Guilty trip
Ex-Yank Loaiza expected to alter plea in drug case
Former Yankees pitcher Esteban Loaiza is expected to change his plea later this week in a felony cocaine distribution case, according to a report.
Loaiza — who was arrested in February in San Diego after authorities said they found 44 pounds of cocaine in a van parked in the garage of a rented townhouse — has a “change of plea” hearing listed in Southern California U.S. District Court on Friday, WLS-TV reports.
The Tijuana-born Loaiza, 46, initially pleaded not guilty in February. A change of plea hearing results in a defendant submitting a guilty plea in “99 percent” of all criminal cases, according to the station’s legal analyst Gil Soffer, a former federal prosecutor.
Loaiza’s attorney, Janice Deaton, and a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney in San Diego both declined to comment Monday on the report.
Federal investigators have said they believe Loaiza used the rented townhome as an intermediate destination for cocaine. Prior to his arrest, during which Loaiza was pulled over for a traffic violation and cops found a sophisticated compartment to hide con- traband in his Mercedes-Benz, the former MLB star had crossed the Mexican border earlier that day, prosecutors said.
Authorities later obtained a search warrant for Loaiza’s rented home in Imperial Beach, where investigators said they found 44 pounds of cocaine stored less than 1,000 feet from an elementary school.
Loaiza, who posted bail in May, faces a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence and up to life in prison if convicted, according to the station.
Loaiza pitched for nine teams during his 14-season career, including the Yankees, Dodgers, White Sox and Pirates. He retired in 2008 with a 126-114 record and a 4.65 career ERA. He was a twotime All-Star and the secondwinningest Mexican pitcher in MLB history, behind only Fernando Valenzuela. In 2003, he finished second in the American League Cy Young voting and started the All-Star Game.
Loaiza, who earned more than $43 million in his career, is also known for appearing on the reality show “I Love Jenni,” featuring his wife, Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera. They were in the process of ending their two-year marriage before Rivera died in a plane crash in 2012.