Nick West's Anti-Corrupion Blog: June 2014

Thursday, June 26, 2014

George Vecsey talks 'Eight World Cups,' FIFA corruption, Landon Donovan and more at Midtown Scholar

By Jacob Klinger, www.pennlive.com
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June 25th, 2014

George Vecsey's friends didn't understand where he was going. His bosses needed convincing.

Covering the World Cup for The New York Times in 1982 resulted in letters wondering what Vecsey, then the "Sports of The Times" columnist, was doing at a tournament and a sport that had almost no place in the American sporting landscape.

At a promotional event for his latest book, "Eight World Cups: My Journey Through The Beauty and Dark Side of Soccer," Vecsey took audience members at the Midtown Scholar book store in Harrisburg through the transformation in soccer's popularity in the U.S. He offered insight and opinions from his career covering every World Cup from 1982-2010 on current issues surrounding the American men's national team, like Landon Donovan and Jurgen Klinsmann, as well as widespread allegations of corruption in FIFA.

He was especially unhesitant to weigh in on the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

"The United States doesn't want and shouldn't want any part of the World Cup in 2022," Vecsey said.

"... Geopolitically, not a very good idea. And they know that. I happen to know that people know that."

In the question-and-answer portion of the event, Vecsey invited questions about Donovan's exclusion from the U.S.' World Cup squad.

After three audience members combined to frame the question, Vecsey said he didn't think Klinsmann dislikes Donovan or that the decision was personal. The author didn't agree with the roster choice, but said he doesn't think it's cost the U.S. yet.

"It could happen against Germany," Vecsey said. "If they fall behind by a goal, what's to name anybody in the history of the United States who's ever played soccer or anything, who would you rather go in there? George Washington, Jackie Robinson?

"I mean anybody you could mention — you'd want Landon Donovan to go in there."

Vecsey spent much of his time addressing corruption in soccer, even suggesting avenues of change for fans unhappy with the game's world governing body, FIFA.

American morality, sponsors and transparency laws will be crucial to any meaningful reforms, he said.

"The only person that they haven't gotten, and I'm not at all suggesting that legally I know anything," Vecsey said, "is the head guy Sepp Blatter."

When he began writing "Eight World Cups" Vecsey saw Blatter as more of "just a foolish man who makes stupid statements." No more.

"In fact, the guy was incompetent and there were incompetent people right below him, which resulted in the dark side and opens the dark side with the rewarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar in a double-bid vote, which had to do with people trading votes," Vecsey said.

Vecsey pointed to U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati's 2013 appointment to FIFA's executive committee as a cause for tempered optimism for transparency.

"I hope that we can pull him into what he knows," Vecsey said. "I hope that his actions will be anywhere near what he knows and talks about. Not that he's talking a big game, but just — I would expect him to do better. But transparency is the important thing.

He said he sees the U.S. potentially exporting transparency in a global soccer exchange, but that ultimately, FIFA will respond most to pressure from sponsors.

"Without even mentioning names, but the beer company, the car company, the insurance company, whoever the official FIFA sponsors are, they need to be prodded by America corporations saying 'That's not how we do business and Sepp Blatter is giving our company a bad name. The idea of this guy running for office, for a sixth term, when he's under such a cloud, he needs to go away and quickly before the next election.'

"That has to come from American businesses. I know, I know that Sunil Gulati knows that. I don't know what he's going to do about it, he's at the World Cup now. But behind the scenes in ways we'll probably never be able to find out exactly, it has to evolve for them."

Princess Cristina of Spain Is Charged in Corruption Case

By Raphael Minder, www.nytimes.com
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June 18th, 2014

Princess Cristina, sister of King Felipe VI who gained the throne last week and is trying to rebuild the monarchy’s reputation, faces trial on corruption charges. Credit Jaime Reina/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesPhoto by: Jaime Reina/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

MADRID — The Spanish monarchy was dragged deeper into a corruption case on Wednesday when Princess Cristina was charged with tax fraud and money laundering by a judge investigating whether her husband and business associates had embezzled millions of dollars in public funds earmarked for sports events.

The royal household had hoped to contain the scandal to the princess’s husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, who has been at the heart of the corruption investigation.

The charges come less than a week after Cristina’s brother ascended to the throne as King Felipe VI, succeeding his father, King Juan Carlos I. In hisproclamation speech in Parliament on Thursday, Felipe promised lawmakers integrity and transparency as part of “a renovated monarchy for a new time.” Neither his sister nor his father attended the ceremony.

Cristina and her husband have denied wrongdoing in previous court appearances and are expected to appeal the latest charges.

The investigation has already lasted three years and has been led by José Castro, a judge based in Palma, on the Mediterranean island of Majorca. It has centered on whether Mr. Urdangarin used his royal credentials to secure inflated sports contracts from regional politicians for a foundation that he presided over, and then siphoned off millions to send to companies and offshore accounts that he and his business associates controlled.

Judge Castro filed fraud charges against 16 people on Wednesday, including Mr. Urdangarin; Diego Torres, his main former business associate; and several officials from the regional governments of the Balearic Islands and Valencia, which awarded the suspicious sports contracts. No date has yet been set for the start of the trial.

In a 167-page filing, Judge Castro said there was sufficient evidence that Cristina had profited personally and helped her husband with his suspect business activities. Mr. Urdangarin faces six separate sets of charges relating to fraud, tax evasion and embezzlement of public money.

Mercedes Coghen Alberdingk-Thijm, a former field hockey player who led Madrid’s failed bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, was also among those formally charged with fraud and misappropriation of public funds.

The royal household has long tried to distance itself from Mr. Urdangarin, who has denied that his wife and other members of the royal family had any direct involvement in the management of his foundation, the Nóos Institute. Mr. Urdangarin, a former Olympic handball player, became the duke of Palma in 1997 upon marrying Cristina.

This month, Juan Carlos, 76, said his surprise decision to abdicate in favor of his 46-year-old son was motivated by a desire to allow the next generation to “move to the front line.”

However, the monarchy’s problems have stretched beyond the inquiry into Mr. Urdangarin’s business dealings. Juan Carlos’s popularity had already slumped as a result of his misjudgment. In April 2012, the king was forced to issue an apology after going on an African elephant-hunting vacation that was seen as an affront to Spanish citizens enduring belt-tightening in a recession.

Royalists are hoping that Felipe, who has been personally untainted by the recent royal scandals, will help restore the image of the monarchy.

Correction: June 25, 2014

An earlier version of the headline with this article misspelled the princess’ given name. She is Cristina, not Christina.

Corruption Sweep at Rikers Island Leads to 22 Arrests

By Michael Schwirtz, www.nytimes.com
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June 23rd, 2014

The Rikers Island jail complex in New York City has been dogged by reports of abundant contraband and violent episodes. Credit Bebeto Matthews/Associated PressPhoto by: Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press

A sweep by law enforcement authorities at Rikers Island, part of a monthslong investigation into wrongdoing at the jail complex, led to the arrests of two correction officers on Monday night and more than 20 inmates on Tuesday, officials said.

The officers and inmates were part of what officials with the Department of Investigation and the Department of Correction described as a network of contraband smuggling and other criminality at Rikers that has undermined security at the jail complex and contributed to surging violence. The search also uncovered stashes of marijuana, tobacco and weapons. Before Monday, at least 12 other correction officers and their superiors were referred for prosecution as part of the investigation. They were accused of drug trafficking, inmate abuse and falsifying documents, the officials said.

“Criminal conduct in the correctional facilities will not be tolerated,” Mark G. Peters, commissioner of the Department of Investigation, and Joseph Ponte, commissioner of the Department of Correction, said in a statement. If an inmate breaks the law in jail, it is treated as a new arrest. More arrests are expected, officials said.

In just one measure of the rising levels of violence, there were 1,844 uses of force by correction officers at the jail complex from January to May this year, a number that has doubled in the previous three years during the same period, according to the Correction Department. Also during this period, there were 274 drug recoveries and 868 weapons confiscated, the department said.

The latest investigation came after the recent deaths of several inmates and persistent reports by oversight officials, fellow correction officers and civilians of rampant corruption and abuse of inmates by correction officers.

Diane Struzzi, a spokeswoman for the Investigation Department, said that in the last six months, it “significantly stepped up its efforts” at Rikers. Agents quietly gathered incriminating information against correctional officials and inmates, and presented the evidence to Mr. Ponte when he took over as department commissioner this April, Ms. Struzzi said.

“We collaborated on this because the evidence we uncovered showed that prisoners and corrupt correction officers were acting together,” she said.

Over 100 correction officers were searched in the sweep on Monday of the George Motchan Detention Center, which ended at 10:45 p.m. Two officers, identified as Steven Dominguez, 26, and Infinite Devine Rahming, 30, were arrested. They were arraigned on Monday night in Manhattan Criminal Court, charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana, according to the criminal complaint. Both were caught with backpacks containing eight ounces or more of cocaine, according to the report. Marijuana was also found in Officer Dominguez’s vehicle, the complaint said. Prosecutors did not specify if marijuana was found with Officer Rahming.

Bond was set at $500,000, or $250,000 cash alternative.

Norman Seabrook, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, the correction officers’ union, supported the efforts to curb corruption at the jail but contended the arrests were part of a “witch hunt” against his members. He said that to his knowledge, Officers Dominguez and Rahming, who each have about two years on the job, did not bring drugs onto the territory of the jail.

Mr. Seabrook said he believed the two men were given the backpacks by someone else and might not have known that they contained drugs. He also challenged the assertion that contraband was a major problem at Rikers, noting the relatively small amount of illegal goods confiscated in the search.

Mr. Ponte, a well-regarded prison reformer who has vowed to impose order at Rikers, said in a statement on Tuesday that corruption would not be tolerated. But he defended “the overwhelming majority of correction staff” that he said were “hardworking professionals.”

“Their safety, like the safety of civilian staff, inmates and visitors, demands that we maintain the highest levels of staff integrity,” he said.