U.S.

Olympic Scandal Keeps Growing

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 22, 1999 / 3:07 PM EST / CBS

One of the biggest scandals in Olympic history - accusations that bribery played a role in the choice of Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Games - just keeps growing.

CBS News Correspondent Bill Whitaker reports that the Customs Service has begun looking into whether officials of the U.S. Olympics Committee violated federal currency laws by carrying more than the $10,000 legal limit out of the country.

This is one of several investigations now going on.

The International Olympic Committee has conducted its own probe and will make a report at a meeting Sunday in Switzerland. Two IOC members expected to be implicated in the scandal already have resigned.

Bashir Mohamed Attarabulsi of Libya submitted his resignation Friday morning. Finland's Pirjo Haeggman resigned Tuesday.

Dick Pound, the IOC vice president who will release results of the committee's investigation this weekend, apologized Thursday in New York to the athletes, fans, and the people of Salt Lake City.

"We'd like to express our sincere apologies for the actions of certain IOC members," he said. "Their conduct has been completely contrary to everything the Olympic movement has worked so hard to represent."

CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports that Pound will name names and recommend expulsion for at least 12 IOC members who solicited bribes and lavish treatment from Salt Lake Olympic organizers.

"With Salt Lake City," Pound said, "we have a smoking gun. We can show that we do mean business."

The IOC investigation probably won't end there. Officials in more cities are expected to step forward with stories of IOC extortion.

Already, officials who led Anchorage's failed Olympic bid say they were told to pay up.

In Sydney, Australia, officials say IOC members demanded bribes before they would vote for that city's successful Olympic bid.

Among the other investigations under way are:

An ethics committee is investigating Salt Lake City's local organizers. It will make its report public within 10 days.
The FBI and a federal grand jury began hearing evidence of wrongdoing on Wednesday. Their investigation could go on for months.
The Utah attorney general and the state legislature are conducting their own investigation. Earlier this month, legislative leaders called for public disclosure of the local committee's financial records.

Pound says the games will go on in Salt Lake City. But at least two sponsors aren't finalizing their deals until all investigations have been concluded.