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He didn't need to be bribed-the LDS protects its own

I was thinking the same thing (I'm guessing this judge is LDS) however, it was a stupid case from the beginning. The Olympics were, quite literally, "up for sale". The whistleblowers did everyone a favor by revealing this - but no crimes were committed. Yes it would have been fun to expose some of the local LDS leaders involved in the bribery, but they actually did the state of Utah a favor by doing what it took to win the Olympics - so it would would be unfair to make a legal issue of it.

There were no LDS leaders on the bid committee. There was never any hint that any of the people involved in the scandal had sufficient influence in the church to embarrass it. The governor's office is another matter.

To the best of my knowledge, at least one of the defendants is not in good standing in the church. Don't know about the other. The judge is Mormon.

What this was about is the fact that a lot of the members of the IOC are third-worlders that expect lots of "gifts," and there's no reason for any American city to compete for an Olympics bid if the gifts cannot be forthcoming. SLC learned that after they lost to Nagano, when it was undisputed that SLC had by far the best bid package according to every recognized criterion. Nagano was handing out lots of good stuff to IOC members, who come around with their hands out, as is the custom in their so-called "countries." As the SLOC said, "We realized it was impossible to win by handing out cowboy hats and saltwater taffy."

Sending a couple of guys from Utah to prison is not going to clean up the IOC.

The Olympics were for sale....and is still for sale. You simply have to talk $ to the right guy. Nothing has changed. Its the same way for the world soccer cup. And my guess is that even the NFL championship games are likely done the same way. Its all about money.