Samantha Malone
As accusations fly, the chief of the Brazilian Olympic committee has been arrested on the allegation he helped push a $2 million bribe in the site selection process which eliminated Chicago in the chance to host the 2016 Olympic games.
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Papa Massata Diack,the son of an influential Senegalese member if the International Olympic Committee, allegedly received a payment in part from Carlos Nuzman which is believed to have secured the vote of Diack’s father, Lamine Diack, in 2009 when the decision was made, according to DNAinfo.
Related: Chicago Sports Hall of Fame inducts first Special Olympic athlete
While Nuzman denies the allegations, French prosecutors said they are investigating this as well as a cash-for-votes scheme in choosing winning cities.
Donors raised an estimated $76 million to make the Olympic bid for Chicago, but the city spent millions to buy the site of the former Michael Reese Hospital in an effort to make it an Olympic village to house athletes. The site, which remains vacant, has a loan principal and interest of $120 million, costing taxpayers quite a bit, according to DNAinfo.
If Chicago had been chosen rather than Rio, a $400 million Olympic stadium would have been built in Washington Park along with a man-made river of white water rapids by Northerly Island, an archery range in Grant Park and a BMX track in Douglas Park. Instead, Rio was selected on their $13.1 billion staging of the games leaving the country with a number of “white elephant” venues, according to critics.
