To help the FBI build its case, Blazer took a keychain with a tiny microphone embedded in it around with him to meetings with FIFA officials, according to the Daily News. Some of these meetings took place at the London Olympics in 2012. Blazer reportedly emailed the officials the FBI was targeting and arranged to meet them at the games.
Full Answer
What did Chuck Blazer do?
Chuck Blazer. Charles Gordon Blazer (April 26, 1945 – July 12, 2017) was an American soccer administrator, who held a number of high level positions before becoming a government informant on widespread corruption within organized soccer. He was a FIFA Executive Committee member from 1996 to 2013, the CONCACAF General Secretary...
What did former FIFA president Charles Blazer do?
In 2013, Blazer admitted to conspiring with other FIFA executive committee members to accept bribes in conjunction with the failed bid of Morocco and the successful bid of South Africa to become World Cup hosts in 1998 and 2010, respectively. His admissions came during testimony given at a sealed sentencing proceeding in a New York federal court.
Did Blazer work for the FBI?
On August 14, 2011, journalist Andrew Jennings noted in the British newspaper The Independent that the FBI was examining documentary evidence revealing confidential soccer payments to offshore accounts operated by Blazer. Blazer began working undercover for the FBI in December 2011.
What did David Blazer do before soccer?
Before a career in professional soccer that was plagued with scandal, Blazer first found success in a business that manufactured smiley-face buttons. He first got into soccer in Westchester County, New York by coaching his son’s team, although he had never played the sport.
What did Chuck Blazer do?
Story highlights. Chuck Blazer, a former FIFA official who helped blow open the US investigation into corruption in soccer's governing body, has died, according to his lawyer. He was 72. Blazer, a large, bearded figure, was involved in US soccer for years.
Did the FBI investigate FIFA?
The IRS and FBI's five-year investigation into FIFA, its executive committee and its six regional soccer federations still isn't over. So far, 32 officials have been indicted, but Sepp Blatter, FIFA's former president, has avoided charges.
What was the outcome of the FIFA scandal?
That investigation resulted in the arrest and conviction of dozens of powerful soccer officials and marketing executives on charges that included racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Blatter was not charged at the time, even as the scandal brought down most of FIFA's top leadership.
Who exposed FIFA corruption?
Andrew JenningsLONDON (AP) — Andrew Jennings, a groundbreaking investigative journalist who exposed the darker corners of the Olympic movement and soccer body FIFA, has died.
How did FIFA get caught?
The 2015 arrests centre on the alleged use of bribery, fraud and money laundering to corrupt the issuing of media and marketing rights for FIFA games in the Americas, estimated at $150 million, including at least $110 million in bribes related to the Copa América Centenario to be hosted in 2016 in the United States.
How much did Qatar bribe FIFA?
According to leaked documents obtained by The Sunday Times, Qatari state-run television channel Al Jazeera secretly offered $400 million to FIFA, for broadcasting rights, just 21 days before FIFA announced that Qatar will hold the 2022 World Cup.
How did FIFA deal with corruption?
Fifa, world football's governing body, will receive over $201m (£146.5m) in forfeited funds seized during a global corruption probe, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), said on Tuesday. Since the DOJ unveiled the corruption probe in 2015, more than 50 defendants have been criminally charged.
How did FIFA mismanage the change process?
These executives — from South, Central, and North America —allegedly paid more than $150 million in bribes and kickbacks to FIFA officials. As Vox's Amanda Taub puts it, "FIFA officials treated their positions like toll booths, extracting bribes from marketing organizations that needed their signatures or cooperation."
Who is the boss of FIFA?
Giovanni Vincenzo InfantinoGiovanni Vincenzo Infantino (Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanni vinˈtʃɛntso iɱfanˈtiːno]; born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss-Italian football administrator and the current president of FIFA. He was elected President of FIFA during the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress in February 2016.
Which countries bribed FIFA?
U.S. Says FIFA Officials Were Bribed to Award World Cups to Russia and Qatar. For nearly a decade, Russia and Qatar have been suspected of buying votes to win hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Is FIFA a criminal organization?
The revelation of the criminal charges set off an international firestorm. Then, in December 2015, authorities made public a superseding indictment that expanded the number of suspects charged, and explained in further detail why prosecutors considered FIFA to be a criminal enterprise.
How Blazer rose to the top of international soccer
Blazer's rise within FIFA was meteoric. Blazer first got involved in soccer when his son started playing in 1976, according to an extensive BuzzFeed profile of him. He started coaching the team and became more deeply involved in the sport, despite never having played himself.
How Blazer became an FBI informant
Blazer reportedly turned on Warner when he realized that he might be linked to alleged ethics violations by the former Concacaf president. Warner was among those arrested Wednesday and charged with racketeering and bribery offenses, according to the Department of Justice.
Blazer's lavish lifestyle
Blazer himself was reportedly enjoying the perks of his position. The Daily News wrote about the millions of dollars he charged to credit cards to fund his extravagant lifestyle, which reportedly included a Trump Tower apartment just for his cats.
When did the FBI investigate the Blazer?
Blazer began working undercover for the FBI in December 2011.
What happened to Blazer in 2015?
On July 9, 2015, Blazer received a lifetime ban from FIFA from all soccer-related activity.
How long was Blazer suspended?
In May 2013, Blazer was suspended for 90 days. On November 1, 2014, it was reported (by the New York Daily News) that Blazer had been a confidential informant for the FBI and the IRS, and recorded key meetings between executives for FIFA and for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
How did Blazer die?
At the time of his death, he also suffered from coronary artery disease and diabetes.
What role did Blazer play in the 1994 World Cup?
While with U.S. soccer, Blazer played a central role in the decision to make the successful bid for the 1994 World Cup. Also during this time, the U.S. women's soccer team was formed. Blazer's position gave him a seat on the board of CONCACAF, where he met Jack Warner.
When was Blazer arrested?
On May 27, 2015, several FIFA officials were arrested in Zurich, with Blazer having been a key cooperating witness in the investigation that led to the arrests. In exchange for his cooperation, Blazer agreed to plead guilty to charges that include racketeering, wire fraud, income tax evasion, and money laundering.
Who was the AFC president in 2011?
In May 2011, in response to allegations of bribery made by national representatives attending a May 10 meeting of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), Blazer initiated an investigation of AFC President Mohammed bin Hammam and FIFA Vice President Jack Warner.
Who is Chuck Blazer?
Disgraced former FIFA executive Chuck Blazer is apparently helping the FBI dig into soccer corruption to save himself from a big tax debt. Here's the best of the New York Daily News' investigation.
Why did the FBI threaten to throw Blazer in jail?
The FBI threatened to throw Blazer in jail if he didn't cooperate with their investigation. He decided to cooperate because, well, he was going to get out of jail for a long time if he didn't.
What cancer did Blazer have?
The sad part of this story is that Blazer was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. So, of course the Daily News went and found him at a medical facility to ask him questions.
What did Blazer do before the Olympics?
Before Blazer went to the London Olympics with a recording device that he would use to bug conversations for the FBI, he argued with the investigators about whether or not their means of bugging people would be a dead giveaway. And you know what? He has a point.
Did Blazer have a cat?
The lede of the Daily News story talks about Blazer's "extravagant lifestyle, which included a pricey Trump Tower apartment for his cats." Yes, a Trump Tower apartment that was just for his cats.
Rise from salesman
For a man whose career has come to epitomise sleaze in football, it may be surprising - or perhaps fitting - that Blazer never actually played the sport himself.
His pet parrot, and other eccentricities
From 1996 to 2013 he was on Fifa's Executive Committee. Blazer was not shy about publicising the lifestyle he enjoyed while at Fifa's upper echelons.
FBI sting on a mobility scooter
Mr Warner left Concacaf in 2011 after allegations of corruption and bribery, and Blazer left later that year after learning the new leadership wanted rid of him.
Overview
Charles Gordon Blazer (April 26, 1945 – July 12, 2017) was an American soccer administrator, who held a number of high level positions before becoming a government informant on widespread corruption within organized soccer. He was a FIFA Executive Committee member from 1996 to 2013, the CONCACAF general secretary from 1990 to 2011, and executive vice president of the U.S. Soccer F…
Early life
Blazer grew up in a middle-class New York City Jewish family in the borough of Queens, where his father ran a stationery and newspaper shop. He attended Forest Hills High School and then took an accountancy degree at New York University. After graduating, he enrolled at NYU's Stern School of Business but did not complete his MBA. He then spent a number of years selling promotional and marketing items; a first success was supplying buttons for the Smiley craze in the 1970s. When h…
Career
In 1984, persuading Pelé to campaign for him, he was elected to the United States Soccer Federation as executive vice president in charge of international competition. In the next two years the US men's soccer team played 19 matches, having played only two in the two years before Blazer's election. While with U.S. soccer, Blazer played a central role in the decision to make the successful bid for the 1994 World Cup. Also during this time, the U.S. women's soccer team was f…
Corruption allegations and conviction
In May 2011, in response to allegations of bribery made by national representatives attending a May 10 meeting of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), Blazer initiated an investigation of AFC President Mohammed bin Hammam and FIFA Vice President Jack Warner. The investigation was conducted by John P. Collins, former United States federal prosecutor and FIFA Legal Committee member. Its submission led to FIFA's May 29, 2011, suspension of Warner and Bin Hammam fro…
Death
Blazer died on July 12, 2017, of colorectal cancer at a New Jersey hospital at the age of 72. At the time of his death, he also suffered from coronary artery disease and diabetes.
External links
• Official page on Blogger