Washington Free Beacon. She said bonuses were appropriate for teachers who pushed to reopen schools and "whose voices were drowned out by the lazy asses who wanted to stay home."
Fairfax County Federation of Teachers was one of many teachers' unions across the country that used the pandemic for personal gain. The group secured a virtual option for all teachers during the 2020-2021 school year and demanded "proactive school closures" as part of its demands to reopen.
Fairfax Education Association president Kimberly Adams said at a January school board meeting that students should receive the coronavirus vaccine before returning to the classroom, though the FDA only approved the Pfizer vaccine for students over the age of 12 in May.
The Fairfax County School Board approved the district's plan to spend the $188.6 million it received in federal Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief funds in July. In addition to the onetime bonuses for teachers, the district will use the money to fund coronavirus mitigation strategies and address pandemic-related learning loss. The district will also direct relief funds to increase bus driver wages to $22.91 per hour.
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http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
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