Corruption Investigation Leads to Agents’ Raid of King’s Office

Federal agents raided promoter Don King’s office in Deerfield Beach, Fla., Friday morning as part of a federal grand jury investigation into corruption in boxing.

An FBI spokesman in Miami confirmed that agents served search warrants at Don King Productions but would not specify what, if anything, was confiscated.

Sources close to the investigation said agents took records that will be handed over to the federal authorities in Newark, N.J., where a grand jury has spent months hearing testimony from fighters, managers, promoters and boxing officials.

King’s name has been prominent in those proceedings, said witnesses summoned to testify.

King could not be reached for a response. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Newark declined to comment.

The grand jury investigation has focused on improper payments made to the sport’s three major sanctioning bodies--the International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Assn. and World Boxing Council--witnesses said. The payments were allegedly made by managers and promoters seeking to get their boxers moved up the IBF, WBA and WBC rankings.

Rankings are valuable because highly ranked boxers get the big-money fights.

Witnesses said their testimony often dealt specifically with King and IBF President Bob Lee, whose office is located in East Orange, N.J., not far from the courthouse where the investigation originated. The grand jury has reportedly subpoenaed IBF records dating back more than 15 years.

King has previously denied all accusations of wrongdoing, insisting that he always follows the rules and regulations of the sanctioning bodies. But Joseph Maffia, his accountant from 1986 to 1991, has told The Times that fees paid to the IBF, WBA and WBC often included kickbacks.

“There were overpayments of sanctioning fees by hundreds of thousands of dollars in [Mike] Tyson fights,” Maffia said.

Another former employee of King, Scott Woodworth, also told The Times about improper payments and said King paid for the IBF’s annual convention in Toronto in 1996.

Coincidentally, King was scheduled to appear at this year’s convention in San Diego on Friday night.

The raid occurred at a particularly difficult time for the flamboyant promoter, who is negotiating with HBO over a rematch between heavyweights Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.

HBO president Lou DiBella said Friday there were significant problems with those negotiations.