USA: ROBERT LEE SNR. PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOXING FEDERATION FOUND NOT GUILITY OF TAKING BRIBES

Record ID: 637753

  • Title: USA: ROBERT LEE SNR. PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOXING FEDERATION FOUND NOT GUILITY OF TAKING BRIBES
  • Date: 17th August 2000
  • Summary: NEWARK, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 17, 2000) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEE JR SAYING : "Because we're black, that is why it happened, the federal government wants to take over boxing and the people that came into testify against us, teh promoters, received immunity, and there winking and nods for all deals were all white, they want to run boxing, they want to get rid of
  • Embargoed: 1st September 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NEWARK, NEW JERSEY AND UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS IN UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime,General,People,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVABRYUWA47UTYHY3WM2O3FLWWDP
  • Story Text: The founder and president of the International Boxing Federation was found not guilty on Thursday of taking over $300,000 in bribes in exchange for giving boxers higher rankings and opportunities to fight big-money bouts.
    Robert Lee Sr., 66, of Fanwood, New Jersey, a former policeman and state athletic board commissioner, was found not guilty of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy following a trial at Newark Federal Court.
    The jury found him guilty of three counts of interstate travel in aid of racketeering, one count of money laundering conspiracy and two counts of filing false tax returns. "I am dissapointed by the decision of the jury, but I am very pleased for the fact that they saw fit to aquit my son, and we will continue to fight," said Lee.
    Lee lawyer Gerald Krovatin expressed teh same sentiment,
    "I share Mr. Lee's feelings, we have a mixed reaction to it, he is very grateful the jury aquitted his son, he is obviously disapointed they didn't find all the way for him, but he is a very proud man and he will contiue this fight from here."
    His son, Robert Lee Jr., 38, of Scotch Plains, New Jersey, on trial with his father, was acquitted on all counts and released. Lee, eventhough aquitted, was not happy with the government. " "Because we're black, that is why it happened, the federal government wants to take over boxing and the people that came into testify against us, teh promoters, received immunity, and there winking and nods for all deals were all white, they want to run boxing, they want to get rid of all teh blacks in boxing,....yeah they want the black fighters and the hispanic fighters to make the money...all it is is like being on a plantation...that's all."
    Father and son were named in a 32-count indictment handed up in November charging them with taking $338,000 in bribes.
    "It was money laundering, conspiracy conviction, a couple of travel act convictions and two tax counts for a total of six counts overall."( said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose Sierra after the verdict was read in Newark Federal Court.
    Lee Sr's attorney Gerald Korvatin said that he would ask U.S. Distric Court Judge John Bissell for a new trial on the guilty counts and failing that would appeal to the Third Circuit Court of appeals.
    The Lee's were said to have received the 338,000 U.S.
    dollars from managers and promoters from 1985 to 1998 in exchange for moving boxers up higher in division rankings, positioning them for more lucrative bouts.
    The trial centred around Lee Sr, who went from small town patrolman to the top slot in the IBF, the organisation he founded in 1983 out of the United States Boxing Association.
    The government claimed that Lee took advantage of boxing's "mandatory defence rule" to pressure promoters and managers for payoffs. The rule dictates that champions defend their titles with number one contenders in divisions such as heavyweight.
    During the trial, the prosecution produced video tapes of Lee sharing and accepting bribes. The tapes were secretly recorded by FBI agents. On piece of video dated December 18, 1997 showed a meeting in a hotel room in Virginia between Lee and C. Douglas Beavers former IBF ratings committee chairman.
    Beavers unstraps a wad of cash and puts in on the table. Late he hands some of the money toLee. The prosecution call this video the most important piece of evidence in the trial.
    High profile promoter Don King did not testify at the trial, although Beavers named him regularly in connection with the case. Speaking in code on the tapes, Beavers who was a key witness for the government, referred to King as 'Fuzzy Wuzzy" or 'Cuz" and the bribes as "turkey", "Christmas Turkey"
    or "ginseng".
    Jurors gatherered after the fight and felt the government was going after Lee to get to American Promoter Don King.
    "I think that many of us felt that pressure put on Bob Lee was to get to Don King, I really think that anything to do with Bob Lee had nothing to do with race."
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