Wilder charged in kickback scheme

[southsider2k5]

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/...ack-scheme.html

 

Feds: Ex-Sox exec took kickbacks from prospects

November 10, 2010 2:05 PM | No Comments | UPDATED STORY

By Todd Lighty

 

A former White Sox executive and two former team scouts were charged Wednesday with pocketing about $400,000 in signing bonuses and contract buyouts intended for young, impoverished Latin American baseball prospects.

 

Among those charged was David Wilder, who was fired in 2008 as the Sox's senior director of player personnel amid the federal probe.

 

Wilder, 50, was charged with seven counts of mail fraud. He was considered a rising star in baseball's front-office circles and was a close friend and a trusted adviser to White Sox general manager Ken Williams.

 

Wilder told the Tribune that he was unaware that the charges against him were going to be announced Wednesday and declined to talk about the allegations.

 

"I don't have a job. I don't have a life right now," Wilder said in a telephone interview. "I'm a human being and I have gone through a lot. I would appreciate it if you could give me some humanity. I have lost everything."

 

He then hung up.

 

Photo: David Wilder in 2005. (Lisa Poole/AP)

 

Also charged were Jorge L. Oquendo Rivera, the Sox's Latin American scout from 2004 to 2007, and Victor Mateo, who was the club's scout in the Dominican Republic from 2006 to 2008.

 

The indictment alleged that the three illegally defrauded 23 baseball prospects out of the $400,000 from December 2004 to February 2008.

 

Federal authorities said their investigation began after the White Sox reported its internal findings to Major League Baseball and MLB referred the matter to the FBI. Both the White Sox and MLB cooperated with the probe, authorities said.

 

To come up with the kickbacks, Wilder, Oquendo and Mateo misrepresented the amount of money needed to sign prospects, causing the White Sox to pay signing bonuses and buy the rights to players from other teams at inflated prices, the indictment charged. The three then pocketed the extra money, authorities said.

 

The Sox had a Latin American scouting program to recruit prospects from Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela and elsewhere.

 

Wilder was responsible for supervising the team's scouts in Latin America.

 

In scouting players in Latin America, Oquendo and Mateo allegedly held discussions with the prospects or their representatives about the amount of kickbacks the players were willing or expected to pay to them and Wilder, the charges alleged.

 

They "enriched themselves by taking advantage of vulnerable ballplayers, who were anxious to pursue their dreams of stardom in the major leagues," Robert Grant, special-agent-in-charge of the FBI in Chicago, said in a statement.

 

Wilder, 50, of San Francisco, and Oquendo, 49, of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, are expected to be arraigned at a later date. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Mateo, 39, of Arroyo Hondo in the Dominican Republic.

 

Wilder, who had the authority to approve signings under $100,000, inflated the amount of signing bonuses to conceal the kickbacks and then misrepresented to other team officials that the inflated amounts were needed to sign the players.

 

When the signing amounts exceeded $100,000, Wilder deceived Williams, authorities said.

 

"The defendants were suppose to recruit players by paying amounts of money that matched their skills and were no greater than the amount needed to sign the players," U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement. "Instead, the indictment alleges that the defendants secretly inflated those signing amounts to fund kickbacks for themselves."

 

Wilder and Oquendo were each charged with seven counts of mail fraud, while Mateo was indicted on three counts of mail fraud.

 

At the time of his hiring, Wilder was thought so highly of by Williams that he gave him more power over talent evaluators in the organization with more than 15 years of service.

 

At the same time, the Sox increased their resources by building a new facility in the Dominican Republic and pouring more resources in instruction and evaluation.

 

So far, at least eight employees of MLB teams had been dismissed. The Yankees and Red Sox have fired scouts.

 

In response to the scandal, MLB's office of investigations set up shop in the Dominican Republic, hired five Spanish-speaking investigators and pledged cooperation with the Dominican Sports Ministry to improve oversight of how teenage Dominican prospects are scouted and signed.

 

The investigation also had expanded into Venezuela, another talent-rich country where MLB has uncovered similar problems.

 

Baseball sources told the Tribune that the investigation intensified in 2008 after Wilder was stopped at an airport leaving the Dominican with $30,000 to $40,000 in cash. Wilder told customs officials the money was gambling winnings from local casinos, according to the sources.

 

Wilder, 50, was put in charge of Latin American operations in the fall of 2004 after joining the Sox the previous year as director of player development.

 

At one time, Wilder's stock was so high that he interviewed for general manager openings at Boston, Seattle, Baltimore and Arizona. He also served as a talent evaluator and farm director with the Cubs, Atlanta and Milwaukee before joining the Sox in 2003.

 

But the Sox have failed to maintain a strong presence in Latin America in the past six seasons. At SoxFest last January, scouting director Doug Laumann said the Sox intended to place a stronger emphasis in Latin America since they hadn't produced many middle infield prospects.

 

Last spring, the Sox re-hired Jerry Krause, who was responsible for the acquisitions of Ozzie Guillen and Greg Walker when he scouted in the early 1980s, as director of international scouting. Krause's immediate emphasis was on the restructuring of Dominican and Venezuelan scouting.

 

Earlier this month, Laumann and Krause were on a scouting mission in Latin America.

 

Prior to his firing, Wilder was responsible for the scouting of Alexei Ramirez, who left Cuba and has developed into one of the top shortstops in the American League. Wilder also signed infielder Juan Silverio to a reported $600,000 bonus.

 

But Silverio, 19, has a .258 batting average through three minor league seasons and has yet to advance above Class-A Kannapolis.

 

Contributing: Mark Gonzales.

[DirtySox]

Earlier this month, Laumann and Krause were on a scouting mission in Latin America.

 

Best part of the article. Sign some international talent, kthx.

[RockRaines]

I dont feel sorry for you being out of a job Dave.

[chetkincaid]

What a sad situation. Some people just can't live within their means. I wonder how much his salary was. Probably much more than most of ours....

[lostfan]

I dont feel sorry for you being out of a job Dave.

My sentiments exactly, I mean, you created this situation and f***ed some other people over so...

[RockRaines]

What a sad situation. Some people just can't live within their means. I wonder how much his salary was. Probably much more than most of ours....

Dude was on his way to being a major league GM and was well respected among his peers. He literally is a moron for f***ing that up. I would work for free for years if it meant becoming a major league GM.

[southsider2k5]

In response to the announcement, the White Sox issued the following statement:

 

"The Chicago White Sox commend the diligence and hard work shown by Federal authorities and Major League Baseball in reaching today's indictments. Since the White Sox first reported our internal findings to Major League Baseball, MLB and its clubs have taken important and positive steps to establish processes in Latin America that are designed to better protect Latin players, as well as Major League Baseball's teams, from being victimized by illegal activities related to scouting and signing players."

[Butter Parque]

He sabotaged the entire organization. He had scouts filling out bogus scouting reports on players, inflating their value just so he could take the money. What he did was despicable and has set us back in Latin America even more so than we already were. I give a lot of credit to Reinsdorf for sticking with KW after this whole incident. Wilder was his friend who he hired and as a result Reinsdorf had thousands of dollars stolen from him. I'm not sure, if it was me, that I would have been so forgiving to KW.

[Dick Allen]

5 years ago, Wilder was the "hot" guy. He was the guy other teams were interviewing for open GM positions. He was the guy KW "knew he would lose". He just never imagined losing him the way he lost him.

 

Just taking bits and pieces of the information that has been provided by this story and making presumptions, I woud imagine this guy had weights on him that not many feel. That doesn't excuse what he did. Who knows really what kind of damage he did to the organization, but probably plenty. KW actually gave this guy a promotion.

[Texsox]

Yeah he f***ed up. Not as bad as a rapist or other violent criminal, but he f***ed up. He will have a punishment to pay, then I hope he can get his life back togther.

[caulfield12]

It's funny...I don't know if his story is symptomatic of the real estate boom or bust or the companion story for Wall Street: Club Burn Never Sleeps.

 

At one point, the guy had something like six houses in Phoenix, and then the gay bar.

 

It seems he really got in over his head and got desperate for money. Not the first time, it won't be the last time. Just shows what financial pressure and/or greed will do to you. He still could have made millions of dollars in the game of baseball and now he'll end like Ethan Suplee in Unstoppable.

 

The guy had child support payments, supposedly a $570,000 loss on his club (disputed), undoubtedly some real estate losses and quoted a $7.25/hour salary on court documents.

 

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/sports/Depo...or-Gay-Bar.html

 

Still not as bad as former 1989 Michigan and NBA star Rumeal Robinson, who, among other things, sold his mom's house from under her...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5548218

Edited November 11, 2010 by caulfield12

[NorthSideSox72]

Looking at the now longer article (the one yesterday was sort of a teaser), I think its interesting to note that this investigation is continuing, but for a number of other teams.

 

[Texsox]

And based on my work experiences, White Sox management was typical in not wanting to understand how business was being conducted in that area, and probably believing the worst about the people there. In other words, if Wilder told them it was necessary to pay these extras for almost any reason, they probably would have agreed with it. Again, this is based on my previous work history of setting up procurement offices for companies outside the US. Business owners were very trusting (gullible) and willing to believe any story.

 

 

[bigruss]

And based on my work experiences, White Sox management was typical in not wanting to understand how business was being conducted in that area, and probably believing the worst about the people there. In other words, if Wilder told them it was necessary to pay these extras for almost any reason, they probably would have agreed with it. Again, this is based on my previous work history of setting up procurement offices for companies outside the US. Business owners were very trusting (gullible) and willing to believe any story.

Wow, great morals by the Sox organization. As much as I want a bigger presence in Latin America, it has to be done the right way.

 

EDIT: Great morals by baseball in general too. Geesh.

Edited November 11, 2010 by bigruss22

[Texsox]

Wow, great morals by the Sox organization. As much as I want a bigger presence in Latin America, it has to be done the right way.

 

EDIT: Great morals by baseball in general too. Geesh.

 

Not that simple. Morality is based in part on the society. It is also probably wrong to impose US morality on the rest of the world. And again, I have no proof of what management was thinking, I am just thinking about my experiences explaining to US based companies how business was being done in other parts of the world.

[rockren]

Wilder told the Tribune that he was unaware that the charges against him were going to be announced Wednesday and declined to talk about the allegations.

 

"I don't have a job. I don't have a life right now," Wilder said in a telephone interview. "I'm a human being and I have gone through a lot. I would appreciate it if you could give me some humanity. I have lost everything."

 

He then hung up.

 

 

Is this guy joking? "I'm a human being"....WTF? Actually, he's a poor excuse for a human being who stabbed one of his best friends in KW and an organization who trusted him in the back. Lets not forget it would be fair to call this puke a drug dealer as well.

 

Wilder isn't just a poor excuse for a human being...he's a scumbag. I hope he's lost everything and is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

 

[caulfield12]

Talking about morals...many companies that have to do business in China are forced to give up proprietary information in order to do business or open up a factory or sell their products to the growing Chinese domestic market.

 

So, as a company, you eschew that market at your own risk...otoh, it's a death sentence, because eventually the Chinese will copy all your products and make them for half the price, two years later a "new" Chinese company arrives on the scene and you're no longer needed. Goodbye, here's the door. How would an American company fight that? Look at the google.cn battle, for example. Some German companies like Siemens have been trying to fight, but it's a hard one because the world is now starting to revolve around doing business with China. You can see the current administration and SE Asia pinning their hopes on India and the US as a counterbalance.

 

 

The example of doing business in Latin America, it's one of those things you can argue that "American business practices" should be imposed, sure. But the culture of the "buscones" or "middle men" doesn't just exist if foreign countries, look at all those same situations with agents and unsavory recruiters and boosters getting involved with college athletics, the summer basketball camps and Reggie Bush or Cam Newton come to mind immediately. You don't think there's money changing hands there in the same ways it was in the Dominican, you're crazy.

 

It's simply because baseball is the only way out for many Latin youngsters that don't play soccer (especially in the Dominican)...and buscones have a strangehold on access to the talent. Think of it like stock brokers. Twenty years ago, there was no etrade or ameritrade or programs that could allow you to circumvent the process. You absolutely HAD to pay someone else if you wanted to buy a stock. Well the same way with signing any good player in Latin America.

Edited November 12, 2010 by caulfield12

[Marty34]

If Ozzie was in danger of losing his job over twitter, going public with wanting a contract extension, etc... this embarrassment that Kenny ultimately presided over is infinitely worse.

Edited November 12, 2010 by Marty34

[southsider2k5]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-19/f...ud-charges.html

 

Former Chicago White Sox Scout Pleads Innocent to U.S. Fraud Charges

By Andrew M. Harris - Nov 19, 2010 11:20 AM CT

 

Ex-Chicago White Sox Latin America scout Jorge Oquendo Rivera pleaded not guilty to taking kickbacks when signing prospective Major League Baseball players for the team.

 

Oquendo, 49, one of three former team employees whose indictment was announced on Nov. 10, entered his plea today through his lawyer, Luis Rivera, in Chicago. Prosecutors alleged the three received more than $400,000 from 23 players’ signing bonuses from 2004 to 2008.

 

Also charged were David S. Wilder, 50, a former White Sox player personnel director, and Victor Mateo, 39, a Dominican Republic scout. They are to appear for arraignment on Dec. 9, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Norgle said today.

 

Wilder and Oquendo face seven counts of mail fraud, each punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Mateo faces three counts of mail fraud.

 

Outside the courtroom, Oquendo’s lawyer declined to comment on the charges against his client.

 

The White Sox won baseball’s World Series championship in 2005. Wilder, of San Francisco, was the team’s farm system director from 2003 to 2006, then director of player personnel until he was fired with Mateo in 2008.

 

Oquendo was fired a year earlier for reasons unrelated to the kickback investigation, the team said in a Nov. 10 press statement.

 

The case is U.S. v. Wilder, 1:10-cr-00948, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).

 

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew M. Harris in Chicago at [email protected].

 

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David E. Rovella at [email protected].