By The Mob Museum
LAS VEGAS – The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, will unveil The ‘Beautiful Game’ Turns Ugly on Tuesday.
The display provides an incisive and eye-opening look into the rampant corruption that plagues the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the organization that runs international soccer. Through photographs, media clippings and cover stories and expository narrative, the Museum’s new FIFA exhibit gives a breakdown of the kickbacks, secrecy and match-fixing associated with the scandal.
“This exhibit is ripped right from today’s headlines about the globe’s most popular sport,” says Jonathan Ullman, executive director of The Mob Museum. “To our growing number of visitors from places like the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil and Italy, the FIFA scandal provides an especially resonant example of the different shapes organized crime can take.”
While allegations of corruption have been made about FIFA for more than a decade, its activities were finally confirmed by U.S. FIFA representative Chuck Blazer in 2013. Blazer admitted to taking bribes to ensure South Africa would host the 2010 World Cup and agreed to wear a wire to record FIFA conversations. As a result of his cooperation, a May 2015 indictment by new U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch charged 14 top-ranking soccer officials and sports marketing executives with taking more than $150 million in bribes and kickbacks over 25 years.
The indictment was made based on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act – known as the RICO statute – the federal law that has been used to prosecute organized crime in the United States. In 2014, U.K. journalist Andrew Jennings compared the practices of FIFA’s leadership to the Mob in his book, Omerta: Sepp Blatter’s FIFA Organised Crime Family.
The ‘Beautiful Game’ Turns Ugly will be on permanent display at The Mob Museum. For more information, call (702) 229-2734.
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See also: U.S. ‘Mob Museum’ Dedicates Exhibition to FIFA Scandal.
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ABOUT THE MOB MUSEUM
The Mob Museum is a world-class destination in downtown Las Vegas dedicated to the thrilling story of organized crime and law enforcement. It presents an exciting and authentic view of the Mob’s impact on Las Vegas history and its unique imprint on the world.
True stories of Mob history are brought to life in a bold and contemporary style via engaging exhibits, high-tech theater presentations and more than 885 artifacts, the largest collection of Mob and related law enforcement memorabilia under one roof.
Since opening in 2012, The Mob Museum has accumulated numerous accolades, including being named one of the “Best Places to Travel in 2015” by Travel + Leisure magazine, “A Must for Travelers” by The New York Times, one of “20 Places Every American Should See” by Fox News and Budget Travel magazine, “Las Vegas’ Best New Attractions for 2012” by Travel + Leisure magazine, “9 Reasons to Visit Las Vegas” by CNNgo, a finalist for the “Best Wider World Project Award,” by the British Guild of Travel Writers and “Best Museum” by Nevada magazine.
Admission is $21.95 for adults ages 18 and over with special pricing for online purchase, children, seniors, military, law enforcement, Nevada residents, and teachers.
Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, September through June; in July and August, hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on August 31, 2015