Book has harsh view of Red Sox

Dominguez ‘tell-all’ claims MLB duplicity

A new book written by a former Red Sox security agent contains allegations covering nearly two decades of cases, from what are claimed to be performance-enhancing drugs to alleged human trafficking, involving Major League Baseball and its 30 teams.

One of those cases portrayed by author Eddie Dominguez with co-authors Christian Red and Teri Thompson in “Baseball Cop: The Dark Side of America’s National Pastime,” involved an investigation into baseball gambling that allegedly concerned a close associate of David Ortiz.

Dominguez, a Boston native and former member of the Boston Police Department, became the Red Sox’ Resident Security Agent in 1999 and served in that post through 2007, when he became a member of MLB’s Department of Invesigations (DOI), which was set up in the aftermath of the Mitchell Report on alleged use of steroids and other PEDs in the game.

Much of the book is devoted to Dominguez’ assertion that MLB stymied and undermined DOI’s efforts to operate independently and work with law enforcement agencies.

Because Dominguez worked with the Red Sox before joining the DOI and also dealt with cases that touched upon the team afterward, many of the stories in the book concern its players, coaches and executives.

In yesterday’s interview, he said he wrote about what he saw and heard.

“I am not singling out the Red Sox by any means,” said Dominguez, who said he was asked to leave DOI in 2014. “Every team in baseball had similar or worse issues.”

In the summer of 2005, Dominguez says he became suspicious about someone he claims was a member of Ortiz’ entourage known as “Monga,” described by Dominguez as Ortiz’ “top aide-de-camp,” who allegedly was a frequent presence in the Red Sox clubhouse. Dominguez claims to have had an informant close to Monga who witnessed Monga placing a bet on a game in Chicago between the Red Sox and White Sox on July 24, 2005. Monga, according to the book, placed a bet on the White Sox to win as well as on the “over.”

Dominguez alleges eventually Monga and others in Ortiz’ entourage were banned from the Sox clubhouse, a development the writer says Ortiz did not like.

Dominguez wrote “the gambling issue with Monga continued,” and says he was surprised to see Ortiz had Monga and others on the field with him before the 2006 All-Star Home Run Derby in Pittsburgh. Dominguez said he called his superiors and was told they tried to keep Ortiz’ friends away but Ortiz had said “If they don’t come with me on the field, I don’t participate.” (Then-commissioner Bud) Selig and his No.2 Rob Manfred allegedly had given in and said, “Let them on.”)

According to Dominguez, after the All-Star Game, MLB security head Kevin Hallinan called for a meeting with manager Terry Francona, Hallinan, Dominguez and Ortiz.

Dominguez wrote: “To be clear, I had no proof that Ortiz was placing bets through Monga — or had ever done so — but Monga, who was hanging around the clubhouse, was betting thousands of dollars against the Red Sox. At least take a look at it.

About that meeting, he writes, “Ortiz walked in, sat down, and said hello to Hallinan, stared at me, and asked Francona what was going on. Hallinan then told Francona and Ortiz what we had found, from soup to nuts. Ortiz claimed it was all a lie.

“‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said.”

Hallinan and Francona warned Ortiz to be careful whom he associated with, and Ortiz said he would speak to Monga. ‘I know it’s not true,’ he said.”

When Dominguez returned to his car, he wrote that his informant called to tell him the alleged gambling activities had shut down immediately.

Dominguez also asserts that he passed information to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and Monga was arrested at Ortiz’ home in July of 2007 on nine counts of making false claims of U.S. citizenship.

“Ortiz, of course, was furious,” alleges Dominguez. “He wasn’t the only one.”

Dominguez said then-Red Sox GM Theo Epstein called him to vent.

Dominguez wrote: “‘Eddie, I thought you were with us. What the (expletive) are you doing? Ortiz is upset the police went to his home and arrested his guy. What are you doing?’”

The Red Sox yesterday referred questions about the gambling allegations to Major League Baseball, saying the matter was a league investigation. The club also said yesterday that after the Mitchell report came out, one of the recommendations made to all clubs was for more strict clubhouse security. MLB issued this statement: “Major League Baseball actively cooperated with a law enforcement investigation into the illegal gambling operation that took these alleged bets. Ed Dominguez reported to his superiors at MLB that that investigation, which led to multiple arrests in 2008, did not implicate any players.”

Dominguez also claims that after the Red Sox traded Manny Ramirez in 2008, then-president and CEO Larry Lucchino asked MLB to look into the trade because, according to him, Lucchino suspected Ramirez’ agent, Scott Boras, had orchestrated the trade by having Ramirez concoct injuries and push down traveling secretary Jack McCormick. Dominguez said Francona, Epstein and, eventually, principal owner John Henry all said they doubted Ramirez could stick to that script, which Dominguez said did not make Lucchino and chairman Tom Werner happy at all that they could not pursue their plan to implicate Boras.

“The whole episode was hilarious — comical,” said Dominguez.

In another part of the book, Dominguez purports to recap the flap regarding the previously documented and reported allegations of injections of the anti-inflammatory Toradol in pitchers.