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 Alfredo Hawit of Honduras, a former FIFA vice president who also led
the North and Central America and Caribbean confederation, CONCACAF,
entered his plea in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, after being
extradited from Switzerland.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Levy began considering bail for Hawit
at the court hearing and will resume on Thursday. Hawit will be
detained until then.
Hawit, 64, was among 41 people and entities charged in the U.S. and
Swiss probe into soccer corruption spanning the globe, with
federations in the Americas the hardest hit so far.
Twelve people and two sports marketing companies have pleaded
guilty.
At Wednesday's hearing, prosecutor Amanda Hector said Hawit should
post a $4 million secured bond before being released, citing what
she called his "significant" risk of flight and the high bail for
other defendants.
Justin Weddle, Hawit's lawyer, countered that a $1 million unsecured
bond was enough, saying his client was neither wealthy nor a flight
risk.
"This is not the type of person who can melt away and disappear,"
Weddle said.
Corruption allegations prompted FIFA President Joseph "Sepp"
Blatter's decision to resign, only days after being re-elected to a
fifth term.
Although Blatter has not been charged with a crime and has denied
wrongdoing, FIFA banned him from soccer for eight years. European
soccer boss Michel Platini, who had been favored to succeed him, was
also banned.
Hawit was arrested at a Zurich hotel on Dec. 3 along with South
American football chief Juan Angel Napout.
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They were among 16 people whom the U.S. Department of Justice
accused that day of participating in schemes involving more than
$200 million in bribes and kickbacks sought for marketing and
broadcast rights to tournaments and matches.
The indictment said Hawit, who also led the Honduras soccer
federation, participated in schemes to accept bribes from sports
marketing companies.
It said two of these companies, Brazil's Traffic Group and
Argentina's Full Play Group S.A., paid Hawit $250,000 in bribes in a
failed bid to secure CONCACAF marketing rights.
Hawit and another official received $600,000 in bribes from
Miami-based Media World, an affiliate of Spanish media company
Imagina Group, in exchange for the rights to 2022 World Cup
qualifier matches, the indictment said.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; editing by Grant McCool)
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