April 9, 1999
Web posted at: 3:00 a.m. EDT (0700 GMT)

SALT LAKE CITY (CNN) -- The Salt Lake Organizing Committee, or SLOC, named a new chief operating officer Thursday as the group presses on in its efforts to restore the image of the 2002 Winter Games.

The committee has been rocked by one of the biggest scandals in Olympic history.

Fraser Bullock, 44, a long-time friend and business associate of the recently named SLOC President Mitt Romney, will oversee the committee's budget and will try to revive Salt Lake's Olympic movement.

"My goal is not only to balance the Organizing Committee's budget but to make sure the spirit of Utah comes shining through when the world participates in the 2002 Games," Bullock said in a statement.

The bribery scandal that helped Salt Lake secure the 2002 Winter Games bid has led to the expulsion of six members of the International Olympic Committee and resignations of two top executives of the Salt Lake Committee.

The scandal also has resulted in several investigations, including a Justice Department probe. The probes began after admissions that local officials offered IOC members extravagant gifts and bribes totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In addition, corporate sponsors and members of the U.S. Senate have been putting pressure on the IOC to reform itself.

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