NEW YORK (AP) — A former top South American soccer official is facing sentencing in the sprawling FIFA (FEE’-fuh) bribery scandal.
Juan Angel Napout
Juan Angel Napout of Paraguay is due in court in New York City on Wednesday. A U.S. jury convicted him late last year of racketeering and other charges stemming from a corruption scandal that shook the sport’s international governing body.
Prosecutors have asked a judge to sentence the already-jailed Napout to 20 years prison for enriching himself by taking millions of dollars in bribes from companies seeking marketing rights to major soccer tournaments. His lawyers say he deserves far less time, arguing that prosecutors have exaggerated his role in the scheme.
The 60-year-old Napout is the former president of Paraguay’s soccer federation and of the South American soccer governing body CONMEBOL.
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