SALT LAKE CITY, 2 November 2003 — Two former Utah Olympic executives used “good old American greenbacks” to bribe international Olympic dignitaries with cash, trips to Paris and Disneyland, and even medical care in their zeal to bring the Olympics to Utah, a federal prosecutor said on Friday.
John Scott, a senior US Justice Department attorney, said on the opening day of trail before US District Judge David Sam that defendants Tom Welch, who was president of the Utah Bid Committee and Dave Johnson, a senior vice president, mocked the process of how Olympic host cities are selected.
The two men, at first heroes in 1995 when Salt Lake City was awarded the Games, have been charged with one count of conspiracy, five counts of mail fraud, five counts of wire fraud and four counts of interstate travel in aid of racketeering. If convicted on all counts they could go to prison for up to 75 years. They have pleaded not guilty.
Scott also tried to take steam out of the defense contention that the defendants were only doing what was necessary to bring the 2002 Winter Games to Utah by admitting there were excesses among bidding cities. Corruption did exist among some members of the International Olympic Committee, he said, but the two defendants took it to new heights.
Scott said Welch and Johnson kept the board of trustees for the bid committee in the dark about how money was spent and conspired to figure out which IOC delegates could be bribed.
Scott presented to jurors during opening statements a flowchart showing how money was distributed to 15 IOC delegates, many from Africa.
Scott said Jean-Claude Ganga of the Congo received about $320,000 for travel for his family and medical treatment for his mother-in-law, other delegates received university tuition for their children and one family got a trip to Disneyland.
