The Mets' Charlie Samuels Situation Requires a Major Investigation by Law Enforcement: Was Jeff Francoeur Involved?
Suffice to the say; it would be impossible to give the New York Mets another black eye because considering the fiasco of the last few years, poor Mr. Met’s eyes are pretty sore.
But the suspension and criminal investigation of the Mets’ longtime (27 years) clubhouse manager is extremely disturbing. The allegations surrounding Samuels involve suspected sports betting (including on baseball) through the mob and alleged embezzlement of funds from the team. It has also come to light that former Met (and now Texas Ranger) Jeff Francoeur gave Samuels a “tip” for $50,000 as he left the team.
Now, apparently it is common place for players to have their club-house manager do innocent favors for them, like personal errands and arranging for family to have tickets to certain games. But Francoeur gave Samuels fifty grand, not a couple hundred or even a thousand bucks. The Queens (NYC) District Attorney’s office needs to spend some time getting to the bottom of Francoeur’s generosity. Was Francoeur giving a “gratuity “or was this a payoff for gambling (debt or win)? If this “tip” was related to gambling, what sport did it relate to?
The next question the Queens DA must investigate is whether Samuels was a conduit for other players to gamble on sports (whether or not on the Mets).
I sincerely hope Samuels only placed bets for himself but the “former prosecutor in me” is senses deep trouble. We will be following this story.
My name is Christopher Fusco. I am the managing partner of Callahan & Fusco, LLC with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.