NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : HUD Scandal Figure Enters Guilty Plea

Elaine Richardson, an assistant to former Sen. Edward W. Brooke, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting false statements by Brooke to investigators in the HUD influence-peddling scandal. Her plea agreement said she remained silent while Brooke falsely stated that neither he nor Richardson tried to influence a HUD official to allocate housing units to an owner-developer who was Brooke’s client. Brooke was a private lawyer when he and Richardson were questioned by investigators in 1988, and he has not been charged. She faces a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.