Former Guatemalan judge pleads guilty in Fifa probe
Ex-general secretary of Guatemala’s football federation, Hector Trujillo, admits taking bribes from a company trying to secure sports marketing contracts
A former Guatemalan judge pleaded guilty on Friday to wire fraud and conspiracy in the global Fifa corruption probe after admitting that he accepted bribes from a company trying to secure sports marketing contracts.
Hector Trujillo, 63, took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes for sports marketing contracts, US prosecutors said.
Trujillo was general secretary of Guatemala’s federation when he was arrested in December 2015 in Port Canaveral, Florida, while taking a Disney cruise with his family.
As he pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court, Trujillo admitted taking bribes and agreed not to contest any sentence less than four years and nine months in prison. He spoke through a Spanish interpreter, saying his crimes occurred between 2009 and 2016.
“I recognised that I deprived the federation of my honest services,” Trujillo said, appearing emotional enough that a court employee brought him a box of tissues. “I know that it was wrong for me to accept those payments.”
He said the bribes were paid by a Miami, Florida, sports marketing company to help it secure contracts through current and future negotiations.
