Nationality American Name Chuck Blazer | Spouse Susan Blazer (m. ?–1995) | |
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Full Name Charles Gordon Blazer Born April 26, 1945 ( 1945-04-26 ) New York City, New York, U.S. Residence New York City, New York, U.S. Criminal status On trial; Guilty plea entered Children Marci Blazer, Jason Blazer Similar People Jack Warner, Jeffrey Webb, Sepp Blatter, Mohammed bin Hammam, Jerome Valcke | ||
Criminal charge Money laundering, Racket | ||
Escándalo en la FIFA: Chuck Blazer confirmó los sobornos, mientras Valcke no piensa dimitir
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 until 2011, and Executive Vice President of the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Contents
- Escndalo en la FIFA Chuck Blazer confirm los sobornos mientras Valcke no piensa dimitir
- Fifa scandal former executive chuck blazer becomes government informant tomonews
- Early life
- Career
- Corruption allegations and conviction
- Death
- References
In 2013, he 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. Blazer's admissions came during testimony given at a sealed sentencing proceeding in a New York federal court.
Fifa scandal former executive chuck blazer becomes government informant tomonews
Early life
Blazer grew up in a middle-class Jewish family in the New York 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. On graduating he enrolled at NYU's Stern School of Business but did not complete his MBA.
Career
He played a central role in the decision to make the successful bid for the 1994 World Cup, and also during this time the U.S. women's soccer team was formed. His position gave him a seat on the board of CONCACAF where he met Jack Warner. In 1986, after failing to win re-election, he co-founded the American Soccer League, running it from his home. It lasted only two years, with Blazer being forced out by the owners who felt they had been kept in the dark about finances. He became president of the Miami Sharks, taking control of the finances, only to leave precipitously after five months, in May 1989. In 1989, Blazer convinced Jack Warner to run for CONCACAF president. Blazer managed Warner's successful campaign and was then appointed General Secretary. He was the General Secretary of CONCACAF from 1990 until 2011.
He was a member of the FIFA Executive Committee from 1996 to April 2013, when Sunil Gulati was elected to replace him. Blazer also served as Commissioner of the American Soccer League and Executive Vice President of the United States Soccer Federation.
In May 2011, in response to allegations of bribery made by national representatives attending a 10 May 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 from all soccer activities pending the outcome of FIFA's own investigation and procedures.
Acting CONCACAF president Lisle Austin attempted to fire Blazer five days later, but the action was blocked by the CONCACAF executive committee. On June 15, 2011, Blazer was questioned by the FIFA Ethics Committee.
Corruption allegations and conviction
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. He began working undercover for the FBI in December 2011.
On April 19, 2013, Blazer and Jack Warner were accused of massive fraud during their years as CONCACAF executives. A forensic audit by the organization's Integrity Committee determined that both men had functioned without a written contract from 1998 until their respective departures, and that Blazer had received US$15 million in commissions for his services during that time frame. An anonymous government source expects that an ongoing FBI investigation into Blazer's finances will be expanded significantly and joined by the IRS. In May 2013, Blazer was suspended for 90 days.
On November 1, 2014, it was reported 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. Blazer was compelled to inform for the FBI and IRS after they uncovered more than a decade of unpaid taxes on hidden, multimillion-dollar incomes.
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.
On June 3, 2015, the transcript of a closed sentencing proceeding (which occurred in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on November 25, 2013) was unsealed and made public. In his 2013 testimony, Blazer admitted to conspiring with other FIFA Executive Committee members to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of 1998 and 2010 World Cup hosts. On July 9, 2015, Blazer received a lifetime ban from FIFA from all soccer-related activity.
Blazer died before being sentenced. The delay in sentencing was caused by the decisions of his co-defendants to go to trial.
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.