2 more Ortiz collars
‘Mastermind’ & money man nabbed in D.R. hit
The so-called “mastermind” of the bungled murder plot wrongly targeting ex-Red Sox star David Ortiz was busted Friday along with the suspected money man in the Dominican Republic shooting, authorities announced.
Victor Hugo Gomez, who investigators initially believed had fled to the United States, was instead busted in the Dominican Republic nearly three weeks after Ortiz was shot once in the back inside a Santo Domingo cafe, the Dominican National Police said via Twitter. Gomez was identified as an associate of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel, with Dominican officials describing him as a dangerous fugitive.
Fellow suspect Alberto Rodriguez Mota was nabbed in more daring fashion, captured “on the high seas” as he attempted to flee from the Dominican coast of Samana to a safe haven in Puerto Rico, said the national police. Mota reportedly paid close to $8,000 for the hit where Gomez allegedly ordered the gunman to murder his cousin Sixto David Fernandez.
But the hit man, somehow confusing one of the Dominican’s most recognizable faces with Fernandez, pumped a bullet into the 43-year-old Ortiz from behind on the evening of June 9. Authorities said Ortiz and Fernandez were sharing a table, and the shooter simply shot the wrong man.
Ortiz remains in Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital recovering from the second of two surgeries necessitated by the point-blank shooting. Big Papi lost his gallbladder and part of his intestine following the attack.
While no other details were released about the Gomez arrest, his lawyer released a YouTube video of Gomez declaring that he feared for his life and proclaiming his innocence in the plot.
“I would never do something like this, and least of all David — Big Papi,” said Gomez. “I want to clarify that I had nothing to do with any attempt on the life of Sixto David Fernandez. We are family.”
Dominican authorities said Fernandez was on the receiving end of several threatening messages from Gomez prior to the mistaken identity shooting. Gomez’s rage toward his cousin stemmed from his belief that Fernandez has turned him into Dominican drug enforcers eight years ago, authorities said.