Spilled Milk

Money, observed former presidential candidate Paul Tsongas as he withdrew from the race for the White House last March, is the mother’s milk of politics. According to federal officials, Tsongas’ chief fund raiser and longtime friend, Nicholas A. Rizzo Jr., illegally siphoned off a lot of that milk for himself in what appears to be the biggest campaign-fund fraud case in U.S. history. In a 46-count indictment, they accused Rizzo, 59, of illegally taking more than $1 million meant for the cash-starved Tsongas campaign. Rizzo pleaded not guilty.