Winter Olympic Games: Violating State Bribery Laws

• Author: Cecil C. Kuhne III
• Pages: 3-8

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Winter Olympic Games:

Violating State

Bribery Laws

United States v. Welch

327 F.3d 1081 (10th Cir. 2003)

e two chief organiz ers of Salt Lake City’s ambitious bid to win the

2002 Winter Olympics—omas Welch and David Johnson—were

indicted in the summer of 2000 by a federal grand jury on charges of

conspiracy to commit bribery, fraud, and racketeering related to a vote-

buying scandal of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that

erupted in 1998.

According to the indictment, Welch and Johnson secretly paid a

member of the United States Olympic Committee to assist in Salt Lake

City’s bid for the winter games, as well as falsif ying documents in order

to conceal their nefarious activities. ei r under-the-table eorts appar-