PANAMA City, Panama (Reuters) – CONCACAF’s former leaders Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer were “fraudulent in their management” of the soccer confederation’s affairs, the head of the body’s Integrity Committee former Chief Justice of Barbados David Simmons told its congress yesterday.

Simmons presented a detailed report into allegations of financial mismanagement by former president Warner and ex-general secretary Blazer based on documents and interviews with 38 people.
The report found that Trinidadian Warner did not disclose to CONCACAF, which represents soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, or world body FIFA that a $25.9M Centre of Excellence was built on land owned by his companies.
Simmons said Blazer, a member of FIFA’s executive committee, received more than $20M in compensation from CONCACAF, including $17M in commission.
He worked without a contract from July 18, 1998 and his compensation was discussed only three times in CONCACAF forums during 21 years.
The report also found “no business reason” for the renting of apartments used by Blazer in Manhattan and said the American had also tried to buy property in the Bahamas, in 2007, for about $4M using football funds.
Blazer was described by Simmons as “entirely negligent” for failing to file income tax returns for CONCACAF in the United States which led to the body losing its tax-exempt status as a non-profit organisation.
Concluding his report, Simmons said the auditors used by CONCACAF during the Warner era, Trinidad-based Kenny Rampersad and Company, were not independent and cited documented proof that Warner and Blazer were clients of the firm.
Warner and Blazer have always denied any wrongdoing.

HAVELANGE CENTRE
Simmons began his address to the congress, including FIFA president Sepp Blatter, by highlighting the case of the Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence in Port of Spain, in Warner’s native Trinidad.
The Integrity Committee reported that the Centre in which CONCACAF invested at least $25.9M, some of which included loans from FIFA, was built on land owned by Warner privately and not the confederation.
“Warner represented to FIFA that funds would be used to support development but never told FIFA that the Centre would be situated on land owned by his companies,” said Simmons.
“There is no evidence that Warner or anyone else ever disclosed to the CONCACAF executive committee or congress that lands on which the Centre was built was owned by his companies,” he said.
Simmons said that in deals surrounding the Centre, Warner “deceived persons and organisations” into believing the facility was CONCACAF’s and not his.
Former Barbados Chief Justice Simmons said that neither Warner nor Blazer cooperated with the investigation.