CEO of Liquor Company Agrees to Plead Guilty in College Admission Case | New

A Hillsborough relative and CEO of a California liquor distribution company has agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge for fraudulently securing his son’s admission to the University of Southern California.

Marci Palatella, 66, CEO of International Beverage in Burlingame and co-owner of the Kentucky-based preservation distillery with her husband, former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Lou Palatella, plans to plead guilty to a prominent conspiracy count of committing honest service mail fraud, the US District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts announced Tuesday. No date has been set for his sentencing hearing.

Palatelle arranged with William “Rick” Singer, college placement test consultant, and others to pay $ 500,000 to have his son admitted to USC as a football rookie. He was not actually considered and would not play for the college football team, according to court documents.

Palatella allegedly wired $ 75,000 to the Key Worldwide Foundation, an organization created by Singer to launder bribes, for Florida resident Mark Riddell to take his son’s SAT exam and correct his answers in 2017. She eventually paid $ 500,000 to have her son portrayed as a purported football rookie at USC. She reportedly paid $ 100,000 to Donna Heinel, USC’s associate senior athletic director at the time, who nominated the boy for the college’s athletic admissions subcommittee and obtained approval from the university. admit as a recruit, according to court documents.

Prosecutors argue that Palatella also agreed in a 2018 phone call with Singer to mislead the IRS if anyone inquired about his payments to the foundation, according to the indictment. She has faced charges of Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Electronic Fraud and Fair Service Mail and Electronic Fraud; conspiracy to corrupt federal programs; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. His trial was scheduled to begin on September 13.