Test taker gets prison; coach convicted in admissions scam
BOSTON » A former Florida prep school administrator was sentenced to federal prison and a decorated water polo coach at the University of Southern California was swiftly convicted by a jury in a busy Friday in Boston federal court in the long running college admissions bribery scandal.
Mark Riddell, who was paid handsomely to take college entrance exams for wealthy students, was handed a four-month prison sentence, ordered to serve two years of supervised release and forfeit nearly $240,000.
Meanwhile, former USC coach Jovan Vavic, who faked the athletic credentials of rich students so they could gain admission, was convicted on all three counts of fraud and bribery he faced after a jury deliberated less than a day following his nearly monthlong trial.
U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Rachael Rollins said the verdict in Vavic’s trial represents the final conviction in the headline grabbing case dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues.”
The investigation announced in 2019 exposed corruption in the college admissions process at Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and other sought-after schools, and implicated wealthy and connected parents, including actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin and Loughlin’s fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli. top of the West Coast Conference.
Lavin, 57, who was an NCAA Tournament regular as coach at UCLA and St. John’s, said he told his new team that he missed being on a college campus and the camaraderie with the players and staff.
“When you’re a broadcaster, you’re undefeated,” Lavin said at a campus news conference. “That’s wonderful, to be undefeated, but that’s not the same experience. This has more meaning. That’s why, almost like an extended sabbatical, I enjoyed my time in television but I ultimately want to come back to coaching because I miss it.”
Lavin was hired after extensive interviews with Toreros athletic director Bill McGillis during the Final Four in New Orleans. The two flew back to San Diego together on Wednesday night, when the school announced the hiring.