August 8, 2007

Arrest in university bribery case

Associated Press

FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) - A former admissions clerk at the California State University, Fullerton is suspected of taking a bribe to speed the applications of 2 foreign citizens.

Fifty-four year-old Cathleen Louise Smith of Placentia was arrested by campus police on July 16.

She has told the Los Angeles Times that she accepted $2,000 to speed the applications of 2 Kuwaiti brothers.

However, she said both brothers were academically eligible and she considered the money to be a gift.

Smith had worked at the university since 1981 but is no longer with the school.

"I worked there for a very long time for very little money," she said.

Smith also faces charges of methamphetamine possession. She has been released on a $20,000 bond.