SALT LAKE CITY -- A jury was seated Thursday in the federal trial of two Salt Lake City bid leaders accused of bribing Olympic officials to bring the 2002 Winter Games to Utah.

The panel selected over three days consists of nine men and five women. After getting instructions from the judge, they were excused for the day. Opening statements were expected to begin Friday.

Defendants Tom Welch, 59, and Dave Johnson, 44, are accused of lavishing $1 million in cash, gifts and favors on International Olympic Committee delegates who awarded Salt Lake City the games.

They face 15 felony charges, including bribery racketeering, and fraud, and could face up to 75 years in prison if convicted of all charges, though any actual sentence would likely be far shorter.

Welch and Johnson have maintained their innocence, and insist Utah's political and business elite knew what they were doing.

"You need to talk about what the process was for bidding," Welch said Thursday after leaving the courthouse. "I've spent almost 20 years involved in the Olympic process and trying to do something for our community. Even the allegations, as remote as they are, it's hard."

Federal prosecutors did not make themselves available for comment outside the courthouse.

Among government witnesses will be Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, who is scheduled to be sworn in next week as chief of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Leavitt is expected to testify he didn't know about any questionable dealings with IOC delegates.

The scandal was the worst in Olympic history and resulted in the expulsion or resignation of 10 IOC members.