Raul Mondesi Update: Ex-Dodgers All-Star sentenced to six years and nine months in prison and fine of $500,000 for embezzlement of funds
Former Dodgers All-Star outfielder Raul Mondesi has been sentenced to six years and nine months in prison along with a fine of 30 million pesos (around $500,000) for embezzling funds during his time as mayor of San Cristóbal in the Dominican Republic, according to Listin Diario. Mondesi, who held office from 2010–2016, was initially sentenced to eight years in prison in 2017.
The Public Prosecutor's Office and the defense reached a deal on Mondesi's new sentence. And with this agreement, Mondesi, who has been serving time since 2017, has now completed his six-year, nine-month sentence.
Aside from Mondesi, the former secretary general of the mayor's office, Bienvenido Araujo Japa, and the former treasurer, Jesús Antonio Ferreira, were sentenced to three years, including one year under house arrest. The remaining time will be served under certain conditions imposed by the judge.
According to the judgment, the defendants must pay a 20 million peso fine to the Dominican State.
The former comptroller, Pedro Cordero, was found guilty of not informing the authorities about the town hall's irregularities under Article 21, Paragraph 4, of Law 176-02. He will serve three years under the conditions imposed by the judge.
Raul Mondesi was elected as mayor in 2010, first accusations surfaced in 2017
After last appearing in MLB for the Atlanta Braves in 2005, Raul Mondesi took politics as his new post-baseball career.
Joining the Dominican Liberation Party, Mondesi contested for a seat in the Dominican Republic's Chamber of Deputies, representing his home, San Cristóbal. He was elected in May 2006 but after 1.5 years, he switched allegiances to the Dominican Revolutionary Party.
Three years later, Raul Mondesi was elected mayor of his hometown on May 16, 2010. A year after he finished his term, allegations about possible misconduct started to make headlines in 2017.
Mondesi was found guilty of mishandling public funds while serving as San Cristóbal mayor in September 2017. He was fined $1.3 million and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
On the baseball front, he was signed by the LA Dodgers in 1988 as an amateur free agent. He went on to win the NL Rookie of the Year in 1994 and got his only All-Star selection the following year. The two-time Gold Glove winner parted ways with the Dodgers after the 1999 season.
He went on to play for the Toronto Blue Jays (2000–2002), the New York Yankees (2002–2003), the Arizona Diamondbacks (2003), the Pittsburgh Pirates (2004), the Anaheim Angels (2004) and the Atlanta Braves (2005).