Marketing executive charged in shady $3M FIFA bribe scheme

A top sports marketing executive was hauled into Brooklyn federal court Friday on charges he bribed his way into a lucrative FIFA deal.
Aaron Davidson pleaded not guilty even though feds said he admitted on wiretaps he knew it was “illegal.”
Davidson, 44, was released on $5 million bond secured with three homes.
He is the first defendant to appear in a US court since federal prosecutors indicted 14 FIFA officials and soccer marketing executives for their alleged roles in a sweeping bribery scandal.
Davidson, the president of the Miami-based Traffic USA, has been accused of facilitating a $3 million bribe in exchange for a $23 million contract that gave his firm marketing rights for World Cup qualifying matches, the indictment states.
He also met with an unnamed co-conspirator in Queens in 2014 to discuss the shady scheme, the indictment says.

“Is it illegal? It is illegal,” Davidson, who’s worth $1.3 million, allegedly said.
“Within the big picture of things, a company that has worked in this industry for 30 years, is it bad? It is bad.”
He was arrested at his office in Miami this week. His lawyer, Michael Hantman, declined to comment.