August 8, 2007

Former University Admissions Clerk Accused Of Taking Bribes
Campus Police Make Arrest Following Internal Investigation

FULLERTON, Calif. -- A former admissions clerk at Cal State Fullerton has been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes to fast-track foreign students' applications, it was reported Wednesday.

Cathleen Louise Smith was arrested by campus police July 16 after an internal investigation revealed coding irregularities on applications, university spokeswoman Paula Selleck told the Los Angeles Times.

Smith, 54, who also was arrested on suspicion of methamphetamine possession, is no longer at the university. She was released on $20,000 bond.

"She is suspected of taking a bribe for . . . putting (an application) on the top of the pile, as opposed to whenever it would have ordinarily arrived," Selleck told The Times.

Interviewed outside her Placentia home Tuesday night, Smith conceded that she had taken $2,000 to speed two Kuwaiti brothers' admissions into the university but said both students were academically eligible.

She told The Times that she considered the money gifts and said she was a widow with three children.

Smith also said she was accused of changing grades but denied it, asserting she didn't know how to do it.

One police complete an investigation, the findings will be presented to the district attorney's office, which will decide whether to file charges.