By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn said he moved to dismiss criminal charges against a former Fox executive convicted of trying to pay bribes in exchange for lucrative broadcasting rights to soccer tournaments, because it wasn’t worth devoting resources to the case.
Joseph Nocella Jr., the U.S. attorney, had in December cited “the interests of justice” in seeking to dismiss his office’s cases against Hernan Lopez, a former chief executive of Fox International Channels, and Argentine sports-marketing company Full Play Group, five months after a federal appeals court reinstated their March 2023 convictions.
U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen later said she was not “content with a mere conclusory statement,” and demanded a better explanation.
“The Department of Justice has determined that it will not commit further resources to these two defendants’ convictions,” Nocella wrote to the judge on Thursday night. “Thus, the ‘interests of justice’ here are based in the Department of Justice’s discretion to decide whether or not to pursue a prosecution in this case.”
Nocella also said judges have “extremely limited” discretion to review government decisions to end prosecutions.
Lawyers for Lopez did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday. A lawyer for Full Play declined to comment. Both defendants have denied wrongdoing.
At least 33 other defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted in the sweeping probe into soccer corruption, which was unveiled in 2015. The investigation extended to the sport’s international governing body, FIFA.
Nocella said dismissing Lopez’s and Full Play’s cases would not affect those other defendants.
The Justice Department has reduced its emphasis on white-collar crime during President Donald Trump’s second White House term, and is focusing more on areas including drug trafficking, immigration and violent crime.
Prosecutors accused Lopez of scheming to bribe soccer officials to win rights for South America’s most popular club tournament, Copa Libertadores, as well as for World Cup qualifying matches.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Ethan Smith)
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