Prosecutors open bribery case against Olympic bid leaders

SALT LAKE CITY — Federal prosecutors opened the trial against two of this city's Olympic bid leaders Friday, saying the men "chose to wage a sophisticated campaign of bribery" to win the contract for the 2002 Winter Games.

The defense said Tom Welch and Dave Johnson did nothing wrong.

Welch, who was president of the bid and organizing committees, and Johnson, who was senior vice president, began the process by "identifying which IOC member would take bribes and which would not," John Scott, a Justice Department trial attorney, said in opening arguments.

Using charts and diagrams, Scott tracked the flow of money for jurors from the bid committee to members of the International Olympic Committee, using icons representing stacks of green cash.

Jean-Claude Ganga, an ousted IOC delegate from the Republic of Congo, took "a jackpot of $322,000" in cash, first-class travel, shopping sprees, and even a Rolex watch, Scott said.

Scott also claimed Welch and Johnson took $130,000 from an Olympic sponsor, Jet Set Sports, which arranged ticket and travel packages for VIPs attending the Olympic Games.

"We are not going to be able to show you how that cash got used," Scott told the jury of nine men and five women, a group that includes two unidentified alternates. "Use your common sense."

Johnson's attorney Bill Taylor emphasized the bid leaders were part of a larger team of Utah business leaders, politicians, lawyers and doctors who supported or funded the bid campaign or conferred their own gifts on IOC members.

He said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, joined the effort, helping relatives of IOC members obtain visas to work or attend school in the United States.

Welch and Johnson and the others realized only after losing the 1998 Winter Olympics to Nagano, Japan, that it would take more than "salt water taffy and jars of honey" to win the loyalties of IOC members, Taylor said.

The government has no evidence Welch or Johnson pocketed the money from Sead Dizarevich, owner of Jet Set Sports, who insisted on making his contributions in cash to hide it from other bid cities, he said. Welch and Johnson maintain they used the money for bid expenses.

"The evidence will be overwhelming that Tom Welch and Dave Johnson committed no crime — that it's unfair for them to be here," Taylor said.

The trial comes nearly five years after a single, leaked letter showed the 2002 bid to host the games had been greased by scholarships for relatives of IOC delegates, triggering a scandal of international proportions.

The government accused Welch, 59, and Johnson, 44, of lavishing $1 million in cash, gifts and favors on IOC delegates who awarded Salt Lake the games.