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Summarized by Kent Larsen
Two LDS SLOC Execs Could Face Charges
Deseret News 15Mar00 S2
By Lisa Riley Roche and Hans Camporreales: Deseret News staff writers
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- After federal prosecutors filed a plea
agreement with former U.S. Olympic Committee official Alfredo LaMont,
speculation has centered on whether or not LDS Church members Tom
Welch and Dave Johnson will be prosecuted for their role in the Salt
Lake Olympic bid scandal as a result. Documents on file with the U.S.
Department of Justice say that Salt Lake bid committee "Officers 1
and 2" conspired with LaMont.
Attorneys for Welch and Johnson say they didn't conspire with LaMont,
but legal observers say that the two former Salt Lake Olympic
Committee executives are the target of the federal investigation that
has gone on for more than a year. But the plea agreement with LaMont
apparently does little to strengthen a case against Welch and Johnson.
LaMont plead guilty on Tuesday in U.S. District Court to two counts
of tax fraud in exchange for his cooperation. He told the judge that
he had agreed wtih two SLOC executives to be paid and receive money
and hid that money. The SLOC paid LaMont more than $48,000.
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