"Like many business men of genius he learned that free competition was wasteful, monopoly efficient." - Mario Puzo, The Godfather.
IT WAS four days - four days to announce you will lead your organisation into a bold new era.
Four days and an investigation by the FBI and IRS in which 14 of your associates were arrested for wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering; for you to decide you don't have the "mandate" of your organisation and it's time to go.
Much remains to be unearthed in the wake of the departure of Fifa's Swiss president Joseph "Sepp" Blatter this week, although the five-time elected (often unopposed) official will remain in the job until hundreds of world footballing officials can be brought back together for another vote.
Can you imagine how many emails can be deleted, phone messages erased and correspondence burned in that time?
One of the 14 arrested was a man who once cleared Blatter of any knowledge of corruption or taking bribes for hosting major events - Trinidad and Tobago politician and former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner.
I don't have time to write a novel here of all the corruption claims laid at Warner's feet in the past 10 years, so let's just stick to my favourite - the $10million from Fifa for the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake that somehow ended up in his own personal bank account.
"I have nothing to answer to anybody," Warner roared. "Who wants to make allegations, make allegations. Ask yourselves, as objective members of the media: 'Why now ... ?' And after you get why now, just join the dots and see."
The FBI and US Department of Justice did join the dots - Warner is likely to be extradited to the US and has now tried to position himself as a potential star witness.
"[I have] compiled a comprehensive and detailed series of documents including cheques and corroborating statements. Knowledge about certain transactions at Fifa including, but not limited to its president Sepp Blatter."
Poor Jackie boy, it really is everybody's fault but his.
NZ Football and its chief executive Andy Martin have received a lot of well-due praise this week for taking the deep breath and wilfully defying Blatter and co at the Fifa elections in Zurich - standing with 73 other dissidents in backing Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein, who later withdrew.
Martin was scheduled to host Blatter, and still may be, for a visit during the current Fifa Under-20 World Cup.
Among all the high-level meetings at Auckland's trendiest hotels, over a plate of caviar and champagne, a smug Blatter would have no doubt told Martin that an Oceania team would never receive an automatic qualifying entry into the World Cup.
The no-doubt relieved Martin said this week that Oceania's request would "definitely be back on the table" as New Zealand had picked up some valuable and powerful allies with its stance.
"But they are secondary now to getting the right leader for the game. We have got a fabulous sport that has been tarnished," Martin said.
"I think Oceania has been tied to Blatter for a long time and obviously that is going to need to change now."
In 2013, when yet another Fifa ethics committee cleared Blatter of accepting illegal payments from its partner marketing company, which went bankrupt, the teflon president announced his "satisfaction" the report "confirms ... conduct could not be classified in any way as misconduct with regard to any ethics rules".
"No doubt that Fifa, thanks to the governance reform process that I proposed now has the mechanisms and means to ensure that such an issue does not happen again."
Sweet words. I wonder how they taste when you eat them?