UPDATE 1-No Mexican getaway for executive charged in U.S. college admissions scandal

A federal judge on Friday nixed the international family vacation plans of a former senior executive at private equity firm TPG Capital charged in connection with the U.S. college admissions scandal, saying he posed a flight risk. Bill McGlashan, who prosecutors say was among the wealthy parents who engaged in fraud and bribery schemes to help get their children into colleges, had sought to proceed with a pre-planned family vacation to Mexico.

Jack Pirozzolo, his lawyer, argued in federal court in Boston that denying his client the ability to leave the country for a trip he planned months ago just because of the charges filed against him on March 12 was "entirely punitive." But Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen opposed the request, saying McGlashan was aware of the "overwhelming" evidence against him. He argued McGlashan could instead vacation domestically, like at his $12 million home in Big Sky, Montana.

U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley sided with Rosen, saying she saw "some risk of flight" posed by the former private equity executive's travel plans. "I'm sorry to disappoint the family, but I'm not going to allow the vacation," she said.

McGlashan, 55, was among 15 parents who on Friday made their initial court appearances before Kelley who reviewed their bail conditions and warned them to not discuss the case with co-defendants and potential witnesses, including their children. Fifty people, including the actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, have been charged with participating in the scheme, headed by college admissions counseling service operator Rick Singer.

Prosecutors said the California consultant helped parents use bribes and cheating to illegally secure admission for their children to universities including Yale University, the University of Southern California and Georgetown University. Some $25 million in bribes were paid to coaches who helped Singer's clients secure spots for their children as fake athletic prospects, prosecutors said.

Singer also facilitated cheating on college entrance exams, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty on March 12 to charges including racketeering conspiracy and is cooperating with investigators. Prosecutors alleged that McGlashan paid Singer's foundation $50,000 in exchange for having an associate correct his son's answers on an ACT college entrance exam at a test center that Singer "controlled."

McGlashan also conspired to pay $250,000 in order to bribe an official at the University of Southern California and have his son admitted to the school as fake football recruit, prosecutors said. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; editing by Chris Reese and Tom Brown)