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Chuck Blazer, Central Figure in FIFA Scandal, Dies at 72
Source: New York Times
Chuck Blazer, Central Figure in FIFA Scandal, Dies at 72
By JERÉ LONGMAN and REBECCA R. RUIZ JULY 13, 2017
Chuck Blazer, a Falstaffian figure who helped develop soccer in the United States and then became central to the scandal that exposed widespread international corruption in the sport, died on Wednesday at a hospital in New Jersey. He was 72.
His death was confirmed by his lawyer, Mary Mulligan. No cause was given, but Mr. Blazer had rectal cancer and heart disease in recent years.
Mr. Blazer was a large man with voracious appetites, not all of them in accordance with the law. On Nov. 25, 2013, as part of a wide-ranging federal investigation into soccer-related improprieties that had started with his own failure to file a personal income tax return, he secretly pleaded guilty to 10 counts of corruption that included racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering.
The investigation reached the highest levels of FIFA, soccer’s international governing body; ended the career of its disgraced president, Sepp Blatter; and burst into wide public view in 2015 when surprise arrests were made in Switzerland, where FIFA has its headquarters.
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By JERÉ LONGMAN and REBECCA R. RUIZ JULY 13, 2017
Chuck Blazer, a Falstaffian figure who helped develop soccer in the United States and then became central to the scandal that exposed widespread international corruption in the sport, died on Wednesday at a hospital in New Jersey. He was 72.
His death was confirmed by his lawyer, Mary Mulligan. No cause was given, but Mr. Blazer had rectal cancer and heart disease in recent years.
Mr. Blazer was a large man with voracious appetites, not all of them in accordance with the law. On Nov. 25, 2013, as part of a wide-ranging federal investigation into soccer-related improprieties that had started with his own failure to file a personal income tax return, he secretly pleaded guilty to 10 counts of corruption that included racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering.
The investigation reached the highest levels of FIFA, soccer’s international governing body; ended the career of its disgraced president, Sepp Blatter; and burst into wide public view in 2015 when surprise arrests were made in Switzerland, where FIFA has its headquarters.
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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/13/sports/soccer/chuck-blazer-central-figure-in-fifa-scandal-dies-at-72.html