“I am so sorry for the drama this has caused in everyone’s lives”, Feigen said. “I was able to contact my family in the United States along with my American attorneys and we were able to satisfy the payment of the fine the next day”.
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The police investigation into Lochte’s case will close this week and be sent to Rio’s Public Ministry.
Lochte told NBC’s Matt Lauer that he had been interviewed by police while he was still in Rio.
Lochte had told press that he and three other US swimmers – Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen – were robbed at gunpoint by fake police officers after their taxi was pulled over.
In a statement on the website of an Austin, Texas, law firm, Feigen said he failed to tell police that the swimmers had urinated behind a building or that teammate Ryan Lochte had torn a metal-framed advertising poster from a wall. It is not clear from the video whether a gun was ever pointed to the athletes. It became apparent that the man with the gun was telling us to pay, and I was unsure if they were affiliated with the gas station. Lochte initially said that the swimmers had been pulled over and men with badges held the four at gunpoint.
Feigen also detailed what happened after returning from a party that night.
He said when he was questioned by police, his statement was written in Portuguese and he was asked to sign it without the statement being translated to English.
“I realize I made a mistake by omitting these facts”, Feigen said. “I was trying to protect my team-mates and for this I apologize”.
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Feigen had his passport seized while the matter was being investigated. He says he paid a fine of $10,800 for return of his passport. News stories displayed here appear in our category for Sports and are licensed via a specific agreement between LongIsland.com and The Associated Press, the world’s oldest and largest news organization.
