July 23, 1999
Web posted at: 3:07 p.m. EDT (1907 GMT)

• Fonovisa execs admit guilt in payola case
• Pinky Tuscadero has run-in with law
• Smithsonian makes historic changes to latest Mel Gibson movie
• Hillary Clinton epitomizes 'girl power,' teen opera star says

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Two top executives at largest independent U.S. Latin music label have reversed course and admitted to illegally paying radio stations to play the company's recordings -- a practice known as payola.

Jesus Gilberto Moreno and Guillermo Santiso, both executives at Fonovisa Inc., had pleaded not guilty last week to the federal charges. But their lawyer indicated his clients would change those pleas if their cases were consolidated. That happened on Thursday.

This is the first case involving a record company under federal payola statutes that were passed in the 1950s, following a series of radio airplay scandals, U.S. Attorney's office spokesman Thom Mrozek said.

Court documents indicate Moreno, Fonovisa's promotions chief, paid more than $1 million to radio stations from 1987 to 1998, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Santiso, Fonovisa's president, pleaded guilty to helping prepare a false 1996 tax return for Fonovisa's parent company, Univisa Inc.

Artists from the record label dominated Spanish-language airwaves in 1997 with songs from singers such as Enrique Iglesias and Marco Antonio Solis.

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The actress who played Fonzie's biker girlfriend Pinky Tuscadero on "Happy Days" might have to go to prison.

Roz Kelly pleaded no contest on Thursday to charges she fired a gun at a neighbor's home because she was angry about a car alarm. In exchange for the plea, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office planned to drop charges that she fired into two cars during the November incident.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 20. The actress is expected to undergo a 90-day evaluation to determine whether she should be placed on probation or sent to prison.

Gibson stars in the upcoming American Revolution drama "The Patriot"

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The Smithsonian Institution is planning to serve as a historical consultant on Mel Gibson's American Revolution drama "The Patriot."

The Smithsonian has wanted to share its staff's expertise with Hollywood for years, and "The Patriot," which will be released next summer, stood out as the first suitable project, said Marc Pachter, the Smithsonian's entertainment initiative chief.

Roland Emmerich, known for "Independence Day" and "Godzilla," is directing the film from a script written by Robert Rodat, of "Saving Private Ryan." Gibson stars in the movie, tentatively slated for summer 2000 release.

Already, the "Patriot" production crew has incorporated some of the Smithsonian's suggestions.

"We have seen real script changes. We got them to bring in new characters that represent the true diversity of the time," Pachter said.

Church

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- First lady Hillary Clinton is the "epitome of girl power," as far as 13-year-old opera sensation Charlotte Church is concerned.

"Spice Girls, eat your hearts out," the Welsh singer told USA Weekend magazine, before she was to perform for President and Mrs. Clinton as part of the ABC special "Celebration of American Song." It's slated to air Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.

Despite her first recording, "Voice of an Angel," becoming such a success, Church tells the magazine her friends and family keep her grounded. She says she loves movies (especially if they include Matt Damon or Gwyneth Paltrow), her Sony PlayStation and shoe shopping.

But she has her dreams -- like which celebrities she'd sing with if given the chance.

Her list includes Grammy winner Lauryn Hill, "Wild Wild West" star Will Smith, the all-female British band All Saints, and two of the three tenors -- Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.