FIFA graft scandal trial: US jury convicts two former South American football bosses
By AFP | Published: 23rd December 2017 01:24 AM |
Last Updated: 23rd December 2017 01:24 AM | A+A A- |
Three former South American soccer officials, from left, Manuel Burga, of Peru; Jose Maria Marin, of Brazil; and Juan Angel Napout, of Paraguay, are accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes. (File | AP)
NEW YORK: A US jury on Friday convicted two South American ex-football bosses on charges ranging from racketeering conspiracy to money laundering and wire fraud at the FIFA corruption trial, but will return after Christmas to deliberate on the fate of a third defendant.
The panel returned guilty verdicts against Jose Maria Marin, former head of Brazil's Football Confederation and Juan Angel Napout, former head of Paraguayan football, on the sixth day of deliberations following a seven-week trial in New York.
Marin, 85, was convicted on six of seven counts, and Napout, 59, on three out of five, in connection with bestowing television and marketing rights to soccer matches.
But the jury in the Brooklyn federal court said they had not yet reached consensus on former Peru boss Manuel Burga, who faces one count of racketeering conspiracy. They will return to resume deliberations on Tuesday, after the Christmas holiday.
The trial began two and a half years after the United States unveiled the largest graft scandal in the history of world soccer.
US government prosecutors indicted 42 officials and marketing executives, and detailed 92 alleged crimes to the tune of $200 million, but so far only these three defendants have faced trial.
Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
