“the suburban soccer family”: Bruce Pascoe, “Soccer Club Tops Canada in Debut, 2–1; 2,716 Attend at Mason,” Washington Post, July 27, 1987.
“some spiritual force looking after us”: Singh, Valentino p. 173. These books provided extensive additional information about Warner’s background and early years at CONCACAF with Blazer.
died of a sudden heart attack: Guillermo Cañedo died early on January 21, 1997. Blazer was elected by a 5–2 vote on Friday, January 24.
$35 million in 2009: Revenue information for CONCACAF here and elsewhere in this volume drawn from the confederation’s 990 tax forms for the years 2008–2011. Although Blazer failed to file, CONCACAF filed the returns retroactively in 2012.
he had a $900,000 beachside condo: Details of Blazer’s financial activities come in substantial part from CONCACAF’s Integrity Committee Report of Investigation, published on April 18, 2013.
The August email from Warner: The email and aspects of Blazer’s and Warner’s involvement in the 2010 World Cup bribery scheme, as well as various other criminal schemes, are described in detail in various court documents filed in the Eastern District of New York, including p. 23 of the criminal information against him that was filed under seal on November 25, 2013.
“support the African Diaspora”: FIFA press release, June 2, 2015.
“I’m proud of my vote for South Africa”: Jack Bell, “Soccer Report; Grenada Has Hopes of Upset,” New York Times, May 25, 2004.
“For deposit only”: From a scanned image of the check in the author’s archive.
CHAPTER 5: THE VOTE
known in soccer circles as FIFA House: Technical information about the building drawn from FIFA press materials as well as materials from its Zurich-based architect, Tilla Theus. Additional descriptions drawn from an unofficial, firsthand tour of the building, including the Executive Committee boardroom, in August 2016.
“places where people make decisions”: Michael Marek and Sven Beckmann, “Underground Skyscraper Serves as FIFA’s Headquarters,” Deutsche Welle, May 16, 2010.
“cannot see the advantages of such a federation”: The English Football Association, known as The EFA, maintains records of this correspondence, which is widely cited in literature on soccer and its history.
“These arguments”: From FIFA’s own, official history of the World Cup, found on its website.
booked a record profit: FIFA’s financial books are maintained and organized on a four-year cycle coinciding with the World Cup, which is far and away its largest moneymaker. Annual results, as well as four-year round-ups, are published for public consumption and available from FIFA dating back to 2002. Earlier financial results are compiled from FIFA documents available elsewhere, as well as from contemporaneous press reports.
“a sad day for football”: Martyn Ziegler, “We Will Rid Game of Its Devils: Blatter,” Press Association Sport, October 20, 2010.
“unpatriotic”: Owen Gibson, “FIFA Officials Accused of Taking Bribes in $100m Scandal: Panorama Claims Could Affect England 2018 Bid,” The Guardian, November 30, 2010.
“make their decision in peace”: Martyn Ziegler, “England Chances Improve in World Cup Race,” Press Association Sport, December 1, 2010.
“How are our chances?”: Details of this phone call are from two extended in-person interviews with Sepp Blatter, in February and August 2016.
“I am a happy president”: The entire dual World Cup announcement, with footage of both the stage and audience, was video-recorded and is available online.
“wallowing in money”: A complete transcript of Putin’s press conference in Zurich was published by the Russian Information Agency, OREANDA, on December 3, 2010.
a heavily guarded federal office tower: Descriptions of the FBI’s New York field office come from multiple interviews with current and former FBI agents, as well as firsthand observation of the building and offices.
“Russia and Qatar Expand”: Jeré Longman, “Russia and Qatar Expand Soccer’s Global Footprint,” New York Times, December 2, 2010.
CHAPTER 6: JACK VS. CHUCK
“I hope this is an April Fool’s Joke”: Details of this and other communications between Warner, Blazer, and Bin Hammam in this chapter come courtesy of the archive of British journalist Martyn Ziegler.
“What’s in it for us?”: From a June 2, 2011, document entitled Affirmation of Chuck Blazer.
a $3 million television studio: Information on this and the Centre of Excellence in Trinidad drawn from CONCACAF’s Integrity Committee Report of Investigation.
“thinks that he can go through anything”: From Affirmation of Chuck Blazer.
the bell rang at Warner’s house: The account of Blazer’s visit with Warner in Trinidad comes largely from Valentino Singh, pp. 162–64, as well as Jack Warner with Valentino Singh, pp. 71–73.
multiple mortgages and car notes: Information on Blazer’s finances at the time comes from the July 24, 1989, deposition of Blazer.
born in January 1943: Warner’s biographical history is drawn heavily from his two biographies.
soldiers came to the house of André Kamperveen: A total of fifteen people, including trade unionists, lawyers, and journalists, were kidnapped, tortured, and killed by government forces in what became known as the December Murders, which led to widespread protest and the severing of relations and direct aid to Suriname from the Netherlands. Of particular interest is the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ Report on the Human Rights Situation in Suriname, published December 3, 1983.
The scheme involved a company: Simpaul Travel. This episode is described in detail in Andrew Jennings, Foul!, pp. 329–52.
“It cannot be proven that Jack Warner knew”: Comment from Marcel Mathier, as quoted in “FIFA Vice-President Escapes Sanction over World Cup Tickets,” Agence France Presse, December 6, 2006.
CHAPTER 7: PORT OF SPAIN
the CFU conference was finally finished: Many aspects of the events of May 10 and 11, 2011, described throughout this chapter are recorded in two separate reports on the alleged bribery incident: Report of Evidence of Violations of the FIFA Code of Ethics, prepared by John P. Collins, May 22, 2011; and Report to the FIFA Ethics Committee on Allegations Related to the Meeting of the CFU on May 10–11, 2011 in Trinidad and Tobago, prepared by FGI Europe AG on June 29, 2011. Additional details are drawn from affidavits, memoranda, cell phone text message screen shots, and affirmations of Blazer, Anton Sealey, and Fred Lunn, copies of all of which are courtesy of Martyn Ziegler. Still more information is available in copies of the decisions by the May 29, 2011, FIFA Ethics Committee ruling on Jack Warner, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport arbitral award for Bin Hammam handed down July 19, 2012.
“more say, more support, and more pay”: Paul Kelso, “Revealed: Fifa’s Secret Bribery Files on Warner and Bin Hammam,” Sunday Telegraph, May 29, 2011.
“birthday present”: Arny Belfor, “New Evidence of $40K Cash Gifts in FIFA Scandal,” Associated Press, June 10, 2011.
“Bin Hammam asked to come to the Caribbean”: Warner’s full speech was secretly recorded, and a copy of that video was first published by The Telegraph on October 12, 2011.
Two days later, Blazer called Jérôme Valcke: Affidavit of Chuck Blazer, May 23, 2011, courtesy of Martyn Ziegler.
“clear evidence of violations”: Copy of Collins & Collins “Report of Evidence of Violations of the FIFA Code of Ethics,” May 22, 2011, in the author’s archive.
“bribery allegations”: Martyn Ziegler, “FIFA Duo Face Corruption Charges,” Press Association Sport, May 25, 2011.
Early on May 29: An excellent, blow-by-blow account of the FIFA ethics hearings of that day, including direct quotations from transcripts, as well as the subsequent press conference, can be found in Heidi Blake and Jonathan Calvert, pp. 358–78.
“I am in FIFA for 29 consecutive years”: A full transcript of Warner’s remarks outside Trinidad and Tobago’s parliament was published by the Trinidad Express
on May 27, 2011.
CHAPTER 8: A MADE MAN
“all sponsorships and TV rights fees”: A copy of the contract is in the author’s archives.
a “witty, gregarious” man: Nancy Armour, “Chuck Blazer Is Witty, Gregarious and a Whistleblower,” Associated Press, June 4, 2011.
reach out to FIFA’s head of security, Chris Eaton directly: Randall wrote Eaton a brief email on the evening of June 13, 2011, noting that “if you have any plans to travel back through the US, or specifically New York, I would love to speak with you.”
Bin Hammam wired the money: The complex wire transfers were first detailed in Heidi Blake and Jonathan Calvert, pp. 390–91. They were subsequently verified in Department of Justice documents sent to Trinidad and Tobago. See Camini Maraji, “US $1.2M Bribe for Jack,” Trinidad Express, June 9, 2015.
Warner resigned from all positions: The timing of the letter is detailed in Report to the FIFA Ethics Committee on Allegations Related to the Meeting of the CFU on May 10–11, 2011 in Trinidad and Tobago, p. 4.
“I’m not going to back a complaint”: Warner was interviewed by Bloomberg TV on June 20, 2011.
“we don’t tolerate the type of behavior”: Martyn Ziegler, “Blazer: I Had to Act on Bribery Claims,” Press Association Sport, May 29, 2011.
the last time it was brought up was in 2002: CONCACAF’s Integrity Committee Report of Investigation, pp. 55–56.
He wrote a book on communist guerrillas in Peru: Strong’s two books are Shining Path: Terror and Revolution in Peru (New York: Crown, 1993); and Whitewash: Pablo Escobar and the Cocaine Wars (London: Pan, 1995).
“Find another villain”: Jennings published much of his correspondence with Blazer, including messages detailed in this chapter, on his website, transparencyinsport.org.
story on the exorbitant lifestyles of FIFA officials: Doreen Carvajal, “For FIFA Executives, Luxury and Favors,” New York Times, July 18, 2011.
“were not income items nor subject to tax”: email from Blazer to Jennings, August 12, 2011, published on transparencyinsport.org.
“A New York–based FBI squad assigned to investigate”: Mark Hosenball, “FBI Examining U.S. Soccer Boss’s Financial Records,” Reuters, August 16, 2011.
CHAPTER 9: RICO
The true hero behind Capone’s fall: Wilson, a hero among a certain group of forensic accountants, wrote an autobiography, Special Agent: A Quarter Century with the Treasury Department and the Secret Service, which was published in 1965 and is no longer in print.
“fears nothing that walks”: Elmer L. Irey, Tax Dodgers: The Inside Story of the T-Men’s War with America’s Political and Underworld Hoodlum (New York: Greenberg, 1948). Irey was chief of the Treasury’s Intelligence Unit throughout the Capone investigation.
kickbacks to officials in Thailand: Gerald and Patricia Green were convicted by a Los Angeles federal jury in 2009 for paying $1.8 million in bribes in order to get nearly $14 million in contracts from the Bangkok Film Festival. See Ben Fritz, “Hollywood Producers Are Guilty of Bribing Thai Official,” Los Angeles Times, September 15, 2009.
bribed officials at the U.K. Ministry of Defence: Two officials at defense contractor Pacific Consolidated Industries pleaded guilty, in 2008 and 2009, to paying some $70,000 in bribes to win contracts with the Ministry of Defence.
“the lack of selflessness and compassion”: Letter to the editor, Columbia Daily Spectator, October 7, 1998. Norris was reacting to an op-ed extolling the virtues of sweatshop labor.
“the best thing I’ve done at the law school”: Sarah McGonigle, “Legal Aid Sees Rise in 3L Retention,” Harvard Law Record, December 10, 2002.
a particularly nasty assassin: The six-week trial of Charles Carneglia began in January 2009, with Norris delivering a five-hour-long closing argument. “Ladies and gentlemen, Charles Carneglia was no choir boy as a young man, and he’s no choir boy today,” Norris said to the jury, which convicted the former Gambino hit man on four murder counts, as well as racketeering, robbery, extortion, kidnapping, and conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
CHAPTER 10: BLAZER’S MONEY
the case offended his “sense of justice”: After Welch and Johnson were acquitted on December 5, 2003, federal judge David Sam remarked that he had never seen a case so devoid of “criminal intent or evil purpose.” Paul Foy, “Judge Throws Out Salt Lake City Case,” Washington Post, December 6, 2003.
He’d first met Blazer on the sidelines: There are numerous accounts of the friendship between Gulati and Blazer. See, for example, Nathaniel Vinton, Christian Red, and Michael O’Keeffe, “From Fifa Storm to Reform: U.S. Soccer Prez Gulati Wades Through Shock of Corruption Scandal to Pave New Road for World’s Game,” New York Daily News, December 13, 2015.
without having to be elected: Gulati was unanimously appointed to the seat at a meeting of the CONCACAF Executive Committee in Curaçao on March 28, 2007.
“never had occasion to borrow money from Blazer”: Gail Alexander, “Jack Clears Air on $$ Paid to Blazer,” Trinidad Guardian, September 3, 2011.
asked only that Blazer refrain: CONCACAF’s Integrity Committee Report of Investigation, p. 53.
“pursue other career opportunities”: CONCACAF issued a press release announcing Blazer’s planned resignation on October 6, 2011.
the confederation had $60 million in revenue: From CONCACAF’s federal tax return form 990, for tax year 2011, which was filed with the IRS on December 28, 2012. Total revenue was $60,044,279, while total expenses were $30,986,338, yielding a net return for the nonprofit organization of over $29 million.
his corporate American Express card: CONCACAF’s Integrity Committee Report of Investigation, pp. 63–65.
did the same thing with his rent: Ibid., pp. 59–60.
already allocated himself $4.2 million: Ibid., p. 50.
wire $1.4 million to his Sportvertising account: Ibid., p. 53.
CHAPTER 11: THE FLIP
“happy, if self-satisfied, affluence”: Paul Goldberger, “Atrium of Trump Tower Is a Pleasant Surprise,” New York Times, April 4, 1983.
illegal under the Bank Secrecy Act: U.S. citizens and permanent residents are required by law to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or FBAR, along with their tax returns. The maximum penalty for criminal failure to file an FBAR, considered a money laundering violation, is five years in prison.
Title 31 subpoenas: At least five different circuit courts of appeal have sustained the argument that the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination does not apply to subpoenas for foreign bank records. See Lynley Browning, “New U.S. Tactic for Suspected Swiss Bank Tax Cheats,” Reuters, December 28, 2011.
“substantial assistance”: A series of legislative reforms of the criminal justice system in the mid-1980s led to the drafting of guideline policy statement 5K1.1, Substantial Assistance to Authorities: “Upon motion of the government stating that the defendant has provided substantial assistance in the investigation or prosecution of another person who has committed an offense, the court may depart from the guideline” for sentencing purposes. Cooperators seek what is now known as a 5K letter, requesting a downward departure at sentencing.
CHAPTER 12: THE CROWN JEWEL
first met Hawilla in 1987: Certain aspects of the history of the relationship between Blazer and Hawilla are drawn from Blazer’s personal blog, “Travels with Chuck Blazer and His Friends,” including a May 9, 2008, post touching on that topic.
cofounded the sports marketing firm Inter/Forever Sports: Hawilla incorporated the company, along with Colombian immigrant Jorge Martinez, on May 11, 1990. Hawilla eventually bought out Martinez’s share and the company’s name was changed to Traffic Sports USA Inc. on September 2, 2003. After a long illness, Martinez died in 2017.
signing a contract in October 1994: USA v. Hawit, et al., superseding indictment, November 25, 2015, p. 70.
CONCACAF’s rights in-house: CONCACAF’s Integrity Committee Report of Investigation, p. 6.
an eager young sports reporter: A number of profiles of Hawilla from the Brazilian press were particularly helpful in sketching his biography. Among them: Allen de Abreu and Carlos Petrocilo, “J. Hawilla, do cachorro-quente ao império,” Diário da Região, May 31, 2015; Adriana Negreiros, “O dono da bola (e do time, do jogador, do campeonato, do jornal, da TV, da publicidade),” Playboy Brazil, March 2009; Joyce Pascowitch, “Bola na rede,” Poder, December 2010; José Roberto Caetano, “O dono da bola é J. Hawilla, dono da Traffic,” Exame, November 8, 2013.
sold Traffic the rights to the 1987 edition: USA v. José Hawilla, criminal information, filed December 12, 2014, p. 21. Substantial information about Hawilla’s business activities in this chapter is drawn from this and other charging documents in the several criminal cases filed in the Eastern District of New York. In addition, Hawilla was deposed a great length in December 2000 and April 2001 by the Brazilian Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, and transcripts of those interviews, running in the hundreds of pages, are filled with important details about his business activities. Finally, a September 5, 2002, deposition of Hawilla taken in the action T&T Sports Marketing v. Dream Sports International v. Torneos y Competencias, before the Southern District of Texas, was useful to clarify certain aspects of his business holdings, including the brief investment of Hicks, Muse.
“you have to know how to take risks”: Joyce Pascowitch, “Bola na rede.”
every Copa América deal included side payments: USA v. Hawilla, criminal information, p. 24.
Blazer and Warner, too, began demanding money: USA v. Charles Blazer, criminal information, filed November 25, 2013, p. 18.
Hawilla’s empire was under attack: The Honduras soccer federation sued Traffic in U.S. federal court in Miami in September 2006; Traffic countersued; the dispute was eventually forced into arbitration. Details on the matter are drawn from those court records.
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