LA Times · Jun 4, 2015
FIFA scandal: Chuck Blazer's testimony is key to case
Chuck Blazer, shown in 2005, admitted to a judge that he was involved with bribery related to the awarding of the 1998 and 2010 World Cups and five Gold Cup tournaments. (John Macdougall / Getty Images)Chuck Blazer was once one of the most powerful figures in world soccer, living a lavish life in two apartments in New York’s Trump Tower, hobnobbing with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Vladimir Putin.
But on a November morning two years ago, he was in a Brooklyn courtroom, a defeated man sitting in a wheelchair and admitting that he and other international soccer officials had accepted bribes for their support in selecting the host countries for the World Cup in 1998 and 2010.