Politicians behaving badly, part one

The North County Times pulled its endorsement for Vista City Council candidate Mario Carrillo after a San Diego Union-Tribune reporter found he'd inflated his educational experience. Carrillo had touted in his campaign materials and at council meetings that he had a bachelor's and master's degree. Turns out, the degrees came from a well-known diploma mill.

From the U-T story:

Shaftesbury University is part of a consortium of unaccredited universities called the University Degree Programs run by Jason and Caroline Abraham starting in the 1990s. According to the 2004 Chronicle of Higher Education article, sales people at call centers in Romania and Israel recruited students over the telephone. In the past, recipients of their degrees have been prosecuted for fraud in connection with the use of the degrees for employment.

Carrillo might have fibbed about his music accomplishments, too, and could lose other endorsements over the affair, the U-T reports.

Echoes of Christine O'Donnell, eh?