FIFA Corruption Scandal: Meet Chuck Blazer, He’s 400lbs, Had A Trump Tower Apartment Just For His Cats, And Is Bringing Down FIFA

With his scruffy beard, large frame, and bizarre lifestyle, Chuck Blazer wouldn’t strike you as the sort of man who would be capable of bringing down one of the most famous institutions in sport.

But that’s exactly what he’s doing, because it’s been alleged that the former FIFA executive has spent the last two year’s amassing mountains of evidence against FIFA that is now being used to indict high ranking officials in the company.

Blazer, 70, played an integral role in bringing the 1994 World Cup to the United States, but in 2013 he was faced with allegations of corruption, which led to him resigning. Yesterday, it was announced by the U.S. Justice Department that he had previously pled guilty to these charges, which meant that he could have spent 15 years in jail.

But, according to the Daily Mail, it’s now believed that Blazer looked to reduce his sentence by collaborating with officials and provided them with evidence against his former colleagues.

Blazer lived a ridiculously lavish lifestyle because of the “untold millions” that he had amassed through years of corruption. Not only did this see his weight rise to over 400lbs, which meant that he could only get around in a mobility scooter, but he also had an apartment in New York’s Trump Towers that he used only for his cats to live in. This $18,000 a month connecting unit in Trump Tower oversaw Central Park, and was also attached to a room where he lived.

It’s been alleged that Blazer’s lavish lifestyle once saw him create a credit card bill that was over $29 million, while he is also believed to be incredibly theatrical, and has a pet parrot, named Max, that he has been repeatedly photographed with.

A source for the New York Daily News stated of Blazer, “He lived like there was no tomorrow. He ate and drank whatever he pleased. He probably thought he’d be gone before anybody noticed what he had helped himself to.”

It’s been speculated that Blazer used the 2012 London Olympics to gather further evidence. This saw him setting up various meeting with sporting officials, which the FBI then recorded with wire taping. U.S. officials had been hunting Blazer for over a decade over unpaid tax that dated back to 1996.

A source for the New York Post corroborated that Chuck Blazer was the “main source for the investigation,” which on Wednesday resulted in the arrest of seven FIFA officials while they were in a hotel in Zurich.

Chuck Blazer is reportedly suffering from colon cancer, and it’s believed that he only has months left to live.

[Photo by Julian Finney / Getty Images]