Venezuelan ex-football chief extradited to US

Ex-Venezuelan football federation president Rafael Esquivel was extradited Monday from Switzerland to the United States to face corruption charges in the roiling FIFA graft scandal, Swiss justice officials said.

Two US police officers took charge of the former vice-president of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) in Zurich and accompanied him on the flight to New York.

Esquivel, 69, will go before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Tuesday, the US attorney's office told AFP.

Esquivel was arrested in Zurich on May 27 last year as part of a US-led investigation into corruption at world football's now-tainted governing body FIFA.

He was accused of taking bribes worth several million dollars for the awarding of sports marketing contracts in connection with the Copa America and risks up to 20 years in prison in the United States.

His extradition comes after he withdrew his appeal to the Federal Supreme Court.
Source :AFP