South America football corruption trial begins in New York

[nitpicker]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-41977989

South America football corruption trial begins in New York

8 hours ago

From the section Latin America & Caribbean

The trial has begun in New York of three former South American football officials accused of corruption as part of a major US inquiry. The men - Jose Maria Marin, Juan Ángel Napout and Manuel Burga - have been charged with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering. They have pleaded not guilty.

The former officials have been accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for granting contracts for top South American tournaments. US Assistant Attorney Keith Edelman told jurors the evidence will show abuse over 20 years, as the men took money meant to promote the sport. Prosecutors say the they received bribes from marketing companies to grant them rights over the region's most prestigious competitions, including the Copa America.

Mr Napout, from Paraguay, was the president of South America's football governing body Conmebol, as well as heading the national football federation in his country. Mr Burga is former president of Peru's soccer federation. Jose Maria Marin, the former President of Brazil's Football Confederation (CBF) is free on bail.
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The trial is expected to last five weeks as prosecutors call dozens of witnesses to testify and present 350,000 pages of evidence.
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