Former Baltimore Blast GM Tumminello charged with theft

Former Baltimore Blast general manager Gianni Tumminello was charged with six counts of theft in Baltimore County on Wednesday afternoon.

According to court documents, Tumminello stole between $178,000 and $450,000 from the Baltimore Blast Corporation between January and April of this year.

Team owner Ed Hale said in a phone interview with The Baltimore Sun that he suspects Tumminello stole close to $500,000 from the indoor soccer team based in Rosedale, mostly through forging signatures on checks over the past two or three years.

“He dropped me off at the hospital for cancer surgery on February 6 of this year and went right back to the office and started stealing checks and started forging signatures on checks,” Hale said. “I think that he did it in smaller increments at the beginning and got away with it. Then he was emboldened.”

Tumminello, 49, waived his right to an attorney when he appeared before Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Marsha L. Russell during a hearing Wednesday afternoon, according to court documents. Hale said that in Tumminello’s role as general manager, Tumminello was in charge of ticket sales and facilitated group ticket deals with the area youth soccer community.

Hale, 76, said Tumminello quit as general manager in April. Tumminello did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

“Nobody is sure what he did with the money,” Hale said.

Tumminello appeared without an attorney Wednesday and a defense attorney was not listed on court records. The maximum penalties for the six felony charges are 60 years in prison and $90,000 in fines.