Blazer collapsed: Mary Papenfuss and Teri Thompson, p. 152.
He wouldn’t face punishment: A list of corrupt acts that Blazer admitted to but for which he was not charged is contained in the cooperation agreement he signed on November 25, 2013, pp. 8–9.
forfeit nearly $2 million to the government: The exact amount is $1,958,092.72, “which represents a portion of the monies that the defendant received from bribes, kickbacks and unauthorized World Cup ticket sales.” USA v. Blazer, order of forfeiture, November 25, 2013. Terms of his forfeiture called for the full $1.9 million to be paid by the time of his guilty plea; a second, unspecified amount was to be paid at the time of his sentencing, but Blazer died in July 2017, before he could be sentenced.
“The principal purpose of the enterprise”: USA v. Blazer, criminal information, p. 2.
CHAPTER 23: TRUST AND BETRAYAL
a shiny new BMW X5: Some details on Sanz’s perks at CONCACAF from Tariq Panja and David Voreacos, “Can One of the Dirtiest Corners of Global Soccer Clean Up Its Own Act?,” Bloomberg, February 23, 2016.
Sanz sat down with his close friend: USA v. Hawit, et al., superseding indictment, p. 139.
Brazil passed its first law: Brazilian law 12,850 was passed on August 2, 2013. It was designed to combat organized crime by providing benefits to those who collaborate with criminal investigations. The law has been highly controversial, and critics say it gives collaborators incentives to falsely accuse others in order to receive lighter sentences.
Late in the morning of March 16: Some aspects of the meeting between Hawilla and Davidson are drawn from transcripts of a clandestine audio recording entered into evidence in the 2017 trial of Juan Ángel Napout, José Maria Marin, and Manuel Burga.
“Is it illegal?”: USA v. Hawit, et al., superseding indictment, pp. 147–48.
On February 25, 2014, for example: Ibid., p. 105.
CHAPTER 24: “ALL OF US GO TO PRISON”
On the morning of May 1: USA v. Hawit, et al., superseding indictment, pp. 58 and 146. Many details of the events surrounding the press conference are drawn from testimony as well as transcripts entered into evidence in the 2017 trial of Napout, Marin, and Burga.
“We are praying for his recovery”: The press conference was recorded and a full video of the event is available online.
“All of us go to prison”: This and other quotes came from transcripts of Hawilla’s clandestine recordings.
arrested a man named Canover Watson: Brent Fuller, “Canover Watson Released on Bail,” Cayman Compass, August 29, 2014.
a $240,000 loan to J&D International: Brent Fuller, “CarePay Trial: Bank Chief Confirms ‘Loan’ to Webb,” Cayman Compass, January 8, 2016. The Cayman Compass provided extensive and top-quality coverage of the investigation and subsequent trial of Canover Watson, which ended on February 4 with his conviction for fraud, conflict of interest, breach of public trust, and conspiracy to defraud. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, and in July 2017 was named a target of a separate investigation into fraud at the Cayman Islands Football Association. Jeffrey Webb was charged by Cayman Islands authorities in July 2015 for conspiracy to commit fraud, breach of trust, and “conspiracy to convert criminal property.”
CHAPTER 25: PAYBACK
Mary Lynn Blanks, the former soap opera actress: Blanks was, indeed, later proven to be the source of the Daily News article, and became the principal source for the book on Chuck Blazer written by Mary Papenfuss and Teri Thomson, American Huckster. In fact, they dedicated the book to her.
Swiss banks had been obliged: Of the 20,000 clients of UBS who were U.S. taxpayers, some 17,000 concealed their identities and the existence of those accounts. Credit Suisse, for its part, initially turned over the names of just 238 account holders who were U.S. taxpayers, out of a total of more than 22,000 such accounts. See James Vicini, “UBS to Identify Clients, Pay $780 Million in Tax Case,” Reuters, February 18, 2009; and Eric Tucker and Marcy Gordon, “Credit Suisse Pleads Guilty, Pays $2.6 Billion in U.S. Tax Evasion Case,” Associated Press, May 19, 2014.
“respect the personal rights of the people”: Owen Gibson, “FIFA Set to Publish Summary of Inquiry,” The Guardian, October 18, 2014.
“erroneous representations of the facts”: Graham Dunbar, “FIFA Under Fire After Report on Qatar, Russia,” Associated Press, November 13, 2014.
barred from setting foot in the country: In response to the Magnitsky Act sanctions passed in late 2012, Russia on April 13, 2013, banned eighteen Americans from entering the country, including Garcia, who as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York had been involved in the prosecution of a Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout.
Hawilla had, in September 2013, unloaded his newspapers: Chico Siqueira, “Grupo Traffic vende Diário de S. Paulo,” O Estado de S. Paulo, September 6, 2013.
convinced Chinese investors: Marcio Porto, “Chinese compram CT e São Paulo é quem deve administrá-lo,” Lance!, April 17, 2014.
When RICO was passed into law: The history of criminal forfeiture, including the concept of “corruption of blood,” which was used by the First Congress of the United States to ban the practice in 1790, is a fascinating topic, excellently and clearly explored in Karla L. Spaulding, Hit Them Where It Hurts. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 80, Spring 1989, pp. 197–292.
The first installment, of $25 million: Hawilla’s original forfeiture agreement called for him to pay $25 million at the time of pleading guilty, $75 million more within a year of that date, and the remaining $51 million by the time of his sentencing, or December 2018, whichever came first. Although Hawilla has paid an additional $20 million, he has been unable to sell Traffic, blaming the criminal case and Brazil’s bad economy. He has therefore received extensions allowing him to pay the full balance of $106 million by December 2018 or the time of his sentencing.
CHAPTER 26: THINGS FALL APART
“FIFA is family”: Andrew Jennings, Foul!, p. 224.
“father of our football family”: Beverly Melbourne, “When FIFA Came to Cayman Islands,” Cayman Net News, June 16, 2009.
that person “could be Jeffrey Webb”: Robert Christopher Woolard, “CONCACAF Chief Rules Out Bid for FIFA Job,” Agence France Presse, October 22, 2013.
“so let’s see where he’s going”: Sean Williams, “Blatter Endorses Webb for Second Term as CONCACAF Boss,” Jamaica Observer, April 18, 2015.
they projected a $6.5 million loss for the year: Letter from Samir Gandhi of Sidley Austin to Fabrice Baly, president of the St. Martin Football Association, dated January 5, 2016.
quietly taking a $2 million salary: Tariq Panja and David Voreacos, “Can One of the Dirtiest Corners of Global Soccer Clean Up Its Own Act?”
an unnamed “third party” was helping fund Watson’s defense: Brent Fuller, “Others Implicated in CarePay Probe,” Cayman Compass, April 2, 2015.
Jeffrey Webb had amassed an impressive array: Details of Webb’s assets come, in part, from USA v. Webb, et al., Order Setting Conditions of Release and Bond, filed July 18, 2015; and also from USA v. Webb, Amended Preliminary Order of Forfeiture, filed December 1, 2016.
CHAPTER 27: TAKEDOWN
At precisely six in the morning: This account of the events of the morning of May 27, 2015, is drawn from a series of interviews as well as social media and press accounts from the day. In particular, the rapidly evolving New York Times story, first published a few minutes before the raid, and which underwent nearly three dozen revisions and seven different headlines over the next twenty-four hours, is a critically important document. Tweets by seven different reporters involved in writing and reporting the story, as well as by other media outlets involved in coverage, including CNN’s breaking news account, aided with contextualizing events in real time.
“FIFA Officials Face Corruption Charges in U.S.”: The first version of the New York Times story carried the bylines of Matt Apuzzo, Michael S. Schmidt, William K. Rashbaum, and Sam Borden, and dwelled heavily on allegations
of corruption in the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. That aspect of the story was removed in subsequent drafts.
Tuesday, May 26, had been busy: Many details of Webb’s activities in Zurich prior to his arrest are drawn from Vernon Silver, Corinne Gretler, and Hugo Miller, “FIFA Busts at Baur au Lac: Inside the Five-Star Takedown,” Bloomberg, May 27, 2015.
Neusa Marin . . . desperately dialed: There are several accounts of the raid and immediate aftermath from the Brazilian perspective. Some details are drawn from Silvio Barsetti, “Amigo relata abandono de Del Nero a Marin na hora de prisão,” Terra, June 17, 2015; others from Jamil Chade, Política, Propina e Futebol.
breakfasting in the hotel’s restaurant that morning was Alejandro Burzaco: Details of Burzaco’s experiences on May 27 are drawn from his testimony in the 2017 trial of Napout, Marin, and Burga.
“your name is on the list”: Ignacio Naya, “ ‘Tu nombre está en la lista de acusados’: así fueron los arrestos en Zurich,” La Nación, May 28, 2015.
a television camera crew was already waiting for them: reporters for the Associated Press were on hand for the early morning raid. A video of some of their footage, “FBI Raid CONCACAF Office in FIFA Probe,” was posted to YouTube on May 27, 2015.
“This really is the World Cup of fraud”: Weber’s carefully rehearsed remarks, as well as everything else said at the press conference, were recorded in a video of the nearly forty-three-minute-long event, which is available online.
“he is not involved”: A video of Walter De Gregorio’s half-hour-long press conference, in which he claimed FIFA actually played a hand in calling for the Swiss investigation, is available online. “FIFA is the damaged party,” he said. De Gregorio was fired on June 11, allegedly for making a joke on Swiss television: “Q: FIFA’s president, general secretary, and communications director are in a car. Who is driving? A: The police.”
Warner told a reporter: Tweet by Steven Goff, soccer reporter at The Washington Post, May 27, 2015.
CHAPTER 28: “A GREAT DAY FOR FOOTBALL”
Zorana Danis walked into a federal courtroom: USA v. Danis, transcript of guilty plea, May 26, 2015.
For the second time in three years: Unlike its first internal investigation of CONCACAF, Sidley Austin has never released the results of this second audit. Although CONCACAF, in December 2012, filed four years’ worth of tax returns, which are available to the public, it has not made tax information about subsequent years available, and sources indicate it is unlikely to ever publish information about the confederation’s finances under Jeffrey Webb and Enrique Sanz.
“What is this notion of time?”: Owen Gibson, “Sepp Blatter Re-elected as Fifa President for Fifth Term,” The Guardian, May 29, 2015.
“not in Zurich when we have a congress” Martyn Ziegler, “Sepp Blatter Blames English Media and US Justice Authorities for Trying to Oust Him After Being Re-Elected as FIFA President,” Press Association Sport, May 30, 2015.
“no one gives them the right”: Tim Reynolds, “Ex-FIFA VP Warner Hits Out at US Based on Satirical Story,” Associated Press, May 31, 2015.
Only two people showed up: Daina Beth Solomon, “FIFA Film ‘United Passions’ Makes Muted Debut in Los Angeles,” Reuters, June 5, 2015.
Alejandro Burzaco, accompanied by a lawyer: Burzaco described his travel to Italy and ultimate surrender in his trial testimony.
forfeit the tidy sum of $21,694,408.49: USA v. Burzaco, sealed preliminary order of forfeiture, filed November 16, 2015.
Hawit met privately with Fabio Tordin: Details of the secret recording of Hawit drawn from USA v. Hawit, et al., superseding indictment, pp. 129–30.
CHAPTER 29: A ZEALOUS ADVOCATE
David Torres-Siegrist was driving home: Significant portions, but by no means all, of the material described in this chapter come from several interviews with Torres-Siegrist. Additional emails, legal documents, press coverage, and other records were vital in filling in and substantiating the account. Of particular use was the excellent Uruguayan work of investigative journalism, Figueredo: a la sombra del poder, by Diego Muñoz and Emiliano Zecca, which is cited in this book’s bibliography.
a right-winger for Huracán Buceo: Ibid., pp. 33–51.
formal petitions were submitted by the U.S. on July 1: AUSA Sam Nitze signed an Affidavit in Support of Request for Extradition on June 24, 2015; it was approved and given the seal of the United States of America on June 29, and formally submitted by the U.S. embassy to Switzerland on July 1.
Webb even had to hand over his wife’s wedding ring: A “diamond wedding ring owned by Kendra Gamble-Webb” is listed among other assets used to secure Webb’s release in USA v. Webb, order setting conditions of release and bond, signed July 18, 2015.
involved a Russian nuclear scientist: The physicist, Yevgeny Adamov, had been head of the Russian atomic energy ministry, and was arrested in May 2, 2005, in Switzerland at the request of the United States, which said he had stolen some $9 million in funds intended to improve nuclear security in Russia and charged him with money laundering, tax evasion, and fraud, among other charges. Russia also requested Adamov’s extradition, and its petition prevailed in December 2005.
“bear no relationship to his economic capacity”: From Uruguay’s twenty-four-page petition for Figueredo’s extradition, finalized October 21, 2015.
CHAPTER 30: PLUS çA CHANGE . . .
Swiss police once again walked into the lobby: As with the May 27 raids the best and most complete account of events is found in The New York Times article on the event, as the reporters were installed in the hotel prior to the arrests. In addition, because only two defendants were taken from the Baur au Lac, the operation was completed more quickly, so few if any other journalists arrived in time to witness the raid.
“CONCACAF has been the victim of fraud”: Steven Goff, “Blatter Remains Defiant as U.S. Withdraws Its Support,” Washington Post, May 29, 2015.
fired the cancer-stricken general secretary: Letter from Samir Gandhi of Sidley Austin to Fabrice Baly.
“The corruption of the enterprise became endemic”: USA v. Hawit, et al., superseding indictment, p. 40.
a reporter from The New York Times: Sam Borden, then a European sports correspondent for the paper, memorialized the day’s events in a Storify post, noting that he arrived at the Baur au Lac at 5:45 a.m.
Sepp Blatter woke up early: Details on what Blatter did on February 26 come from a lengthy interview conducted with the former FIFA president at his residence on that very day.
the Swiss attorney general raided FIFA’s headquarters: Nick Gutteridge, “FIFA Boss Sepp Blatter Hauled Out of Meeting and Quizzed by Swiss Cops over Fraud Claims,” Express Online, September 25, 2015.
“between the angels who sing and the devil”: Teddy Cutler, “Sepp Blatter ‘Nearly Died’ but Faces Extended Ban,” The Sunday Times, November 24, 2015.
“I was not thinking to be a candidate”: A video of the entire six-hour-long affair, including Infantino’s speech, is available online.
He had already traced the man’s accounts: The target, Richard Lai, president of the Guam Football Association, agreed to cooperate with the investigation. He ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of failing to report foreign bank accounts on April 27, 2017, and agreed to forfeit $870,000.
EPILOGUE
On the evening of November 14: Delhón’s apparent suicide was covered extensively in the Argentine press, which, among other things, obtained a photograph of the note found in his briefcase. It read “Los Amo No puedo creer.”
had paid $15 million in bribes: Following Burzaco’s testimony, both Televisa and TV Globo released statements denying involvement in corrupt activities.
he won an award recognizing him: On June 20, Norris was named the winner of the J. Michael Bradford award by the National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys, beating out eighteen other nominees. The association called the FIFA case “one of the most significan
t prosecutions ever brought by the Department of Justice” and praised Norris for devising the “investigative and prosecutorial strategies for this groundbreaking cross-border case.”
A rangy former newspaper reporter: Nitze worked as a reporter for the Asbury Park Press and the Miami Herald, where he worked on an investigative series about a 1959 Florida law designed to protect farmers that instead was exploited by property developers.
an Argentine banker: Jorge Arzuaga pleaded guilty to money laundering on June 15, 2017, and agreed to forfeit $1,046,000, “which represents bonuses paid to the defendant by executives of Torneos y Competencias S.A. and its subsidiaries and affiliates to compensate him for his participation in the money laundering conspiracy,” according to the forfeiture agreement in the matter. The case is USA v. Arzuaga.
In the petition FIFA filed: The soccer organization filed a “Victim Statement and Request for Restitution” to the Eastern District of New York on March 15, 2016. It sought an unspecified sum, but noted that the money forfeited to the U.S. in the case “should be used to compensate the victims . . . particularly FIFA and its member associations and confederations.”
“happiest day of my life”: Susan Mohammed, “Jack Feels Like Partying,” Trinidad Express, October 11, 2017.
José Maria Marin and Juan Ángel Napout were convicted: Marin was convicted on one count of RICO conspiracy, three counts of wire fraud conspiracy, and two counts of money laundering conspiracy, while being acquitted on one additional count of money laundering conspiracy. Napout was convicted on one count of RICO conspiracy and two counts of wire fraud conspiracy. He was acquitted on two counts of money laundering conspiracy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aguilar, Luís. Jogada Ilegal: os Negócios do Futebol, os Grandes Casos de Corrupção, uma Viagem aos Bastidores da FIFA. Rio de Janeiro: Gryphus Editora, 2013.
Araújo Vélez, Fernando. No era Futbol, era Fraude. Bogota: Planeta Colombia, 2016.
Blake, Heidi and Calvert, Jonathan. The Ugly Game: The Qatari Plot to Buy the World Cup. London: Simon and Schuster, 2015.
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