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IOC Member's Son Indicted

September 1, 1999 / 8:25 PM EDT / AP

The son of one of the International Olympic Committee's most powerful members was indicted Wednesday on federal charges that he lied to the FBI about the Salt Lake bribery scandal and fraudulently obtained a green card through his connections.

It is the second criminal case arising from the vote-buying during the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The charges allege that John Kim, the son of IOC executive board member Un-yong Kim, lied to an FBI agent in February when he described the work he did for a Utah company called Keystone Communications. The indictment alleges that Kim's salary was in fact paid by the Salt Lake Bid Committee and Kim himself, as part of a scheme to influence Kim's father to vote in favor of Salt Lake's Olympic bid.

In the first criminal case resulting from the scandal, Utah businessman David Simmons admitted that he helped create a sham job for the younger Kim at Keystone.

Simmons, who pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor tax charge, told Salt Lake Olympic Committee investigators the deal was approved by Un-yong Kim and arranged by Tom Welch, who headed the Olympic bid and later the organizing committee.

John Kim responded last week by suing Simmons in South Korea, claiming Simmons' testimony was false. He claimed that his deal with Simmons' company was purely business and he knew nothing of the arrangement between the bid committee and Simmons.

The elder Kim is an influential power broker in the IOC, and has been cited as a candidate to replace Juan Antonio Samaranch as IOC chief in 2001. The South Korean has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the Salt Lake scandal, and in March, the IOC gave him a "severe warning" for his conduct, but stopped short of harsher sanctions.

A 16-count indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York City charges that John Kim lied to the FBI by claiming his job at Keystone was a real, full-time and permanent position.

The indictment said Kim used the sham position to fraudulently obtain a green card and then used the immigration document to visit the United States repeatedly from 1995 to this year.

Kim family spokesman Bill Schechter said Wednesday that he had not yet seen the indictment and had no immediate response. John Kim was in South Korea, but Schechter said five armed Justice Department agents had appeared at Kim's home on Long Island on Wednesday morning.

Schechter also said the Justice Department has a copy of a document in which Kim was informed in writing by SLOC officials "that Sen. (Orrin) Hatch is prepared to provide special legislation if necessary to overcome any problems that John may have on his green card."

Hatch, a four-term Republican from Utah, did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

According to documents filed in Simmons' case, Simmons hired John Kim at $50,000, then raised the salary to $70,383, and was reimbursed by the bid committee and a small conribution from Morris Travel Inc. of Salt Lake City.

Simmons said he used fake contracts and phony invoices to conceal the fact that the younger Kim's salary was paid by the Salt Lake Bid Committee.

The Justice Department began investigating allegations of bribery in Salt Lake's Olympic bid last December. The Internal Revenue Service and Customs Service are also involved.

Welch's attorney, Tom Schaffer, said he has not seen Wednesday's indictment and would not comment. He said government investigators have not yet contacted his client.