Athens headhunts Sydney security chief
Athens 2004 Olympics organizing officials are looking to hire the head of security at the Sydney Games, who left his job as commissioner of the New South Wales police force on Wednesday, a report from Australia said yesterday. According to The Australian newspaper, an Athens 2004 spokesman confirmed that the organizing committee has started negotiations with Peter Ryan, Australia’s highest-paid police officer. «I believe the issue of [Ryan’s] employment will be examined in the weeks to come,» Antonis Fourlis was quoted as saying. «This has been discussed for some time, and I believe it is more likely now he is free. There is nothing final to announce yet.» Ryan left his post on Wednesday, prompting a row between local state and opposition officials over the precise nature of his departure – with a 276,000-euro payout. Ever since the September 11 attacks in the United States of America, International Olympic Committee officials are understood to have been pressing Athens 2004 organizers to hire Ryan.
