Ex-FIFA official asks to live at home with pool tied to alleged bribe

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former high-ranking football official charged with soliciting bribes, including $500,000 (324,576 pounds) that allegedly went to build a swimming pool at his house, wants to stay in that house near Atlanta while he awaits trial, his lawyer said on Thursday.

Ex-FIFA official asks to live at home with pool tied to alleged bribe

(Reuters)





Jeffrey Webb, a former vice president at football's world governing body FIFA, is charged with using his position to solicit bribes from sports marketing companies. A Cayman Islands national, he was released in July on a $10 million bond and has since been restricted to living within 20 miles (32.187 kilometers) of the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York.

The costs associated with staying around New York "are now posing extraordinary financial and logistical burdens on Mr. Webb and his immediate family," his lawyer, Edward O'Callaghan, wrote in the letter to U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie.

The burdens would be less at Webb's house in Loganville, Georgia, where Webb could also care more easily for his 1-year-old son, the lawyer wrote. Webb would continue to comply with electronic monitoring and have a security detail, as he does now, the lawyer wrote.

The Loganville house figured in the indictment disclosed in May of Webb and 13 other former football officials and businessmen. A $500,000 bribe payment allegedly went to build a swimming pool there, according to the indictment.

Dearie has not ruled on the request from Webb's lawyer, according to court records. Prosecutors are not opposing it, according to the letter. A spokeswoman for prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Webb and six other football officials were arrested on May 27 in Zurich as they prepared to attend a FIFA congress. He later waived objections to being extradited to the United States.

His bond was secured by 10 properties, three cars, a case of jewellery and watches belonging to Webb and his wife, and financial assets including a 401(k) retirement account.









(Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Bernard Orr)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world