Former US FIFA Official Admits Taking Bribes In Selection Of French And South African World Cups

With the crackdown against FIFA corruption escalating with every passing day, just 24 hours after Sepp Blatter announced his unexpected resignation moments ago it was revealed that former US FIFA executive Chuck Blazer, who had been suspended in 2013 from CONCACAF amid corruption allegations and who became a confidential FBI informant, admitted to taking bribes when deciding the winners of the 1998 (France) and 2010 (South Africa) world cups.

The revelation was made when a November 25, 2013 transcript between Loretta Lynch and the former FIFA official was unsealed hours ago. While the full transcript (attached below) makes for a fascinating read, the key section is the following:

From 1997 through 2013, I served as a FIFA executive committee member. One of my responsibilities in that role was participating in the selection of the host countries for the World Cup. I also served as General Secretary of CONCACAF from 1990 through December of 2011 , and was responsible for, among other things, participating in the negotiations for sponsorship and media rights.

During my association with FIFA and CONCACAF, among other things, I and others agreed that I or a co-conspirator would commit at least two acts of racketeering activity. 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.

Beginning in or about 1993 and continuing through the early 2000s, I and others agreed to accept bribes and kickbacks in conjunction with the broadcast and other rights to the 1996, '1998, 2000, 2002, and 2003 Go1d Cups. Beginning in or around 2004 and continuing through 2011, 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.

It is worth noting that earlier today [13], South Africa's sports minister Fikile Mbalula said that the previously disclosed payment of $10 million [14]made to the Caribbean Football Union in 2008, was not a bribe and was not made to assure his country hosted the 2010 world cup. The US indictment released by America’s department of justice last week alleged that: "a high-ranking Fifa official caused payments … totalling $10m – to be wired from a Fifa account in Switzerland to a Bank of America correspondent account in New York … controlled by Jack Warner”.

Blazer's sworn testimony clearly confirms that South Africa did pad some bank accounts to make sure it was awarded the 2010 world cup.

It is unclear as of yet who may have been the source of funding for the 1992 bribe - some 23 years ago - to assure France was the recipient of the 1998 world cup.

Blazer not only admits to taking bribes but to evading taxes while a resident of New York:

Between 2005 and 2010, while a resident of New York, New York, I knowingly and willfully failed to file an income tax return and failed to pay income taxes. In this way, I intentionally concealed my true income from the IRS, thereby defrauding the IRS of income tax owed. I knew that my actions were wrong at the time.

For those curious, the residence in question was in the Trump Tower [15], where in a $6,000/month apartment he kept his cats [16].

And while it is only a matter of time before even more such transcripts are unsealed revealing the acceptance of bribes by FIFA officials to award the hosting of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively, following promptly by the stripping of these countries hosting rights, one perhaps even more stunning revelation is that the abovementioned Chuck Blazer had, and still has a blog, titled Travels with Chuck Blazer and his Friends [17]... (hosted by blogspot [17]) which was launched in 2007 and whose most recent post was in February 2014, or after the above sworn deposition took place and Blazer already knew he was facing a indictment.

Just who are these "friends" of Blazer's? These are some examples:

Here is the 450 pound Chuck with Miss Universe:

[18]

Chuck with Vladimir Putin in 2010 [19]. This is what Blazer said of that meeting:

On August 5th, I had the pleasure of visiting with the Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin, in his private office in the Russian Federation Office Building. It was a very busy day in the nation's capital, with the Prime Minister's itinerary changed, keeping him grounded to his office, due to the rash of forest fires sweeping the Moscow region. That morning I received a call inviting me to come to the House of the Russian Government and have a chat.

Primed and ready for the opportunity, I arrived on time and was brought to a room where I met the very skilled translator who was specialized in simultaneous translation; not with headphones and equipment, but by softly speaking in the complimentary language while each speaker was saying their piece. We chatted informally for a while and then my Exco colleague Sports Minister Mutko joined us, giving us the opportunity to practice and establish a working cadence of translation.

About an hour passed, while the PM had his cabinet in his office to consider how to put out the fires and to reduce the tension and the dense smoke that filled the city. Rain would have helped, but the weatherman brought no relief and the politicians needed to continue to do their best to fight the fires while battling mounting negative public sentiment. Minister Mutko left the room and went to check on when we would be received. While he was gone, I was ushered into a small receiving room with three large comfortable chairs. I calmly waited on the one with my name placed by protocol to make sure I was seated in the right place. All of a sudden, word came to the room that we were to move to another place to actually meet. So, with the translator in tow, we walked down a long corridor and through a room full of cabinet members and key officials. As the large doors to his private inner sanctum swung open, I was greeted by a smiling and very affable leader of the government, Mr. Putin himself.

A firm handshake and a personable smile set the tone for what turned out to be a very special experience. He guided me to sit on a leather couch in the near right corner of the room. At right angles to that couch was another matching one where he took up his position so that we flanked the corner of a large wood bordered coffee table. On my couch, sitting near enough to be part of the conversation was the translator; while on Mr. Putin's was Vitaly Mutko. The conversation began in a normal enough way, each of us thanking the other for making time for the visit. Genial welcomes continued until at one moment, he looked at me with a very serious gaze and said, without cracking a smile, "You know, you look like Karl Marx!"

I guess I could have responded to his observation in any of a dozen unpredictable ways. Instead, I simply winked at him and said, "I know". This brought an immediate response with him lifting his right arm up in the air and thrusting it forward to give me my first High-5 from a Prime Minister. I must admit that it was unique after all we have heard about this famous leader of the Russian Republic with a work history in the KGB. So, who knew what to expect? I can tell you that this began a half hour exchange of wit, charm and effective communications.

Shortly after the High-5, he had some questions about my blog. Yes, this same one you are reading now. He asked how it began. I told him about the World Cup in Germany and the fact that I had many special experiences which I wanted to share with people who didn't have the same opportunities. So, I began Inside the World Cup, which ran until the final whistle in Berlin.

Shortly thereafter, Travels with Chuck Blazer was born. I still had many experiences to share, albeit not accompanied by as much writing as during the World Cup. Instead, more pictures, since recreational writing at times can be very demanding in the face of other obligations. Following discussion on other topics, Mr. Putin rose and walked to a wall behind the table where his cabinet had just met. He slid open two massive doors, revealing a beautiful wooden inlaid map of the whole of Russia, which filled the expanse of the largest wall in the room. As he did this, he talked about a vacation he was about to go on during the waning days of summer. He said that security normally doesn't like him talking about his plans in advance, but he wanted to share with me some of the plans he had in mind. He walked from the western edge of the map where his St. Petersburg home and Moscow were located and walked to the right towards Siberia and great river deltas and continental roadways being connected. He talked of the things he planned to do, but I must admit I thought he was just trying to show me how very large an 11 time zone land mass of Russia is, when walking from the map's western edge to the eastern perimeter.

Before returning to the table, he posed the question, "If I send you pictures from my trip, will you post them in your blog and then what will you do?". I told him yes, the pictures would definitely appear and I would change the name of the blog to "Travels with Chuck Blazer and his Friends". Indeed, what he was telling me was the real preview of his trip. So, I now happily do what I committed to him and share with you the pictures he has been kind enough to send to me. You will note the new title of the blog has now reflected the pictures from my friend. I hope this opens up my forum to allow for other generous contributions of the people I have had the pleasure to meet in my very special role with FIFA.