Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFormer President Of The Nicaraguan Soccer Federation And FIFA Development Officer Pleads Guilty
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-president-nicaraguan-soccer-federation-and-fifa-development-officer-pleadsDepartment of Justice
U.S. Attorneys Office
Eastern District of New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Former President Of The Nicaraguan Soccer Federation And FIFA Development Officer Pleads Guilty To Racketeering And Corruption Charges
Earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn, Julio Rocha pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy in connection with his receipt of bribes in exchange for his awarding contracts for the media and marketing rights to FIFA World Cup qualifier matches. Rocha, the president of the Nicaraguan soccer federation (FENIFUT) from 1998 to 2012, was the FIFA development officer for Central America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean at the time of his arrest in Zurich, Switzerland on May 27, 2015. As part of his plea, Rocha also agreed to forfeit over $292,000. At sentencing, Rocha faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for each count. Todays plea proceeding took place before United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen.
(snip)
According to court filings and facts presented during the plea proceeding, Rocha negotiated and accepted bribes totaling over $150,000 in exchange for exercising his influence as the president of FENIFUT to award a Florida sports marketing company named Traffic Sports USA, Inc. (Traffic) a contract for the media and marketing rights to the Nicaraguan national soccer teams home World Cup qualifier matches for multiple editions of the World Cup, including the 2014 and 2018 editions. These bribes were transmitted from U.S. bank accounts, often through intermediaries, to accounts Rocha controlled. After he stepped down as president of FENIFUT and was employed by FIFA as a development officer, Rocha attempted to facilitate Traffics negotiations with a high-ranking FENIFUT official for the rights to Nicaraguas World Cup qualifier matches for the 2022 edition of the World Cup in an effort to receive for himself a portion of any bribe money paid for those rights.
In addition, Rocha used his position as FENIFUT president to further enrich himself through other schemes, including one in which he took kickbacks from a Miami company that he had contracted with on behalf of FENIFUT for the purpose of obtaining assistance in securing corporate sponsorships for the federation.
(snip)
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
1 replies, 411 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (0)
ReplyReply to this post
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Former President Of The Nicaraguan Soccer Federation And FIFA Development Officer Pleads Guilty (Original Post)
nitpicker
Dec 2016
OP
malaise
(267,827 posts)1. Football's rot started a long time ago
from the top - once Blatter decided he and the sponsors needed more and more and more profits, vote buying was easy and lots of folks enriched themselves.
Andrew Jennings is having a good laugh. Sadly if most sports organizations were examined, similar corruption would be exposed. Athletes and fans love the game - large numbers of administrators see easy money.