FIFA Executive-Turned-Whistleblower Chuck Blazer Has Died

Chuck Blazer, the former FIFA Executive committee member and CONCACAF General Secretary who the FBI flipped into spilling the beans on FIFA corruption, passed away yesterday at age 72, his lawyers confirmed.

Chuck Blazer, a controversial former FIFA exec, has died. Statement from his lawyers here: pic.twitter.com/j1wOXORbWY

— Jim Dalrymple II (@JimDalrympleII) July 13, 2017

Blazer leaves a legacy of embezzlement, fraud, tax-dodging and corruption. He famously rented a $6,000-per-month Trump Tower apartment for his cats. Blazer's failure to pay income tax resulted in the FBI turning Blazer into an informant, triggering probably the largest corruption scandal in sports history and eventually leading to the removal of Sepp Blatter, Jerome Valcke and Michel Platini from positions of power at FIFA. Blazer received a lifetime ban from the organization in 2015.

Although Blazer played an important role in the growth of soccer in the USA, he will mostly be remembered as a criminal. Hopefully someone will take good care of the cats.