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Show ’ a a ERE 0QEEEO EE PTT RET Sete PONT SPAN SR a ee gie __TheSaltLake Tribune UTAH SLOCOfficer’s Double Duty May GOPLegislators Subvert Credibility of Ethics Report Knew of Olympic BY LINDA FANTIN Scholarships more details from the documents ©2000,THESALT LAKETRIBUNE independently elected to glean Financial details of Salt Lake City’s tainted Olympic bid were compiled by the same person who signed dozens of checksrelated to a scholarship program for the children of International Olympic Committee members. Gordon Crabtree, who once held the position of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee’s chieffinancial officer, was assigned the task of tallying all 10C-related paymentsfor the ethics panelinvestigating allegationsofbid city corruption. The tuition-related disburse- ments continued long after Salt Lake was awarded the 2002 Winter Gamesandafter Crabtree became responsible for signingall checks. Ofthe $1 million-plus in payments deemed improper by SLOC’s eth- ics panel, a fourth of them were madeafter the bid was awarded, documents obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune show. That could spell trouble for Crabtree. He not only endorsed checks to universities and IOC students, but signed SLOC tax returns from the same period that indicated no such scholarships were awarded. The credibility of the ethics report also is undermined, given that Crabtree’s inventoryincluded only the names of those whosigned checks during the bid era. Crabtree was Gov. Mike Leavitt’s director of finance before Joining SLOC as CFOin 1995. (He is no longer CFO but holdsa job in SLOC’sfinance division.) He said he told SLOC’s attorneysit would be a conflict for him to assemble data on payments he authorized, so post-bid information was gathered by other accountants andinterns. The reasonthe spreadsheet omits the namesofpost-bid signators, he explained, is because he he examined. “I was there to provide and compile information, not to sanitize it, screen it or concludeonit,” hesaid. Ethics panel chairwoman Bar- bara Day Lockhart vouched for Crabtree’s integrity and noted that panel members had access to all the documents used to construct the summary. So why so little mention of Crabtree or post bid payments in the panel's report? “It wasn't that we ignored the post-bid, but that wasn't the real focus of our investigation,” said Lockhart, professor of physical education at Brigham Young University. “The whole allegation he does not recall discussing echoesnie with Tanner. Lockhart takes exception with any suggestion that the ethics panel was compromi: “Everybody wants to discredit our report and our process and say we knew and were forced to cover it up,” Lockhart said. directlyto Leavitt, recalled that in late 1997, he broached the subject of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act which outlaws bribery abroad with SLOC’s attorney the dark until the scandal became meeting at SLOC offices where improprieties were not discussed. Flint said he doesn’t remember any legislative meeting where lieving the governor was kept in public. Even Democratic legisla- tors, who were furious at having been excluded from the 1997 meet: scholarships were discussed. Nei. ther Joklik nor his attorneyre- ing or meetings, had heard about tuition and cash payments, How- turned phone calls. “Wewere going to ask the hard questions — about scholarships, escort services, payoffs, every- Whatis certain is that knowl- edge of scholarships and other improprieties were known in the highest echelon of Republican circles long before the details becomepublic. The revelation raises new questions about when Leav- harsherlight on statementsbyofficials who,at the time the scandal unfolded, said they were shocked, disgusted and totally unaware of Joklik has stated in the past that ficer John Fowler, who reports Karras mayhave been at a second itt, Joklik and others knew about tuition paymentsto the children calls from The Tribune. However, June 1995. In addition, state Olympics of- andoutside auditors. Sen. Minority Leader Scott Howell, for one, has trouble be- was in terms of the bid so our fo- dent Frank Joklik to payments for Libyan student Suhel Attarabulsi in the spring of 1998. Joklik and his attorney did not return phone AZT @ Continued from A-1 cus wason thebid.” The report does not note that Crabtree questioned whether the scholarship payments fit within the organizing committee’s mis- sion. But it does mention that Crabtree’s successor, Mark Tanner, alerted former SLOC Presi- Sunday of IOC members, and places a past excesses. For example, after the story broke in November 1998, Leavitt called the bid committee's actions “repulsive” and insisted they were notreflective of the “values, moral expectations or standards of behaviorof this community and state.” Yet, it was the governor's job — andthatof former Salt Lake City Mayor Deedee Corradini — to review and approve post-bid Olympic budgets. Those budgets in- ell told The Tribune. thing,” Howell said. “Talk about duplicity. To this day, we don’t knowif they had some agreement to keepit all quiet.” Beattie and Brown said they asked the right questionsat their meeting and then took Olympic officials at their word. “The shotgun issue came up and most people were aware of that. At that point, Frank [Joklik] indicated there were some other wasaw: Leavitt said he relied on Kar- ras, Fowler and Lynne Ward, director of the state planning and budget office, to flag any fiscal irregularities. All four said it was their duty to forecast the future, not to examinethepast. “Myjob was to take a 30,000-foot lookat the budget to see thatit all made sense,” Leavitt added. The governor and Ward insist the budget documents they were shown contained no details of scholarships or other 10C-related payments, and nooneeveralerted them to such expenditures — be- fore orafter the bid. Karras said he worried about the spendthrift attitudes of SLOC the payments happened under former Olympic boss Tom Welch’s watch. But SLOC’s recordsindicate otherwise. A ledger of 10C-related payments obtained by The Tribune shows SLOC continued to pay tuition and living expensesfor Libya’s Suhel Attarabulsi until Oct. 21, 1998 — 14 months after Joklik ” Fowler said, such as use of prostitutes for IOC members. He said he wanted to ensure that Flint and auditors from Deloitte & Touche were asking the right questions of senior managers, such as: Have you created a climate of internal controls to protect against illegal or improper payments? And are your employees aware they could be fired if they were involved in such activities? “Kelly [Flint] said he had heard rumors of things, that he had looked at things very carefully and that nothing he ever saw constitutedey! improper payment or illegal act NOC(National Olympic Committee) program — the aid program designed to prop up poor Olympic at the time that the payments the necessity of SLOC’s so-called committees. But Karras said he did not know moneyfrom the NOC scholarships. I did not know about scholarships. Period. End of sen- spread and that whenFrankfound outaboutit, he nipped it.” Brown said Joklik indicated What about Fowler? Why did he bring up the hens of foreign Flint signed 148 checks totaling $365,571 in 10C-related payments during thebidera, including some to colleges and the IOC relatives attending them. He claims not to the families [of IOC members]. They said that it wasn’t wide- tioned-{the scholarships were] for relevance. managers and whetherthey could construct a trustworthy budget. He questioned in generic terms accountwas funneled to IOC kids grants paid out after Salt Lake “There was never any ofthat. There wasnopressure to skew the million-plus in payments fede improper by SLOC’s ethics panel, a fourth were made after the bid presents given to people and ski packages. . . . They even men- cluded more than a quartermillion dollars in IOC educational City was awarded the games in replaced Weich as president ~ organizing committee. Of the attendingcollege. “I did not know there were tence,” Karras said. “We didn’t have enough information to ask the right questions. . : We didn’t ask to see all the cash disbursements in each line item. We had outside auditors and an audit committee to look at those des.” Yet Karras received frequent updates from SLOC financial officer Gordon Crabtree, who signed checks for the scholarship pro- gram and had challenged its have knownthe students were re- lated to IOC delegates and could notrecall whether he was aware continued until October 1998. “If Thad seen a check in 1995 or "96 or "97, it probably wouldn’t have registered one way or another,” Flint said, addingthat he, too, believed the checks he signed were for the benefit of struggling athletes, not IOC members. Asfor Beattie and Brown, the GOP lawmakers said they are “disappointed” that the tuition payments continued despite assurances they had stopped. “You have to understand we were not the Olympic oversight committee, nor was I a memberof the [SLOC] board,” said Beattie, whohas since been named a SLOC trustee. “I just assumed it had beentakencare of.” report a certain way. That is so ridiculous.I’ve never worked on a committee with such integrity and thoroughness.Notoneofusis the kind of person that would be What more could you ask for? jerked around.” ADIB'S RUG GALLERY Ree COORD ONE COANNC een TS TAT nF ren a s, eas a gers Largest Selections of New & Antique Handwoven Oriental & Persian Rugs Wealso offer: ¢ Hand-Cleaning * Best Quality Rug Pads © Appraisals ° Buy ° Trade ° Free Pickup & Delivery ¢ Largest Selection of New & Antique Pillows 3142 So. Highland Dr. (about 1400 East) oe) 484-6364 (888) 445RUGS_ a City n.-Sat. 10:00 am. 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