Justice Dept. Clears Salt Lake Committee

RIO DE JANEIRO —  The U.S. Department of Justice, as expected, has notified the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Games that it will not be prosecuted for its corporate role in the worst corruption scandal in Olympic history, officials said Thursday.

In a letter dated May 12 that was received Wednesday by the committee’s Washington attorneys, the department said it has “no present intention” of seeking an indictment of the nonprofit corporation. It’s typically much tougher in court to prove corporate--as opposed to individual--liability for alleged criminal conduct.

The letter pointedly went on to say that the government’s decision “is not intended to apply to any present or former officer or employee of SLOC, or to any other entity.”

That language distinctly suggests the possibility of future indictments, and the letter itself to SLOC--which clears the decks for further action--signals that the government’s long-running investigation is nearing its conclusion.

Tom Welch and Dave Johnson, who led Salt Lake’s bid, are widely believed to be the government’s primary focus. They have since left SLOC. Neither they nor their attorneys could be reached Thursday for comment.

John Russell, a Justice Department spokesman in Washington, would say only, “The investigation is continuing.”

Salt Lake won the 2002 Games in 1995. The scandal erupted in November 1998 with the first of what became a string of revelations that Salt Lake bidders had showered cash, gifts and other inducements on IOC members. The total: more than $1 million. The IOC has since expelled six members; four others have resigned.

The Justice Department launched its investigation in December 1998. So far it has produced three indictments--of Utah businessman David Simmons; John Kim, son of powerful IOC member Kim Un Yong of South Korea; and Alfredo LaMont, a former director of international relations for the U.S. Olympic Committee. Simmons and LaMont have entered guilty pleas; the younger Kim moved to Seoul before the case against him was filed.

The senior leadership of the Olympic movement, gathered in Brazil this week for meetings, welcomed word that SLOC is off the hook.

“We had not expected to be indicted,” said current SLOC President and CEO Mitt Romney, who took over in 1999. Nonetheless, he added, “It’s another thing to receive a letter from the Justice Department.”

Percolating just below the warm smiles and the genuine relief, however, is an enduring fury that flares repeatedly at private moments as the IOC seeks to come to terms with the scandal--an anger rooted in the sensible notion that it takes two to tango.

Many members believe the IOC was pressured by public opinion to deal harshly with its members. And, the way they see it, months have gone by and authorities in the United States have brought no formal action against anyone integrally connected in the early 1990s with SLOC or the winning bid.

Upon hearing word that SLOC had been cleared, one influential IOC member said: “This is a scandal.”