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TMZ.comLori Loughlin[1] and husband Mossimo Giannulli have a secret weapon in their college admissions criminal case -- the former head of the USC athletics department, who made it clear during his tenure -- the school gave him a clear directive to raise money, and lots of it.
As we reported, our sources say Lori and Mossimo will NOT plea bargain ... they are determined to win at trial. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, one of the key witnesses could be former Athletic Director Pat Haden, who is on video from 2011 talking about his mission from the University to fundraise.
We're told at its core Lori and Mossimo's defense is that they did NOT bribe the former Senior Associate Athletic Director Donna Heinel, something the U.S. Attorney disputes. Thing is ... we found out Mossimo did indeed send Heinel a check for $50,000 but it could not have been a bribe because the payee was USC. That money was sent at the direction of the ringleader, Rick Singer.
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Singer also told Mossimo to give him a check for $200,000, to help fund one of Singer's charities. Again, not a bribe.
The U.S. Attorney says the smoking gun is that Heinel received $20,000 a month from Rick Singer, which prosecutors say is proof of a bribe. The thing about this ... both of Lori's daughters were accepted BEFORE Heinel received a penny, and our sources say that money was sent to her only by Singer and for various things Heinel did for several families. But, Lori and Mossimo's position is that whatever Singer did in terms of paying money, he did on his own.
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