Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Extorting Ronnie
Short version -- It's all reeeaaaallly shady.
Long version -- It's bad hooj, man. Bad hooj. A big hat-tip to Robert Patrick at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who tracked down the affidavit that the FBI investigator on the case gave detailing how it all went down:
Laura Edwards and the athlete had an "encounter" on Sept. 29 and she left messages for him in late October or early November. He had a friend call back. That friend's message was returned by George Edwards [her father], who met with the friend and said his daughter was pregnant and wanted money.The friend offered several thousand dollars. Later in November, a sports agent worked out a deal to pay $25,000 for a paternity test, and $125,000 more if the child was the athlete's.
George Edwards and a different sports agent met Jan. 5 at a hotel near Lambert Field, where the agent gave George Edwards $25,000 cash.
George Edwards called the second agent Jan. 10 with word of a miscarriage. He allegedly said he would not go to the press or file a legal claim, in exchange for the additional $125,000.
Investigators recorded several of the phone calls. On Jan. 11, the second agent called George Edwards and agreed to pay the $125,000 if Laura Edwards signed an affidavit promising to never disclose the relationship. George Edwards agreed not to notify the media directly or through his lawyer.
On Jan. 16, the agent called George Edwards again, demanding Laura Edwards' presence at a meeting the next day to exchange the $125,000. Recordings and videotapes were supposed to be turned over as well.
George Edwards balked, and the meeting was never held.
That "athlete" was identified on February 3 as Belliard thanks to a leak from George Edwards' brother Milo to the Post-Dispatch. "I want his name in the paper like my family's name is in the paper," Milo Edwards was quoted as saying in the article. He further accused Belliard of twisting the story.
Belliard's agent, Dominic Torres, issued a wide-ranging denial of Edwards' version of events that same day:
"The events as they are told are completely unfounded. I have been working with the FBI from the onset in an attempt to apprehend this known extortionist and his daughter. In the end, my client will be vindicated and due to the continuing legal nature of this case, I have no further comments at this time."Incidentally, MO Boiler from Cards blog The Birdwatch had the best reaction to the whole thing:
Belliard, incidentally, went 0-for-4 with a K on September 30. Must've been a hell of an "encounter".While I wouldn't put it past a pro athlete (or anyone, for that matter) to cheat on his wife, that's no excuse for extortion. I'm all for letting the judicial process play out, but I'm also inclined to give Belliard's version of events the benefit of the doubt in this case.
Why, you ask? To be clear, George Edwards is no saint. A former demolition chief for the East St. Louis Tax Increment Finance Department, he was convicted of federal drug and weapons charges in 1983 and was charged with transporting stolen goods in 1993, though the latter charges were later dropped. At the time of his arrest in late January of this year, Edwards was still on parole due to the '83 conviction. While he was on parole, he tested positive for morphine, codeine and marijuana, according to court records. He has a record of arrests on drug charges in Illinois, California and Georgia dating to 1979. All these were reasons that the judge in the current case refused bond for Edwards.
If convicted of the extortion charges, Edwards could face 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
So what does this mean for the Nats? Aside from perhaps having to miss a game or two testify in the case, probably not very much on face. How the trial and any family issue it has caused affects his mental state is a different animal altogether. Based on his reluctance to talk to the media (mainstream media or otherwise) about this, it's obviously still on his mind. Let's hope that all of this wraps up quickly so that Belliard and his family can start healing, put this ugly incident behind them, and allow the newest Nat to focus on baseball.
: 3:01 PM As I wrote in the posting, I don't doubt that Belliard could have had an affair with the girl. That's no excuse for extortion, though.
Plus your version of events conflicts with the sworn affidavit of the FBI agent who said that George Edwards was one to make the first demand for money, not the other way around as you suggest.
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