FIFA Officials Arrested on Corruption Charges; Face Extradition to U.S.

[NYT] ZURICH — Swiss authorities began an extraordinary early-morning operation here Wednesday to arrest several top soccer officials and extradite them to the United States on federal corruption charges.

 

As leaders of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, gathered for their annual meeting, more than a dozen plain-clothed Swiss law enforcement officials arrived unannounced at the Baur au Lac hotel, an elegant five-star property with views of the Alps and Lake Zurich.

 

The officers went to the registration desk to get keys, then headed upstairs toward the hotel rooms.

 

The charges allege widespread corruption in FIFA over the past two decades, involving bids for World Cups as well as marketing and broadcast deals, according to three law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the case. The charges include wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering. Prosecutors planned to unseal an indictment soon against more than 10 officials, not all of whom are in Zurich, law enforcement officials said.

 

“We’re struck by just how long this went on for and how it touched nearly every part of what F.I.F.A. did,” said a law enforcement official. “It just seemed to permeate every element of the federation and was just their way of doing business. It seems like this corruption was institutionalized.”

 

The arrests were a startling blow to FIFA, a multibillion-dollar organization that governs the world’s most popular sport but has been plagued by accusations of bribery for decades.

The inquiry is also a major threat to Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s longtime president who is generally recognized as the most powerful person in sports, though he was not charged. An election, seemingly pre-ordained to give him a fifth term as president, is scheduled for Friday.

 

The case is the most significant yet for United States Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, who took office last month. She previously served as the United States attorney in Brooklyn, where she supervised the FIFA investigation.

 

With more than $1.5 billion in reserves, FIFA is as much a global financial conglomerate as a sports organization. With countries around the world competing aggressively to win the bid to host the World Cup, Mr. Blatter has commanded the fealty of anyone who wanted a piece of that revenue stream. He and FIFA have weathered corruption controversies in the past, but none involved charges of federal crimes in United States court.

 

United States law gives the Justice Department wide authority to bring cases against foreign nationals living abroad, an authority that prosecutors have used repeatedly in international terrorism cases. Those cases can hinge on the slightest connection to the United States, like the use of an American bank or Internet service provider.

 

Switzerland’s treaty with the United States is unusual in that it gives Swiss authorities the power to refuse extradition for tax crimes, but on matters of general criminal law, the Swiss have agreed to turn people over for prosecution in American courts.

 

The case further mars the reputation of FIFA’s leader, Mr. Blatter, who has for years acted as a de facto head of state. Politicians, star players, national soccer officials and global corporations that want their brands attached to the sport have long genuflected before him.

 

Twitter @sheriffali

 

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Did Pontiff Benedict resign, or, did the Vatican Pontificators resign him, to rescue their own dismal image?

It is quite possible that Pope Benedict’s resignation wasn’t voluntary, but perhaps it may be the conspiracy of the Vatican’s Collegiums Pontificum in an attempt not only to rescue their faltering dismal image, but to rescue their financial house from all of the egregious misuse of funds, from cover-ups of molestation; to robbing the dead; to the disgraced Vatican Bank and a host of other problems.

 

The ousting of Pope Benedict is perhaps due to the most significant factor and that is, almost fifty (50%) percent of The Roman Catholic Church Members are Latin Americans, hence the reason for the first Non-European Pope in more than one thousand (1,000) years.

 

Vatican’s appointment of Pope Francis is perhaps an attempt to hold on to their most loyal Members that accounts for 50% of the Roman Catholic Religion:

 

Not all but most Spanish people are die-hard loyalist to the Roman Catholic Religion and who else but them, would continue to give their unwavering support in dedication and money to men who seems in their own minds to have usurped God and have convinced others that they are Holier than Christ Himself. When God in the flesh walked the earth in the form of Jesus Christ, He did so in the most humble manner. However, take a good look at Pope Benedict with his costume from his head down to his toe that looks like he is in the Brazilian Carnival Parade.  

 

Robbing those whose faith could not be shaken – the Dead:

 

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony used 115 million dollars from a Los Angeles cemetery maintenance fund to pay landmark settlements with molestation victims. The church did not inform the relatives of the deceased that it had taken the money, which amounted to 88% of the fund. The families of those buried in the church-owned cemeteries and interred in its mausoleums have contributed to a dedicated account for the perpetual care of the graves and crypts. But, the Robe-Wearing Gangsters calling themselves Priests, Cardinals and the likes, literally robbed the dead.

 

Vatican Bank mysteries and scandals!

 

Robert Calvi, sometimes referred to as “God’s Banker,” was found dead in 1982, hanging from a bridge in London. The Vatican Bank was recently in the news following the Ferrari-driving Lawyer who has been charged with defrauding insurance companies and using the Vatican Bank to hide the loot.

 

To his credit, Pope Benedict XV1 tried to insert some transparency into the bank’s operations, but ran into the Vatican Political Wall. Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, President of the Vatican Bank was fired because he was getting too close to the truth.

 

The Vatican Bank has been involved in money laundering and various forms of illegal activities for decades. The Vatican which is the Roman Catholic Religion is the only religion in the world that has Embassies in several countries and instituted self-amnesty for all those in esteem positions in the Church.

 

In the final analysis, the heads of the Roman Catholic Church/Religion is not about God, it is about cover-ups; schemes; money laundering; sex abuse to innocent children and perhaps murder. The question is why anyone would follow these Pharisees whose deeds are unequivocally – “pharisaic ostentation.”

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