A former American soccer official linked to the FIFA corruption scandal admitted that he and others on the organization’s executive committee had accepted bribes for their support in the bidding to host the 1998 and 2010 World Cups, according to papers filed in the official’s criminal case and released on Wednesday.
The official, Chuck Blazer, made the admission when he pleaded guilty in 2013 to charges that included racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and income tax evasion.
“Among other things, I agreed with other persons in or around 1992 to facilitate the acceptance of a bribe in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup,” Mr. Blazer told Judge Raymond J. Dearie when he pleaded guilty in 2013.
Other papers filed in the case say that it was the Morocco bid committee that bribed Mr. Blazer. He also said that “I and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup,” and that he “and others agreed to accept bribes and kickbacks in conjunction with the broadcast and other rights” to several Gold Cups, a regional championship in which the United States competes.
Facing up to 20 years in prison, Mr. Blazer became a cooperating witness, according to law enforcement officials, though in the redacted version of the plea hearing filed Wednesday, there were no references to Mr. Blazer’s cooperating with the government. However, law enforcement officials said that part of Mr. Blazer’s cooperation deal included secretly recording conversations.
There are at least two other cooperating witnesses in the FIFA case that suggest the kind of agreement Mr. Blazer may have struck: Daryan and Daryll Warner. They are sons of Jack Warner, the former president of Concacaf, the soccer governing body overseeing North American, Central American and the Caribbean. Mr. Blazer, a friend of Mr. Warner’s, was Concacaf’s general secretary from 1990 until 2011.
When each of the Warner sons pleaded guilty in 2013, the judge outlined their cooperation agreements with the government: They agreed to participate in undercover activities, hand over documents, regularly meet with prosecutors, testify when requested, and not divulge their cooperation to anyone without the express permission of prosecutors.
When each of the Warner sons pleaded guilty in 2013, the judge outlined their cooperation agreements with the government: They agreed to participate in undercover activities, hand over documents, regularly meet with prosecutors, testify when requested, and not divulge their cooperation to anyone without the express permission of prosecutors.
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