(1/11/99)

The former President of SLOC and the bid committee maintains he and other Olympic boosters did nothing wrong in their attempts to bring the Olympics to Utah. News Specialist Shelley Osterloh spoke with Tom Welch.

He is adamant in his denial of wrong doing and disappointed that so many people are quick to believe what he calls "sinister rumors and charges."

He's been advised by his lawyers to stop talking to reporters, but we did speak at length on the telephone.

Tom Welch says no IOC members ever promised a vote nor asked for a vote in exchange for money or gifts.

Welch said there was never an attempt to hide information from board members and there was never an off-budget slush fund.

He said $50,000 was given to IOC member Jean Claude Ganga to support sports programs in the Congo.

And when the Chilean IOC member asked for money to fund his mayorial election campaign, Welch said we donated $10,000 the same way we would donate to a politician here in Utah.

None of those donations were done in exchange for votes, according to Welch.

As for the scholarship program at the center of the investigation, Welch says board members were not only informed, but even met some of the foreign students receiving the scholarships at a board meeting.

He said one of them had an internship at First Security Bank, another at City Hall.

Trustee Spence Eccles is the chairman of First Security and a member of the bid committee.

He says he remembers a student intern working at the bank, but maintains the internship didn't appear unusual and wasn't inappropriate.