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Six members out IOC upholds expulsions in secret ballot vote
Posted: Wednesday March 17, 1999 10:41 AM
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- The International Olympic Committee expelled six members today for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in graft from officials who brought the 2002 Winter Games to Salt Lake City. The expulsions, on a secret ballot among 90 eligible voters, followed an overwhelming vote of confidence for Juan Antonio Samaranch, the IOC's embattled president. Agustin Arroyo of Ecuador, Zein El Abdin Ahmed Abdel Gadir of Sudan, Jean-Claude Ganga of the Congo Republic, Lamine Keita of Mali, Sergio Santander of Chile and Paul Wallwork of Samoa were believed to be the first IOC members kicked out for corruption in the panel's 105 years. The vote counts were 72-16 against Arroyo, 86-4 against Gadir, 88-2 against Ganga, 72-16 against Keita, 76-12 against Santander and 67-19 against Wallwork. Their expulsions, upholding the actions of IOC leadership in late January, marked a watershed in the worst scandal in Olympic history and, officials hoped, the start of a reform process to regain the luster of the five rings. Corporate sponsors, sports officials and even leaders of the U.S. Congress have pressured the IOC to make major changes in the wake of the scandal, in which Salt Lake bidders gave cash, travel, medical care and other lavish gifts to try to win votes. At least 30 votes were needed to avoid expulsion, with delegates simply writing "yes" on a blank piece of paper to oust their colleagues or "no" to let them stay. The vote counts were not immediately released. Samaranch said at the start of the emergency general assembly that the IOC "is now on trial" and must take quick, firm action to avoid "very, very serious" damage. Samaranch said the session, called just to vote on expulsions and the start of a reform process, was "the most important" in IOC history. "Our main goal is to take the necessary steps to be absolutely certain that this very sad episode never happens again," he told reporters just before the session started. "Throughout the remaining time of my presidency, I intend to make this our highest priority." In his opening speech to the delegates, Samaranch went further, saying he accepted responsibility for the development of a "crisis of this magnitude" and that the IOC should shoulder the blame "even if some of the conduct by bidding cities has itself been unethical." "It is the IOC that is being judged, and the IOC that must deal with the situation," he said. "Bidding cities which may have acted improperly are a matter of the past; it is our IOC which is now on trial." The committee, he said, "must root out all forms of inappropriate or unethical behavior among our membership." "It is my firm conviction that, unless we act quickly, decisively and unanimously ... the damage which may be done to the Olympic movement and to the IOC as a result of recent disclosures will be very, very serious," Samaranch said. There was no immediate comment from any of the ousted members. All have professed innocence but all faced daunting evidence of wrongdoing. Utah investigators, whose work laid the foundation for the expulsions, said Arroyo's family received almost $21,000 in cash and benefits from Salt Lake bidders. Gadir's son, Zuhair, received $17,000 from Salt Lake while a student at Southern Mississippi, investigators found. Ganga, who led the African boycott of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, and his family, received $270,000 in cash, medical and travel expenses and lavish gifts, according to investigators. The inquiry found that Keita "knowing permitted" organizers to make payments totaling more than $97,000 to support his son at the University of Utah. They said Santander received a $10,000 political campaign donation from Salt Lake bid chief Tom Welch and Wallwork's wife, the investigation found, received a $30,000 loan from Welch while his family got more than $67,000 in travel benefits. Each of the six used at least his allotted 20 minutes in defense. The presentations were described as dignified, with no shouting or finger-pointing. Ganga, who said earlier in the week that the investigation was a "plot against the Third World," brought documents, including a copy of credit card bills, which he passed to Samaranch. Samaranch, in his speech, offered a rundown of accomplishments of his 18 years as president and a list of reforms, including public release of financial records, changes in selecting Olympic cities and establishing an independent reform commission to make recommendations in time for another special assembly late this year. "Starting today, our mandate is to heal the wounds inflicted by the inappropriate actions of some members of the IOC and by others outside of our organization, and return the prestige to the entire Olympic movement," he said. The era of the clubby IOC was over, Samaranch declared. It was time to open the doors and let people see that the leaders of the games could operate as fairly and honestly as the athletes are supposed to. "We have had to make compromises," he said. "This [gains of the past 18 years] has all been accomplished with the best will in the world, but not without some cost in terms of the manner in which the IOC has operated in the past, as a relatively restricted group of individuals acting with a sense of shared values." But, while he said he wanted to lead the IOC through these changes, Samaranch gave perhaps his clearest signal yet that he might not finish his term, scheduled to conclude late in 2001. "I have personally given the best of myself to the Olympic movement over the last 18 years and ... my last service would be to restructure our organization in order to enter the new millennium stronger than ever," he said. The IOC is meeting under pressure from sponsors, Olympic sports officials and even Congress to take major steps in the wake of the $1.2 million bribery scheme that had six members facing expulsion votes. Sen. John McCain, the powerful Commerce Committee chairman, said in a letter this week to the senior Olympic official in the United states that "the demand for Congress to act will be irrepressible" unless the IOC adopts major reforms. "The participation of U.S. athletes in the Olympic Games represents a vested interest by American citizens in reestablishing the integrity of the Olympic ideal of fairness and excellence in competition," McCain wrote to IOC vice president Anita DeFrantz. "This expectation of integrity extends beyond the playing fields and into all aspects of the Olympic movement." In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, McCain noted that his committee has scheduled hearings April 14 on the Olympic scandal; that the IOC has tax-exempt status in the United States; and that sponsorships from U.S. corporations "represent a substantial majority of IOC revenues." "In the strongest terms, let me communicate to you my hope that the IOC will move quickly to adopt reforms necessary to provide transparency and accountability to the IOC organization and processes," McCain wrote. "Without such independent action, the demand for Congress to act will be irrepressible." Another Commerce Committee member, Sen. Ted Stevens, has drawn up legislation that would strip the IOC of tax-exempt status, limit the percentage of fees sponsors can deduct from taxes and reroute U.S. TV rights fees through the U.S. Olympic Committee rather than sending the billions of dollars directly to the IOC. DeFrantz called McCain's letter "an expression of concern" rather than a threat. "Sen. McCain understands, especially in the United States, the importance of sponsors to Olympic athletes," she said. "I'm confident he knows athletes need financial support."
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