Federal prosecutors expect to reach a plea deal with Traffic Sports USA President & CEO Aaron Davidson, the highest-profile American among the 14 FIFA-related execs the U.S. Department of Justice indicted last week. The disclosure was made in a public court filing late yesterday in which the prosecutors and defendants asked the court to halt proceedings for Davidson until July 17. “The parties seek exclusion of the forgoing period because they are engaged in plea negotiations, which they believe are likely to result in a disposition of this case without trial, and they require an exclusion of time in order to focus on plea negotiations,” the parties said in the court filing. Traffic Sports USA is the marketing company accused of soliciting bribes to secure the commercial rights to int'l soccer tournaments. Davidson, who also served as NASL BOD Chair, on Friday was the first of those indicted to be arraigned, and was released on a $5M bail. He pleaded not guilty. Terms of his bail yesterday also were disclosed. Davidson is confined to his home in Miami and subject to electronic monitoring. He cannot speak with anyone from Traffic or other related entities like CONCACAF. Davidson also is barred from working for Traffic (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer).
TRAFFIC JAMMED: BLOOMBERG NEWS' Blake Schmidt profiles Traffic Owner & Founder Jose Hawilla, who is a "main character in the FIFA scandal." Schmidt cites court documents as stating that Hawilla will "have to sell Traffic." Hawilla in the latest phase of his career "became a resource for prosecutors in their investigation, wearing a wire tap during a meeting in Miami in May where bribes were allegedly agreed upon for the Copa America tournament in Chile this year." If he can sell Traffic for more than the $126.7M target price, the U.S. Department of Justice "will let him keep" 25% of the amount above that value (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 6/2).
