Alfredo la Mont, a senior director of international relations, is the first USOC official to be linked to the growing scandal involving alleged bribes of International Olympic Committee (IOC) members in an attempt to win votes in Salt Lake's successful bid for the 2002 Winter Games.

According to a USOC statement, La Mont stepped down yesterday after informing the committee ``of a previously undisclosed business relationship with the Salt Lake Olympic (bid) committee through the office of former SLOC president Tom Welch.''

``We concluded that La Mont's activities, which he indicated he pursued independent of his USOC responsibilities, nonetheless constituted a conflict of interest,'' it said.

The statement did not provide details.

But sources, who spoke on thecondition of anonymity, said La Mont had, ``passed money -- not a lot -- a couple of grand a month'' to third parties in return for ``intelligence information on IOC members in Latin America.''

La Mont also sent food and dairy products, including the diet supplement ensure, to contacts in Mexico, the sources said.

Efforts to reach La Mont by telephone last night were unsuccessful.