PROFESSIONAL SPORTS (IBF)
Jury Convicts Boxing Boss in New Jersey
On Aug. 17, a federal jury in N.J. found Robert
"Bob" Lee, Sr., ex-boss and founder of the Int'l Boxing Fed'n, guilty
on six counts of union corruption. He faces 37 to 46 months in jail for
convictions on three counts of racketeering, two counts of tax evasion
and one count of money laundering.
U.S. Atty. for N.J., Robert J. Cleary, charged Lee with taking $338,000 in bribes from promoters and managers to fix rankings and sanction fights. The jury, found Lee guilty in his dealings with Francisco Fernandez of Colombia, the IBF's S. Am. representative. Lee was acquitted on charges of improper payments to him by promoters Bob Arum, Cedric Kushner and Dino Duva.
Federal prosecutors continue their civil case against Lee and his son Robert, Jr., in which they are seeking a permanent injunction to keep the Lees from any involvement in the IBF and attempting to recover the $338,000. Figuring treble damages and attorneys' fees, the suit could cost the Lees over $1 million.
Reportedly, Lee, Sr., has been told that prosecutors would go easier on him if he turned over any evidence he had of wrongdoing on the part of promoter Don King, an unindicted co-conspirator in the case.
The Lee verdict came a day after the Nevada State Athletic Comm'n fined Arum $100,000 and put restrictions on his promoter's license for six months after Arum admitted in testimony in the Lee case that he had agreed in 1994 to pay Lee $200,000 to get IBF's sanction of a heavyweight title fight between George Foreman and Axel Schulz. [L.A. Times 8/18/00]
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