Arrest in Salt Lake skating scam

Federal prosecutors said on Wednesday that an alleged overseas organized crime figure has been arrested in Italy on U.S. charges of conspiring to fix the outcome of certain skating competitions in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov was arrested by Italian law enforcement authorities with the assistance of the FBI, prosecutors said.

A spokesman for that office said the arrest was believed to be related to the scandal involving French skating judge Marie Reine Le Gougne. In what became known as "Skategate", French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne admitted she'd been pressured to vote for Russian pair Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, who edged out Canada's Jamie Sale and David Pelletier by 5-4. Le Gougne later implied that it was the French figure skating President Didier Gailhaguet that had pressured her. After a massive outcry, the ISU and International Olympic Committee awarded double gold medals to both the Canadians and the Russians.

The International Skating Union voted April 30 to suspend Le Gougne and Gailhaguet for three years. They were also barred from participation in the 2006 Winter Games in Turin. Last week Le Gougne said she was dropping an appeal against the ban.

Earlier this month, Gailhaguet also abandoned plans to fight the ban he received for his part in the affair.