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Salt Lake officials quit

Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic Organising Committee president Frank Joklik and vice-president Dave Johnson resigned yesterday…

Sat Jan 09 1999 - 00:00

Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic Organising Committee president Frank Joklik and vice-president Dave Johnson resigned yesterday amid mounting evidence of a bribery scandal. Joklik will remain on the job until a replacement is named.

Two other organising committee employees, senior vice-president of marketing Kelly Flint and licensing director Rod Hamson, will be placed on leave pending inquiries into their roles during the bid process.

Joklik admitted that members of the committee had provided illegal benefits to certain members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during their successful bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Illegal gifts included expenditures for travel, education and health care. While claiming he was unaware of any bribery, Joklik felt it was essential to resign to improve the committee's tarnished image.

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Joklik confirmed a number of "direct cash payments" to IOC officials and their families, including one over $70,000, but said Salt Lake Olympic officials were checking to see if they were legitimate.

"I was shocked and dismayed over new revelations regarding actions of the former bid committee," Joklik told a news conference. "Although I had no personal knowledge of these activities it became clear that changes must be made in order for the Games to proceed.

"I now know that the bid committee paid for housing, travel and education expenses of a number of people who are relatives of IOC members. I now know that it gave expensive gifts to members of the IOC. I now know that it provided free health care to members of the IOC and their families," Joklik said.

Joklik said Bid Committee officials even helped an IOC member with a profitable real estate deal in Utah.

But he said payments were made in an atmosphere in which some IOC members expected gifts.

"While I do not believe that anyone promised us a vote in exchange for our expenditures, nor that our actions influenced the outcome of the bidding process, a handful of IOC members seem to have seriously abused our generous impulses and expected - and received - more than they should have been given," Joklik said.