Former A’s closer Dotel tied to alleged Dominican drug ring
Authorities in the Dominican Republic have arrested former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel and cited ex-infielder Luis Castillo for their alleged links to a drug-trafficking and moneylaundering ring, officials said Tuesday.
Dotel pitched for the A’s in 2004 and 2005, going a combined 7-4 with 29 saves in 60 games.
Dominican Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez said police are also actively pursuing the alleged leader of the ring, César Emilio Peralta, also known as “César the Abuser.” Castillo — not the current Cincinnati Reds’ pitcher — has not yet been arrested.
“Eighteen other people are linked to this network, including athletes and baseball players Octavio Dotel and Luis Castillo,” Rodríguez said, calling it “the most important drug trafficking structure in the region.”
He said Peralta created a complicated system of companies to hide the origins of his assets, using members of his family and social circles, “including two sports figures in the Dominican Republic.”
Rodríguez said the U.S. government and police agencies participated in the investigation.
Dominican officials say a 1,050-kilogram shipment of drugs heading from South America to Puerto Rico was one of several seizures attributed to this ring.
On his Instagram account, Castillo denied any ties to drugs.
“The truth is my country no longer works, my God, do you think that after making millions of dollars in Baseball I am going to dirty my hands with drugs?” the former player wrote.
Castillo was a three-time All-Star, won three Gold Gloves and was a member of the 2003 Florida Marlins team that won the World Series.
There was no immediate comment from Dotel, who set a record for playing on more MLB teams than any other player. The teams were: the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees, the A’s, Houston Astros and New York Mets. Edwin Jackson broke Dotel’s mark earlier this season by playing for his 14th team.
Jurisprudence
CLEAVES ACQUITTED IN ASSAULT CASE >> A jury acquitted former Michigan State basketball star Mateen Cleaves of allegations he sexually assaulted a woman in a motel room four years ago.
The verdict announced in a Genesee County courtroom in Cleaves’ hometown of Flint, Mich. came after a nearly two-week trial that included the testimony of the Mount Morris woman, who told jurors that she had wanted to leave the motel room but Cleaves continued to force himself on her.
The jury of nine women and three men deliberated for a little more than two hours before delivering its verdict. Cleaves sobbed after the last of four not-guilty verdicts was read.
“Thank you for giving me my life back,” said Cleaves, who played six seasons in the NBA after earning All-American honors three seasons at Michigan State and leading the Spartans to the 2000 national title.
Juror Michael Lambert said the verdict came quickly after he and other jurors concluded Cleaves’ accuser wasn’t believable.
Outside the court, Cleaves continued to proclaim his innocence.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for four years,” he told reporters. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Evidence against Cleaves, 41, included a video that prosecutors contended showed the woman pulling away from Cleaves. Prosecutors argued she tried twice to escape from the motel room.
The woman testified during the trial that she had gone to a gathering at a bar with Cleaves at the Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club.
The woman said she and Cleaves stopped at a gas station and that she fell asleep before waking up in a room at the motel with him. The woman said she told Cleaves she “wanted to go home” but admitted she kissed him even after saying that.
She said she didn’t want to be “rude” to Cleaves, a celebrity donor to her employer, because she didn’t want her rejection of his advances to affect her job.
Soccer
WOMEN’S TEAM’S TRIAL SET >> A judge has set a May 5 trial date for the gender discrimination lawsuit filed by the women’s national team against U.S. Soccer.
District Judge R. Gary Klausner assigned the date at a hearing Monday in Los Angeles, which came less than a week after mediation between the two sides broke down.
The players sued U.S. Soccer in March, alleging institutionalized gender discrimination that includes inequitable compensation when compared with their counterparts on the men’s national team.
The federation claims that compensation for each team is the result of separate collective bargaining agreements, and that the pay structures are different as a result.
The sides had agreed to mediate the dispute after this summer’s World Cup in France. The U.S. beat the Netherlands in July for its second straight title, and fourth overall.
Pan American Games
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has handed down 12-month probations to the athletes who protested on the medals stand at the Pan American Games.
In letters of reprimand sent to hammer thrower Gwen Berry and fencer Race Imboden, USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said that while she respected their perspective, “I disagree with the moment and manner in which you chose to express your view.”
Berry raised her fist on the podium, while Imboden took a knee. U.S. athletes sign forms in which they agree to adhere to rules that forbid acts of political protest at international events such as the Pan Am Games and Olympics.
The athletes protested on the last weekend of action at the Pan Am Games. Neither was sanctioned while there. Both will be eligible for the Olympics next summer.
College football
DANIELS TO START AGAIN FOR USC >> Sophomore quarterback J.T. Daniels will start at USC for the second straight season.
Coach Clay Helton announced that Daniels, who started 11 games as a freshman, won a four-man competition for the job over freshman Kedon Slovis, redshirt junior Matt Fink and redshirt sophomore Jack Sears. FORMER SOONER TO START FOR MOUNTAINEERS >> Oklahoma graduate transfer Austin Kendall has been named West Virginia’s starting quarterback for the Aug. 31 season opener against FCS James Madison.
At Oklahoma, Kendall backed up Baker Mayfield in 2016 and Kyler Murray last season.
For his career, Kendall has completed 28 of 39 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns .
ILLINOIS CHOOSES TOP QB >> Former Michigan quarterback Brandon Peters has been named Illinois’ starter for the Aug. 31 opener against Akron.
Peters, a graduate transfer, played 10 games with four starts at Michigan, passing for 680 yards and four touchdowns.
Tennis
ANISIMOVA OUT OF OPEN >> American teenager Amanda Anisimova’s representatives say she will not play at the U.S. Open because of the recent death of her father and coach, Konstantin.
She is an up-and-coming star in women’s tennis who reached the semifinals at the French Open in June at age 17. She upset defending champion Simona Halep in the quarterfinals, before losing to eventual champion Ash Barty in three sets.
Anisimova is currently ranked 24th and would have been seeded for the U.S. Open, the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, which begins Monday.
College basketball
TOP GUARD COMMITS TO UCLA >> Fivestar point guard Daishen Nix verbally committed to UCLA, according to 247Sports, giving first-year head coach Mick Cronin his first pledge for the 2020 recruiting class.
Nix, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound prospect who plays at Trinity International School in Las Vegas, is 247Sports’ top-ranked point guard in the country.