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Judge vents ire over false bribery charges against Utah organisers
Salt Lake City, Dec 07: A U.S. federal judge threw out all charges against two former Utah Olympic planners accused of bribery.
Salt Lake City, Dec 07: A U.S. federal judge threw out all charges against two former Utah Olympic planners accused of bribery.
A U.S. federal judge on Friday (December 5) threw out all charges against two former Utah Olympic executives accused of bribery in winning the 2002 Winter Games for the state and scolded the government for having pursued the case. "It offends my sense of justice ... The court has determined that enough is enough and brought this misplaced prosecution to conclusion," U.S. District Court Judge David Sam said. He told jurors the government had not presented sufficient evidence during five weeks of testimony to prove its case against Tom Welch and Dave Johnson, and wondered aloud how much taxpayer money had been spent on the prosecution. Welch said that the decision reaffirmed his faith in the judicial process. "You know, there were times in this process, over the last five years that were straining, even testing the faith that I had in the process. But in the end, when you look at it, and you listen to the words of the judge today, our system is a great system, and it works," Welch said outside the Salt Lake City courthouse.
Johnson, while pleased with the decision, was not happy about the charges. "I think it's a travesty that our government can do this, and they were out of line, and I don't agree with how our politicians handled this either."
The judge's actions left the government with no avenue of appeal. The judge considered the prosecution's case so weak he granted a defense motion to dismiss the charges.
Welch and Johnson had been charged by the U.S. Justice Department with masterminding a $1 million (USD) cash-for-votes scheme to entice international Olympic dignitaries to choose Salt Lake City over other bid cities to host the games.
The two executives, who were lauded when Utah was chosen in 1995 to host the 2002 Winter Games, had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
In 2001, Judge Sam dismissed the charges, but earlier this year a federal appeals court in Denver reinstated them.
If convicted on all counts the men could have gone to prison for up to 75 years. Welch and Johnson have said all along that other Olympic officials knew what they were doing to entice International Olympic Committee delegates to chose Utah.
Their attorneys told jurors that the two men were scapegoats. Utah had tried for three decades to win the right to stage the Olympics.
Changes were made at the Swiss-based IOC after the embarrassing scandal broke and rules were tightened up for how cities can bid to host the Games.
Bureau Report
A U.S. federal judge on Friday (December 5) threw out all charges against two former Utah Olympic executives accused of bribery in winning the 2002 Winter Games for the state and scolded the government for having pursued the case. "It offends my sense of justice ... The court has determined that enough is enough and brought this misplaced prosecution to conclusion," U.S. District Court Judge David Sam said. He told jurors the government had not presented sufficient evidence during five weeks of testimony to prove its case against Tom Welch and Dave Johnson, and wondered aloud how much taxpayer money had been spent on the prosecution. Welch said that the decision reaffirmed his faith in the judicial process. "You know, there were times in this process, over the last five years that were straining, even testing the faith that I had in the process. But in the end, when you look at it, and you listen to the words of the judge today, our system is a great system, and it works," Welch said outside the Salt Lake City courthouse.
Johnson, while pleased with the decision, was not happy about the charges. "I think it's a travesty that our government can do this, and they were out of line, and I don't agree with how our politicians handled this either."
The judge's actions left the government with no avenue of appeal. The judge considered the prosecution's case so weak he granted a defense motion to dismiss the charges.
Welch and Johnson had been charged by the U.S. Justice Department with masterminding a $1 million (USD) cash-for-votes scheme to entice international Olympic dignitaries to choose Salt Lake City over other bid cities to host the games.
The two executives, who were lauded when Utah was chosen in 1995 to host the 2002 Winter Games, had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
In 2001, Judge Sam dismissed the charges, but earlier this year a federal appeals court in Denver reinstated them.
If convicted on all counts the men could have gone to prison for up to 75 years. Welch and Johnson have said all along that other Olympic officials knew what they were doing to entice International Olympic Committee delegates to chose Utah.
Their attorneys told jurors that the two men were scapegoats. Utah had tried for three decades to win the right to stage the Olympics.
Changes were made at the Swiss-based IOC after the embarrassing scandal broke and rules were tightened up for how cities can bid to host the Games.
Bureau Report