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 Boxing probe under way Report: Foreman subpoenaed to testify by grand jury
Posted: Friday April 02, 1999 12:15 PM
HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) -- Former heavyweight champion George Foreman has been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury examining whether sanctioning organizations sold rankings and arranged fights in return for kickbacks, a newspaper reported Friday. One area being investigated is whether the International Boxing Federation sold rankings and demanded money from promoters and fighters, The Record said, quoting sources described as only close to the case. Foreman's attorney Larry Wechsler was quoted as saying that federal prosecutors believe Foreman is a victim of the alleged scheme, not a suspect. "My understanding is that George is just one small piece of this rather broad-ranging investigation," Wechsler said in a telephone interview from his office in Washington, D.C. "The government views him as a witness and a victim, and I assume they view other boxers in the same way." He told the newspaper he did not know whether anyone had extorted money from Foreman to set up a fight or improve his ranking. "I guess the government believes that there must have been money extorted from him or people he was involved with," Wechsler said. Foreman had been scheduled to appear before the panel on Wednesday, but probably will testify this month, Wechsler said. The prosecutor overseeing the investigation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose Sierra of the Organized Crime Strike Force in Newark, declined to comment Thursday. The more than year-long probe by the U.S. attorney's office in Newark focuses on the IBF and has so far led to subpoenas demanding financial records from promoters, a source familiar with the investigation has told The Associated Press. The payments were made by fighter managers, sometimes disguised as consulting fees, to promoters and sanctioning groups, according to unidentified sources cited by The Star-Ledger of Newark, which disclosed the investigation last month. The IBF, based in East Orange, also came under scrutiny last month from law enforcement agencies in New York following the controversial draw in the March 13 heavyweight championship bout between Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. Of the three judges, only the IBF-picked judge had Holyfield winning the fight many believed Lewis dominated. The IBF and two other sanctioning groups -- the WBA and the WBC -- by their rules and rankings, play a large role in determining whom a boxer fights. Boxers who defy the groups risk losing the chance to be declared a champion and earn large purses. "How these different boxers are rated and whether they get to championship fights can be worth millions of dollars," said IBF attorney Walter R. Stone. Federal grand jurors have subpoenaed all IBF records since 1982 on rankings and contracts for fights, as well as checks, invoices, expense forms, and telephone records, said Stone. IBF president Robert Lee has denied the allegations. Lee's attorney, Gerald Krovatin, said he saw no reason for concern. "For 15 years, people have been making allegations against Bob Lee that have proven false and hollow and gone absolutely nowhere,: Krovatin said. "I have no reason to believe that this investigation will be any different." Foreman, who lives in Houston, is not concerned about the grand jury investigation, Wechsler said. "I don't know that anyone wants to come up from Texas to New Jersey to testify," the attorney said, "but he's not concerned other than it being an inconvenience."
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