Nation IN BRIEF : MASSACHUSETTS : Tsongas Fund Raiser Accused of Stealing

The chief fund raiser for Paul E. Tsongas’ presidential campaign was charged in Boston with siphoning $1 million in campaign loans and contributions into a bank account for his own use. Nicholas A. Rizzo Jr., a longtime personal friend of Tsongas and a fund raiser for the presidential campaigns of Jimmy Carter, Walter F. Mondale and Richard A. Gephardt, pleaded not guilty to a 46-count federal indictment and was released on $100,000 bail. Rizzo, 59, was accused of using campaign money to repay personal loans and illegal gambling debts, to prop up his consulting business and for other expenses, including purchases of women’s clothing and visits to what prosecutors called an adult entertainment center.