Post by Fish Troll on Jul 13, 2008 20:58:15 GMT -5
Although the FBI and Major League Baseball's investigation into whether Washington Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden and associates, including Nationals special assistant Jose Rijo, skimmed money from bonuses to Latin American prospects is still in its early stages, the team's signing of shortstop Esmailyn Gonzalez in 2006 is a focus of the probe, according to sources close to the investigation.
On July 2, 2006, the Nationals paraded Gonzalez, decked out in a Nationals jersey and cap, in front of the D.C. press corps as they announced that they had signed the 16-year-old switch hitter to a $1.4 million bonus. The hefty bonus served notice to other Dominican prospects, their handlers and to other teams that for the first time, Washington, under new ownership, was willing to invest large sums on players in an effort to compete for the island's top talent. However, multiple sources have estimated that Gonzalez received a small fraction of that bonus.
Bowden and Rijo, who was the MVP of the 1990 World Series while pitching for the Reds, have denied any wrongdoing. In a statement to SI.com, Bowden wrote, "I am very supportive of the investigation and I have no knowledge of any wrong-doing. The FBI and MLB have an on-going investigation. It would be inappropriate for me to further comment so that the investigators can do their jobs. I am fully supporting their investigation and, along with the Washington Nationals, will continue to cooperate in any way needed." When reached by phone in the Dominican Republic on Saturday afternoon by SI.com, Rijo sounded upbeat and said that he had no reason for concern because he has nothing to hide. Rijo declined to discuss any specifics pertaining to Gonzalez, citing the ongoing investigation and saying that he did not handle any of the details of Gonzalez's contract.
Bowden is the highest-ranking baseball official currently under investigation, but all 30 teams are being examined, SI.com has confirmed. The Nationals inquiry follows the May 16 announcement that the Chicago White Sox had fired senior director of player personnel David Wilder. Sources say that Wilder is being investigated by the FBI to determine if he siphoned money from player bonuses. No charges have been filed against Wilder, who has made no public comment since his dismissal.
SI.com spoke with dozens of team scouts, buscones (independent coaches who identify, develop and then sell prospects to major league teams), investigators, and other front office personnel who all concede that the breadth of the corruption is matched only by the difficulty that investigators will have in proving it.
With some variation, the mechanism by which team representatives can skim is simple: The team official overvalues the player and asks for money back from the player and his family. Until the Wilder case emerged, teams sent the bonus money in the form of a check to MLB headquarters in the Dominican Republic. A team official and a parent or guardian accompanied the player to the offices where they received the check. Most players, according to those entrenched in Dominican baseball, typically head straight for the bank to cash the check. Once the check is cashed, the handouts begin.
On July 2, 2006, the Nationals paraded Gonzalez, decked out in a Nationals jersey and cap, in front of the D.C. press corps as they announced that they had signed the 16-year-old switch hitter to a $1.4 million bonus. The hefty bonus served notice to other Dominican prospects, their handlers and to other teams that for the first time, Washington, under new ownership, was willing to invest large sums on players in an effort to compete for the island's top talent. However, multiple sources have estimated that Gonzalez received a small fraction of that bonus.
Bowden and Rijo, who was the MVP of the 1990 World Series while pitching for the Reds, have denied any wrongdoing. In a statement to SI.com, Bowden wrote, "I am very supportive of the investigation and I have no knowledge of any wrong-doing. The FBI and MLB have an on-going investigation. It would be inappropriate for me to further comment so that the investigators can do their jobs. I am fully supporting their investigation and, along with the Washington Nationals, will continue to cooperate in any way needed." When reached by phone in the Dominican Republic on Saturday afternoon by SI.com, Rijo sounded upbeat and said that he had no reason for concern because he has nothing to hide. Rijo declined to discuss any specifics pertaining to Gonzalez, citing the ongoing investigation and saying that he did not handle any of the details of Gonzalez's contract.
Bowden is the highest-ranking baseball official currently under investigation, but all 30 teams are being examined, SI.com has confirmed. The Nationals inquiry follows the May 16 announcement that the Chicago White Sox had fired senior director of player personnel David Wilder. Sources say that Wilder is being investigated by the FBI to determine if he siphoned money from player bonuses. No charges have been filed against Wilder, who has made no public comment since his dismissal.
SI.com spoke with dozens of team scouts, buscones (independent coaches who identify, develop and then sell prospects to major league teams), investigators, and other front office personnel who all concede that the breadth of the corruption is matched only by the difficulty that investigators will have in proving it.
With some variation, the mechanism by which team representatives can skim is simple: The team official overvalues the player and asks for money back from the player and his family. Until the Wilder case emerged, teams sent the bonus money in the form of a check to MLB headquarters in the Dominican Republic. A team official and a parent or guardian accompanied the player to the offices where they received the check. Most players, according to those entrenched in Dominican baseball, typically head straight for the bank to cash the check. Once the check is cashed, the handouts begin.
sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/07/12/nats.bowden/index.html
