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 For Immediate Release
May 10, 2000 Contact: Press Office
202-646-5172
FEDERAL COURT HEARS ARGUMENTS IN OLYMPICS LAWSUIT

RICO Lawsuit Alleges Scheme to Improperly Obtain Washington, DC Olympic Bid

Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, D.C. Business Leaders Defendants

(Washington, D.C.) A federal court heard arguments yesterday alleging a RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) scheme involving former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry and key Washington, DC business leaders to improperly wrest control of Washington, DC's Olympic bid from the young woman, Elizabeth Ganzi, who initially formulated the bid to hold the Olympics in the Washington area in 2012. The United States Olympic Committee, which has been wracked with scandal recently, is another defendant in the lawsuit. The case is before Judge June Greene of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Ms. Ganzi is being represented by Judicial Watch, Inc., the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes public corruption.

The lawsuit alleges that Ganzi and her Greater Washington Exploratory Committee (GWEC) are the only lawful representatives for the Washington, DC area in its quest to host the Olympics. The lawsuit alleges that the bid was, in effect, "stolen" from her. Among the allegations in the lawsuit are that the bid was improperly taken from Ms. Ganzi through alleged bribery, among other predicate racketeering acts – such as offers to fund the retirement of former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry. Though he is a defendant in the lawsuit, no lawyers for Mr. Barry appeared in court yesterday.

"Elizabeth Ganzi and others have been victimized by Washington, D.C.'s ‘Old Boys Club,' a club which didn't want a young woman to run the D.C. area Olympics bid that, if successful, would have generated billions of dollars for the Washington, D.C. region. This lawsuit will vindicate her rights and restore ethics to the Washington, DC region's efforts to host the Olympics in 2012," stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman.

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