Overview
- Ortiz appeared in Brooklyn federal court after his Logan Airport arrest and was ordered to surrender his passport, avoid gambling, and restrict travel to New York, Massachusetts and Ohio ahead of a Nov. 19 hearing.
- Prosecutors charge Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase with wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy, offenses that carry maximum sentences of up to 65 years if combined.
- The indictment alleges the pitchers took several-thousand-dollar payoffs to help bettors win at least $460,000 on wagers tied to the speed or outcome of specific pitches, citing texts and timing around games.
- Clase remains in the Dominican Republic and is scheduled to be arraigned in the same Brooklyn courthouse on Thursday, while his agent denies wrongdoing and a journalist has relayed his claim that intercepted calls referenced rooster fighting, not betting.
- MLB has kept both players on paid administrative leave since July and, following the indictments, announced new limits on wagering tied to individual pitches.