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December 03, 2011
Marlins stadium deal targeted by SEC investigation
Doesn't anybody want to let me sleep in this morning? The Miami Herald reported late last night that the federal Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the Miami Marlins over their new stadium deal:
Federal authorities have opened a wide-ranging investigation into the Miami Marlins' controversial ballpark deal with Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami, demanding financial information underpinning nearly $500 million in bond sales as well as records of campaign contributions from the Marlins to local and state elected leaders.
In a pair of lengthy letters delivered to government attorneys Thursday, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission gave the city and county until Jan. 6 to deliver everything from minutes of meetings between government leaders and Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria and Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, to records of Marlins finances dating back to 2007.
Or as Jeff Passan of Yahoo! sums it up:
While the subpoenas issued by the SEC do not explicitly detail the purpose of the investigation, the feds' motives are evident: They want to understand how, exactly, a group of county commissioners agreed to fund 80 percent of the Marlins new stadium, which cost more than $600 million, without ever seeing the team's financial records — and whether bribes had anything to do with it.
While it's way too soon to guess at how this will turn out — and whether it'll be the Marlins or the elected officials who land in hot water, if either — it certainly casts a damper on the big relaunch of the team that was planned for the stadium opening next spring. (As Passan notes, free agents like Albert Pujols now "must ask themselves whether they really want to consider going to a team with ownership the feds are targeting.") An SEC investigation is never good news for a team owner, but if it ends up taking a bite out of the Marlins' chances of finally drawing more than flies, that could be even more worrisome for Jeffrey Loria and David Samson.
the kind of "flies" that loria will attract come from the stench that this deal generates.
Posted by Paul W. on December 3, 2011 12:52 PM
Hopefully this will be payback for what that bastard Loria did to the Montreal Expos! Since I was an Expos fan for 25 years this news makes me very happy!
Posted by Wendy on December 3, 2011 01:34 PM
FYI - Jeff Passan is with Yahoo
Pigs get fat, hogs get the SEC's attention. I hope the SEC's attention extends to MLB and how the misleading lies told by franchises are done with their complicity. In this version of The Wire, Rob Manfred is Stringer Bell and the Marlins just represent one of the Towers.
more about eh Marlins lies here - 2thinkgood.com/category/marlins-finances/
Posted by Jorge Costales on December 3, 2011 06:55 PM
Pigs get fat, hogs get the SEC's attention. I hope the SEC's attention extends to MLB and how the misleading lies told by franchises are done with their complicity. In this version of The Wire, Rob Manfred is Stringer Bell and the Marlins just represent one of the Towers. See more about the Marlins lies here - 2thinkgood.com/category/marlins-finances/ - FYI Jeff Passan is with Yahoo
Posted by Jorge Costales on December 3, 2011 06:56 PM
Wow ... sounds EXACTLY what is happening in Santa Clara with the 49ers bait-and-switch shell game. Anyone have the contact information for the SEC dude or dudette that is in charge of this Marlin fishing expedition? I think they need to ring a few bells in Santa Clara too. After all they have already GIVEN $10 MILLION away and are on track to sign up for $850MILLION of debt ... with NO FINANCING PLAN, NO BUDGET, NO parking plan and more holes than swiss cheese.
Posted by ReadyRanger on December 3, 2011 08:25 PM
Thanks for the correction, Jorge. See what happens when I have to report on news on a Saturday morning? It's just not decent, I say.
Posted by Neil deMause on December 3, 2011 09:43 PM
Only was a matter of time.
Posted by Roger C. on December 3, 2011 11:06 PM
Here's hoping this sets a precedent.
Posted by MikeM on December 4, 2011 04:13 AM
Hey no complaints here, loyal readers like me needed our field of schemes fix on this issue - the combination of the Deadspin released financials, the Braman civil trial and now this - can't see how MLB and the Marlins escape unscathed
Posted by Jorge Costales on December 4, 2011 11:44 AM
While it is good news that someone at the SEC actually noticed this debacle, I'm not holding my breath for arrests/fines/jailtime for any of the main players.
After all, this is the SEC we're talking about... If Wall st. types haven't been herded into prisons for the outright theft of trillions, why would they be any more successful in prosecuting Loria or the Miami executives?
In true faux-capitalist fashion, they'll announce that what Loria & co did was wrong, but that they can keep most (if not all) the money.
Posted by John Bladen on December 4, 2011 06:10 PM
Hey Neil. The Lone Ranger never slept either . Many props to you !
Posted by dane brandy on December 5, 2011 11:00 AM