| OCR Text |
Show Page A6 ', THE DAILY HERALD, Pravo, Utah, Thursday, January 2 1, 1999 A.G. announces Olympics investigation Graham said her office will not "duplicate the work of the federal investigation," and instead will examine potential violations of Utah criminal By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer SALT LAKE CITY . il x r v -- s f The bribery scandal surrounding the 2002 Winter Olympics has prompted a fifth investigation this one by the Utah Attorney General. Jan Graham, the state's said general, attorney will not her Wednesday inquiry Salt the Lake until begin Organizing Committee's ethics panel and the International Olympic Committee release their reports. The U.S. Olympic Committee and the Justice Department also are investigating. Justice officials met with at least one potential witness Wednesday and impaneled a grand jury. laws. "Our work will be done carefully but as quickly and professionally as possible, so ques- tions surrounding potential criminal conduct do not linger," Graham said. Those questions need to be answered with confidence and finality." Awaiting SLOC's report The attorney general's office will use its own staff investiga- tors, but Graham said they would rely heavily on the information uncovered in the SLOC report and in the Justice Department probe, which will likely take months to complete. The SLOC ethics committee's findings are expected to be released before Feb. 11, though no exact date has been mandated, SLOC spokesperson Frank Zang said. Graham said her office's investigation "will not be very active" before the report is released. is Graham the only Democrat elected to statewide office in Utah. She has frequently locked horns with Republican governor Mike Leavitt, an ardent supporter of the state's Olympic efforts. Attorney general spokesman Palmer DePaulis said the governor's office didn't learn of the new probe until it was announced. Spokespersons at SLOC and in Leavitt's office hadn't yet learned of the investigation when contacted for comment by The Associated Press. DePaulis said his boss's deci. sion to launch an investigation should not surprise anyoiie, J least of all Leavitt. "There's a reasonable expectation by the people of Utah that we would review the findings of the other investigations," DePaulis said. State Rep. Jordan Tanner, has been an advocate of more state oversight of the Olympic bid and is sponsoring a bill that would allow the state 1 to examine SLOC's books. He Graham's applauded announcement. "If criminal laws of Utah look like they have been broken, I think it is an appropriate responsibility of the attorney general to look into it," Tanner said. 2006 bid cities caught in 'earthquake' of Salt Lake scandal , AP Sports Writer K Al SI Ml KASAH AKA I he Associated Press the spot: With a poster of 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games posted on the wall, Makoto Kobayashi, director general of the Nagano Olympic organizing committee, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in his Tokyo office on Tuesday as questions about possible vote buying during Nagano's successful bid for the winter games have been fueled amid the Salt Lake City bribery scandal. On ; ll ; l i Geisha entertained IOC officials I- - decision of how to destroy the expense books to other officials. Bv VI Rl KAGEYAMA The Associated Press I The expenses were approved Some NAGANO, Japan IOC officials inspecting - Nagano as a site for the 1998 Winter Games were enter- ' tained by geisha paid by the city's bidders. "We couldn't very well have had the governor pour drinks," Sumikazu Yamaguchi, a senior member of the bidding commit- 'tZ tee, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "All they did ''. was pour drinks and perform j4 Japanese dance." 't He said they were not prosti- ; tntes, although some geisha are. Most International Olympic Committee officials did not get ', entertained Japanese-stylby J e geisha during Nagano's bid, because they preferred to stay at Western-stylhotels, Yamaguchi said. IOC officials being offered prostitutes are among the accusations to have surfaced in the bribery investigation at Salt 1989-199- 1 e Lake City. Other cities The IOC has said it is preparing to expand that investigation to other host cities, heightening scrutiny of Nagano's bid. . Last week, Yamaguchi acknowledged that the bidding committee's expense records, which have been missing for years, had been intentionally destroyed in 992. Mayor Tasuku Nagano Tsukada. one of the top officials of the bidding committee, said Wednesday the destruction of books reflected the the "Japanese way of doing things." Tsukada said he left the 1 Z " candidates are wondering how the shakeup will affect their strategies. The bid cities in the field are Helsinki, Finland; Klagenfurt, Austria; Poprad-Tatry- , Slovakia; Sion, Switzerland; Turin, Italy and By STEPHEN WILSON z v., LONDON Until a few weeks ago, the race for the 2006 Winter Olympics was a low-ke- y affair that attracted little interest even in the six candidate cities. Zakopane, Poland. The winner is scheduled to be selected June 13 at the IOC session in Seoul, South Korea. Then came what one bid leader calls the "earthquake." The 2006 campaign has been thrown into turmoil by the Salt Lake City bribery scandal, leaving the cities in limbo with less than five months to go before the winner is chosen. As the IOC prepares to expel members and overhaul the bidding and voting process, the six A new selection process On Saturday, the IOC will release a report by a panel of experts on the merits of each bid in areas such as infrastruc- ture, sports venues, hotel accommodations and financial be destroyed, he said. "In Japan, that means it's all done and finished," Tsukada said from his office. "We just followed the Japanese custom," "Up in smoke" It was widely understood that IOC officials didn't want their activities in Nagano to be known, Yamaguchi said. And so he had the books picked up with other city hall papers set to be disposed. They went up in smoke in 1992, less than a year after Nagano won the games. "I just did my job," Yamaguchi said. "I have never done anything against my conscience." of Increased scrutiny Olympics sites has also prompted Nagano officials to disclose that they gave at least two expensive gifts to the IOC before the city was chosen for the games. Yamaguchi said he delivered a painting by famous Nagano painter Eisetsu Shiratori, believed to be worth thousands of dollars, to IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch while he was visiting Tokyo. Gov. Goro Nagano Yoshimura, who chaired the said committee, bidding Tuesday that Samaranch was also presented a sword reportedly worth about $13,000. Samaranch has said there is no limit on the value of gifts he Save an additional 10 on our lowest marked Blue-Tagge- i olio jaiiuaiy iviuiiuay, your wireless phone your only phone. Murray OCDEN 236 e. 6400 s. 1078 W. Riverdale Ro. Layton Hills Mall Bountiful 129 w. 500 s. LAYTQN Sprint Sprint PCS 249-940- 0 0 i i i ! Blue-Tagge- ZCM I i returns or exchanges. lj, iiuiiy j ucji aciciuuii.j ! riaranra marrhanrlica rrtlrl nc'ic Klrt 0 (except Salt Lake j j j i i ! ! I rati imr r Avrk-ni- n I Sale ends Monday, January 25; hurry in for best selection. m. wmm mm mm mm ibJ n Mattresses ZCM jgrW 20 on our lowest marked d prices of clearance items in: Furniture, Lamps, Wall Decor and Decorative Accessories Save even more on Blue Tags! Jw KUr" See store for det,us Equipment price may require activation and year contract. Stock limited lo supplies on nana Credit ana o'ner restrict, ons may apply All otters may change without notice VoiceSlream. 1400 minutes otter includes 400 anytime mmutes. and 1000 weekend minutes OHer ends 13199 AJJJ: One rate ofler requires activation cn a quaMying pnone Nextel New activations only. Otter expires 13199. No J Oriental Rugs Lamps Wall Decor Accessories Cameras Stereos TVs Phones And so much more... 4 394-320- 0 as-i- s. Furniture Sprint PCS. Make U i rSave an additional d prices of clearance items in: Electronics, Home Office, Cameras and Sleep Shop plans." AT&T Digital One Rate. 0 g Friday, January 22, Saturday, January 23 and Monday, January 25 No annual contract or activation fee with 4801 N. University South Towne Mau vote-buyin- LI can accept. most Nextel rate SANDY Utah changes things But the allegations stemming from Salt Lake City's winning bid for the 2002 the biggest Winter Games corruption scandal in Olympic has totally changed history the 2006 contest. Clearance 200 Extra Minutes on PROVO est. R $39.99 for MOO minutes with VoiceStream Wireless. NXT n large." The race had shaped up as one of the least inspiring in years, with few hot issues or elements of suspense to generate great media or public inter- After Inventory aic fofCffitnPdTl - vinced the IOC will find the best solution possible to restore the confidence for the bid cities and especially for the public at at the committee's general meeting and that meant, as a matter of course, that the records could Clearance merchandise sold fc2 guarantees. The following day, the IOC executive board will announce for its recommendations revamping the- selection process. This will probably include banning visits by IOC members and restricting the selection of host cities to a small group rather than the full IOC assembly. Representatives of the six candidates will be in Lausanne, Switzerland, for briefings with IOC officials on the changes. "This is a new situation, a very critical situation," Sion bid Jean spokesman Raphael Fontana said. "We are con Shop all stores Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. 9 p.m. Closed Thursday; January 21, for wrarronY. Downtown and ZCMI Saturday 10 A.M.-- 7 rm. and St. George: Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. --6 rm.). Closed Sunday. 6 Order by phone: In Salt Lake, elsewiere in Utah and in the U.S. 1 |
