spydrman
February 24th, 2004, 02:28 AM
Ex-Major League Umpire Admits Fraud Over Baseballs
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Major League Baseball umpire pleaded guilty to fraud on Monday for falsely authenticating hundreds of baseballs he said had been used in notable games he officiated.
Al Clark, 56, an American League umpire from 1976 to 2001, pleaded guilty in a New Jersey federal court to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Clark and business partner Richard Graessle Jr., who sold the baseballs to sports memorabilia dealers and pleaded guilty to tax evasion, will be sentenced in June.
Some of the baseballs, which were distressed to look as though they had been used in games, sold for thousands of dollars, according to prosecutors.
In one example cited in the court papers, Graessle obtained thousands of balls manufactured specifically to mark the games in which Cal Ripken Jr. tied and broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games-played record and delivered them to Clark, who signed them and prepared certificates of authenticity. Clark also falsely represented other balls used in a one-game playoff in which the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox in 1978 to win their division, and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan's 300th career victory, among other notable games.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040224/sp_nm/mlb_baseballs_dc_1
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Now this guy was involved in mail fraud, which many matrix site owners could be found guilty of. As you read above, mail fraud carriesa maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Major League Baseball umpire pleaded guilty to fraud on Monday for falsely authenticating hundreds of baseballs he said had been used in notable games he officiated.
Al Clark, 56, an American League umpire from 1976 to 2001, pleaded guilty in a New Jersey federal court to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Clark and business partner Richard Graessle Jr., who sold the baseballs to sports memorabilia dealers and pleaded guilty to tax evasion, will be sentenced in June.
Some of the baseballs, which were distressed to look as though they had been used in games, sold for thousands of dollars, according to prosecutors.
In one example cited in the court papers, Graessle obtained thousands of balls manufactured specifically to mark the games in which Cal Ripken Jr. tied and broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games-played record and delivered them to Clark, who signed them and prepared certificates of authenticity. Clark also falsely represented other balls used in a one-game playoff in which the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox in 1978 to win their division, and Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan's 300th career victory, among other notable games.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040224/sp_nm/mlb_baseballs_dc_1
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Now this guy was involved in mail fraud, which many matrix site owners could be found guilty of. As you read above, mail fraud carriesa maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.