A Miami soccer promoter could take down FIFA, if he flips

The federal investigation that uncovered corruption at the highest levels of soccer is still going on.

It started back in May with the indictment of 14 people. Nine were officials with FIFA, soccer's global governing body. The other five were marketing executives.

Most of the accused are fighting extradition to the US.

But not Aaron Davidson. He's an American living in the Miami area. And he could be crucial for investigators if he decides to flip on FIFA's top leaders.

"His case has flown a little bit under the radar because there are so many prominent people already involved in this case … but Davidson is unique in a few ways — he's the only American-born defendant in the case, he's held under house arrest and he has a condo on Brickell Key — one of the most exclusive islands in Miami," says Tim Elfrink, Miami New Times editor. "He's essentially in this luxurious prison just off Miami's financial district and is considering whether to work on a plea deal with prosecutors. The feeling is that this is a guy who for more than a decade has been involved in this business, working with top officials in the game. Experts I talk to say there's a real chance that if he were to flip and work with prosecutors, this case could keep marching up the chain of officials in FIFA."

Elfrink has a fascinating story about the fallen executive in the Miami New Times.

The story of Aaron Davidson — the only American-born defendant charged in the vast case — has mostly been lost amid tabloid-worthy tales of blatant graft funding luxury penthouses in New York City, palatial estates in Trinidad, and gala lakefront parties in Switzerland. But Davidson's downfall is operatic in its own way. It's the stunning undoing of a brilliant, exasperating would-be visionary, an Alex P. Keaton-like prodigy with world-conquering dreams who lived in a million-dollar Brickell Key condo and jetted around the globe with soccer stars.

Now, Davidson — who declined to comment for this story — might be set for a new starring role. As he contemplates a potential plea deal with federal prosecutors, the Miami exec might just hold the key to starting a legal chain reaction that leads all the way to FIFA's widely despised Swiss chairman, Sepp Blatter.

"You usually see these types of mass prosecutions in racketeering cases going after the Mob or big drug organizations," says Scott Sundby, a University of Miami law professor and former federal prosecutor. "You start with the soldiers, get them to turn on the people above them, and eventually, hopefully, you get all the way to the top."

An earlier version of this story misspelled Tim Elfrink's name. We sincerely regret this error.