Rumors for law
Barry Bonds sentenced
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Today Barry Bonds, the MLB home run leader was sentenced to two years of probation for obstructing a U.S. probe of steroid use in professional sports. Almost forgot, he also received 30 days of mansion arrest (house arrest in his 15,00 square foot Beverly Hills house).
The prosecution had asked the judge to sentence Bonds to 15 months in prison while the US probation department had recommended no jail time.
Bonds and his team of attorney’s are appealing the ruling.
A jury convicted Bonds in April of purposely answering questions about steroids with rambling responses in an attempt to mislead a grand jury.
Bonds’ trial jury failed to reach a verdict on three other charges accusing Bonds of lying when he denied taking performance-enhancing drugs and when he denied receiving injections from someone other than his doctor.
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Barry Bonds conviction upheld by federal judge
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The obstruction of justice conviction of Barry Bonds was upheld by federal judge, Susan Illston, on Friday so no new trial or an acquittal will take place, according to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press.
Bonds was convicted of giving an evasive reply to a grand jury while under oath when asked whether he received drugs that required a syringe.
“Viewed in the light most favorable to the government, the record supports a finding, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the question was material to the grand jury’s investigation of BALCO and Greg Anderson for unlawfully distributing performance enhancing drugs, and that defendant endeavored to obstruct the grand jury by not answering it when it was first asked,” Illston wrote. “The conviction can be upheld if (the) defendant endeavored to obstruct justice, even if he did not succeed.”
Blum adds that Bonds is likely going to appeal Illston’s decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Roger Clemens perjury trial ends in mistrial
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The perjury trial that involved ex-baseball star Roger Clemens ended in a mistrial on Thursday after jurors heard statements in a prosecution video that were previously ruled inadmissable until later in the case, CNN’s Larry Lazo reports.
This is what CNN said:
“U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said prosecutors should have modified a video that showed a congressman talking about a deposition from the wife of Clemens’ old teammate, former New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, during a 2008 congressional hearing. Walton had decided earlier that prosecutors couldn’t include references to Laura Pettitte’s testimony unless it was brought up on rebuttal.”
The decision came on the second day of testimony in the trial. A hearing on September 2 will decide whether to retry the case.
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Rays prospect caught smuggling cocaine at airport
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If you haven’t seen the National Geographic Channel’s Locked up Abroad television show, then I high recommend it. If you’re a producer of the show, then you may want to check out this story.
21-year-old Christian Martinez was busted last week after trying to smuggle in more than six pounds of cocaine in JFK Airport, according to Joe Kemp of the New York Daily News. The cocaine was valued at more than $138,000.
Martinez, a native of the Dominican Republic, was a prospect for the Tampa Bay Rays until problems emerged from his visa.
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Frank McCourt may not be able to make June 30th payroll
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As an owner of a sports team, one would expect the owner to have millions of dollars sitting in an account and having no issues with making payroll, unless your name is Frank McCourt and you own the Dodgers. Over the last few months, with pay the man/ pay days at the 15th and 30th (or 31st) it has been a guessing game as to if Frank McCourt would be able to make payroll.
McCourt was able to secure funds to help make May 31st payroll by taking cash advances on payments that he was not scheduled to receive until later this season.
According to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times, McCourt expects to make payroll tomorrow which totals about $10mm, but has “no chance” of making the 30th payroll as the amount triples to $30mm. The amount triples thanks to our favorite steroid user Manny Ramirez and his $8mm deferred payment. If McCourt misses payroll, MLB would seize control of the team and would eventually sell the team.
Frank and his ex-wife/ half owner of the Dodgers, Jamie McCourt, held settlement talks for over nine hours on Monday. It appears the sides may be working towards a deal but the details are unknown. When Shaikin caught up with Jamie’s attorney Dennis Wasser, he said “Negotiations continuing. Stay tuned.”
If the two sides do not reach a deal, then on June 22nd both sides will be in court where Frank filed paperwork asking the judge to rule that Jamie has no say in a TV deal agreement, while Jamie wants the court to force Frank to sell the team.
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Suspect in Bryan Stow’s beating arrested
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According to ABC 7, a suspect in the Bryan Stow beating has been arrested. Los Angeles police said they believe the man is one of the two attackers who severely beat Bryan Stow in a Dodgers Stadium parking lot on March 31.
At about 7 a.m., the Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team descended on an East Hollywood apartment building with a warrant in hand.
After a few flash bangs, people from the targeted apartment unit began to be escorted out by police. Among them was a man with a bald head and tattoos on his neck and arms, a description that appeared to match the vague sketches released by police of one of the two suspects.
Police officials declined to give details, including the name of the suspect, saying only that the investigation was ongoing. It is unknown if police know the identity of the second suspect.
Check back later as we look for more details.
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Lenny Dykstra indicted for bankruptcy fraud
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Former Major League Baseball player Lenny Dykstra, was indicted by a federal grand jury Friday for bankruptcy fraud.
After Dykstra filed for bankruptcy in 2009, the former outfielder for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies hid, sold or destroyed more than $400,000 worth of items from his $18.5 million mansion in Southern California. At the time, Dykstra claimed he owed more than $31 million and had only $50,000 in assets.
Dykstra is accused of one count of bankruptcy fraud, one count of obstruction of justice, four counts of concealing property from the bankruptcy estate, three counts of embezzlement from the bankruptcy estate, and four counts of making false declarations to the Bankruptcy Court.
If convicted on all 13 charges, the former All-Star could face up to 80 years in prison.
His attorney, Mark Werksman, accused the government “heavy-handed and overbearing.” “This is payback by the US government to Lenny Dykstra’s resistance to the trustee’s dismantling of his property and assets in the bankruptcy.”
Information from the LA Times was used in this article.
Indians OF Shin-Soo Choo arrested for DUI
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Cleveland Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo was arrested Monday morning for driving under the influence in Sheffield Lake, Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer reports.
GM Chris Antonetti issued this statement, “We are aware of the incident with Shin-Soo Choo and have spoken to him about it. The Indians organization takes these issues very seriously and we are disappointed in the matter. We will continue to monitor the situation and we will not have any further comment at this time.”
Choo is the second Indian’s player to be arrested for a DUI this year. Austin Kearns was arrested in February outside of Lexington, Kentucky.
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Derek Lowe charged with DUI
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According to the Associated Press, Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Derek Lowe was charged with drunk driving on Thursday evening.
A Georgia State Patrol trooper stopped Lowe after he was spotted racing another car down an Atlanta street. After smelling alcohol, the trooper administered a sobriety test and Lowe was arrested.
Obviously we are concerned and disappointed about the events involving Derek Lowe overnight,” the team said in a statement. “We are currently gathering information and plan to address this matter later today.”
Lowe was charged with DUI, reckless driving and improper lane change.
The 37-year-old Lowe is 2-3 with a 3.21 ERA in six starts this year with the Braves.
Lowe joins a growing list of baseball players that have been arrested for DUI which includes: Miguel Cabrera, CoCo Crisp, Austin Kearns and Adam Kennedy.
The Frank McCourt Soap Opera continues
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Today was a huge day in the ongoing McCourt soap opera. Frank who has refused to discuss much of anything with the media, held a press conference in New York after meeting with MLB executives (minus Bud Selig). McCourt said MLB denied the FOX media deal which would have put $300 million up front which would have been invested into the team immediately. “I signed an agreement that $300m up-front from Fox deal would go directly into the Dodgers, not for divorce or any personal matters.”
McCourt for the first time also publicly apologized for his personal spending habits and for his messy divorce and added that the divorce has been very difficult for him.
Then the topic of MLB hiring Tom Schieffer to oversee the day-to-day operations was brought up and McCourt said: “Nobody handed the Dodgers to me and nobody’s going to take them away. I’m not going anywhere.”
Reports have suggested McCourt plans to sue MLB, but he was non-committal when that subject was broached on Wednesday, saying: “I’m very committed to my position, and I have not decided exactly what we’re going to do.”
Shortly have McCourt’s press conference ended, Tom Schieffer’s press conference began. Schieffer did not comment on anything McCourt said specifically but did say: “We don’t want to be disruptive, we want to be helpful. I hope it will give some confidence that the instability and turmoil is coming to an end, and that we are getting to the bottom of whatever the problem is. Los Angeles and Major League Baseball need the Dodgers to be a healthy franchise.”
Familiar face Joe Torre was also at the press conference and said that he will be assisting Schieffer in the investigation. “Joe is a great baseball guy and has been in L.A., so I hope to pick his brain and get any thoughts he may have,” Schieffer said. “If you have Joe Torre available, you use him, and that is what I intend to do.”
Schieffer has yet to talk to McCourt in person but said: “I look forward to talking with him, having a nice visit and seeing what he is concerned about, but I am here to help the franchise get back on its feet and be successful again, and I think that is the Commissioner’s biggest concern.”
But the comments didn’t stop there as MLB VP Rob Manfred later provided this response to McCourt’s comments: “There has been no seizure of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mr. Schieffer has been appointed as a monitor, and a multi-page written directive from the Commissioner describing his role has been provided to Mr. McCourt,” he said in his statement. “In our meeting, no one from the Dodgers asked a single, specific question about the terms of the document setting forth the monitor’s role. … Finally, Mr. McCourt is well aware of the basis of Baseball’s investigation and has been provided an eight-page document describing the issues of concern to Major League Baseball.”
Unfortunately, things are only going to get worse before they get better for the Dodgers and their loyal fans.
Quotes and other information were obtained via Bill Shaikin of the LA Times.
