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Probe doesn't involve SLOC, USOC
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The IOC's chief ethics investigator said Wednesday his probe into a new Salt Lake bid allegation centers on a member of a national Olympic committee who took an undisclosed benefit from Salt Lake's bid committee. The man is not associated with the U.S. Olympic Committee and the case is unrelated to the reconstituted Salt Lake Organizing Committee that will stage the 2002 Winter Games. Francois Werner, staff investigator for the International Olympic Committee's ethics commission, was unwilling to provide further details about the nature or subject of the allegation. U.S. law enforcement officials were uncertain what case Werner was investigating. In Lausanne, Switzerland, Werner said he plans to interview his subject, who has been accused of "exactly the same kind of problem we've already had with Salt Lake." Salt Lake bid chief Tom Welch and deputy Dave Johnson face charges of lavishing $1 million on International Olympic Committee members who voted to make Salt Lake an Olympic host. The trial is scheduled to start July 16. Werner would not say what kind of benefit the subject of his investigation was accused of taking from Salt Lake. Welch and Johnson are accused of doling out cash, scholarships, expensive gifts and medical care. Werner characterized the wrongdoing as serious, although a formal investigation has yet to be opened. The IOC's ethics commission will examine the case July 12 in Moscow, he said. "The most important thing is to see if there is a matter to make a real inquiry or not," Werner said. He declined to give any further details or to name the individual involved. He said he had talked to the man by telephone and plans to interview him in person. The Salt Lake scandal led to the expulsion or resignation of 10 IOC members, the creation of the ethics commission and a rule banning members from visiting candidate cities. SLOC President Mitt Romney, who left Lausanne early Wednesday after briefing the IOC's executive board on preparations for next February's games, said he was unaware of the new allegation.
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