Stinking Fish owners lied to get a new stadium

[El Supremo]

The Sardine Can


Marlins’ profits came at taxpayer expense
By Jeff Passan

The swindlers who run the Florida Marlins got exposed Monday. They are as bad as anyone on Wall Street, scheming, misleading and ultimately sticking taxpayers with a multibillion-dollar tab. Corporate fraud is alive and well in Major League Baseball.

A look at the leak of the Marlins’ financial information to Deadspin confirmed the long-held belief that the team takes a healthy chunk of MLB-distributed money for profit. Owner Jeffrey Loria and president David Samson for years have contended the Marlins break even financially, the centerpiece fiscal argument that resulted in local governments gifting them a new stadium that will cost generations of taxpayers an estimated $2.4 billion. They said they had no money to do it alone and intimated they would have to move the team without public assistance.

In fact, documents show, the Marlins could have paid for a significant amount of the new stadium’s construction themselves and still turned an annual operating profit. Instead, they cried poor to con feckless politicians that sold out their constituents.

The ugliness of the Marlins’ ballpark situation is already apparent, and the building doesn’t open for another 18 months. Somehow a team that listed its operating income as a healthy $37.8 million in 2008 alone swung a deal in which it would pay only $155 million of the $634 million stadium complex. Meanwhile, Miami-Dade County agreed – without the consent of taxpayers – to take $409 million in loans loaded with balloon payments and long grace periods. By 2049, when the debt is due, the county will have paid billions....

the rest at: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=As_ALn.9feED.JibhVcT8uARvLYF?slug=jp-marlinsfinancials082410
but the link never works

God, I hate this team and their no good fans.

[El Supremo]

1. Hey baby! They got two championships! How many do the Rockies have?

I thought I'd just go ahead and give Trumad's standard stupid response.

[hughee99]

2. That works out to only 1.2 billion per championship, quite a deal

for the people of Miami, who love their Marlins so much they attend the games in "record" numbers (that's for cboy who was unable to attend :))

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/marlins3.shtml

[trumad]

3. Nah--- just this.....

Michael I. "Mickey" Monus (born in 1947<1>) is the former president of Phar-Mor, Inc., a defunct discount drug chain that established a strong national presence before declaring bankruptcy in the early 1990s.<2> Accused of perpetrating a $350 million fraud and embezzlement scheme, Monus was fired from the company and faced criminal charges.<3> He was born in Youngstown, Ohio, which is where Phar-Mor was headquartered.

With startup money provided by Giant Eagle, Inc., the supermarket company in which Shapira's family members were large shareholders, the Phar-Mor discount drug chain became enormously successful.<2> In 1988, the chain featured 100 stores, and Monus was described in the media as one of the nation's leading entrepreneurs.<2> In an effort to revitalize his hometown's deteriorating retail district, Monus located the company's national headquarters in a remodeled former department store in downtown Youngstown.<2> A notoriously tough negotiator, he was able to keep retail prices low; and by 1991, there were 200 Phar-Mor outlets across the country.<2>

Amid this success, however, Monus began to show signs of becoming overextended. Phar-Mor stores expanded into new lines, including sportswear. Meanwhile, Monus' decision to sponsor a basketball league placed severe financial pressure on the corporation.<2> In addition, Monus and another Youngstown businessman, John Antonucci, were the original majority owners of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies; they'd even secured the financing for what would become Coors Field.<1> It was specualted that Nathan "Nate" Monus was somehow able to escape an inditement despite seemingly significant involvement in the massive fraud. <5>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_I._Monus

BTW: How many Wolrld Series have the Rockies won?

[hughee99]

5. Coors field cost the local people $168 million

in public funds financed by way of a 1/10 of 1% increase in sales tax over 6 counties.

Miami is a great city, and I have nothing against the Marlins as a franchise, though I think their current owners are every bit as much "what is wrong with baseball" as the Steinbrenners of the world.

The people of Miami got screwed on this deal.

[El Supremo]

8. I wonder if Mickey is still in prison?

Whatever, they got bought out immediately and the next owners have been straight with Denver taxpayers.

And yes, there is a sales tax for both Coors Field and Invesco Whatever. But Denver was not going to be awarded an expansion baseball club at all unless it promised to build a new stadium. This is a lot different than the Marlins tricking the pols and citizens into getting a new stadium with a retractable roof.

And it looks like shit.

[trumad]

10. Point its--- we all got them..

so --the old glass house thing... well.

[Scurrilous]

4. Getting screwed by the owners is a hallowed tradition.

:thumbsup:

[JonLP24]

6. I posted the teams' records

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=215x157411

The first deadspin link should have the Marlins records.

[JonLP24]

7. Rangers financial information was recently released as well

I haven't looked into it yet but I'd be more careful about tossing stones depending on what shows up.

[El Supremo]

9. Oh lord! The Shrub & Tom Hicks' screwjob of the people of Arlington is classic.

Only to be outdone by Jerry "Boss Hog" Jones' deal for his palace next door.

BTW, Dubya and Hicks are now gone.

[madinmaryland]

29. BossHog was a a Saint's fan until he melted down after they won the SB

last year.

What ever happened to him?

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[trumad]

12. More on the Rockies former owner--- and my post doesn't break DU copyright rules

Monus was eventually convicted of having embezzled $10 million.

was convicted of one count of conspiracy, two counts of bank fraud, five counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, two counts of filing false income tax returns tax evasion, 96 counts of interstate transportation of stolen property fence (criminal) (money) and one count of obstruction of justice.<9>

Monus was found guilty on the government's second attempt to try him; the first trial ended in a hung jury. He was later charged with jury tampering in the first trial, but was acquitted.<6>

He was sentenced to 19½ years in federal prison<6> and served 10 years.<1> The sentence was reduced after Monus cooperated with federal authorities (FBI) in a case against another Youngstown fraudster, Richard Goldberg.<6>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_I._Monus

[El Supremo]

13. That all is real interesting, but...

when did Antonucci and Monus defraud the Rockies, Coors Field or the City of Denver?

Face it, Denver is a little more honest place than Miami.

[trumad]

14. "defraud"

So I guess the Marlins owners are going to jail?

[El Supremo]

15. More dirt today from Jeff Passan:

Marlins execs funneled cash to themselves

Florida Marlins president David Samson has perfected the art of doublespeak. Even after the mushroom cloud settled over the disclosure of financial statements that showed he and Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria are indeed duplicitous, Samson couldn’t help himself. Lies are simply part of how the Marlins do business.

The latest came during Samson’s weekly radio appearance on The Dan LeBatard Show in Miami, during which he addressed Deadspin’s publication of the Marlins’ balance sheet. What Samson said was so provably false that it was akin to a 3-year-old trying to hide his peas under a pile of mashed potatoes.

(snip)

The ugliness of the ballpark debt was apparent long before the documents surfaced. To help fund the $634 million stadium complex, Miami-Dade County commissioners voted to secure more than $400 million in loans, most of which are loaded with balloon payments. The worst is a $91 million loan that will take $1.2 billion to pay off. By 2049, the county will have spent $2.4 billion to cover its portion of the stadium.

The anti-Marlins groundswell in South Florida continued Thursday when Miami mayor Tomas Regalado asked the city attorney to look into renegotiating a $100 million parking-facility contract for the stadium complex. Political backlash was a given after the Marlins’ refusal to release their financial records during the push for the new stadium....


I figured out a way to link it:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-marlinsfinancials082810

[RockaFowler]

16. Why do you care??

I would like to know how a team that is in bankruptcy can all of a sudden get top talent. Your Texas Rangers are a little suspicious. And they did have Bush as an owner at one time. That alone makes them a rotten ranger

[El Supremo]

17. I am a fan of the Rangers again BECAUSE Hicks and Dubya are gone.

And they are out of bankruptcy.

I'm still not so sure about Nolan Ryan's friendship with *. But Chuck Greenberg contributed to Obama's campaign in 2008!

[El Supremo]

18. More links from The Miami Herald:

Now we have proof Florida Marlins' frugality was a poor excuse
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/23/1788655/now-we-have-proof-florida-marlins.html


Deceit! Marlins owe public apology for financial scandal
http://blogs.herald.com/random_evidence/2010/08/financial-scandal-merits-public-apology-by-marlins.html

[KamaAina]

19. That doesn't make any sense

God, I hate this team and their no good fans.

They don't have any fans, good or otherwise. :P

[El Supremo]

20. You're right.

If they had any real fans, those fans would have blown the whistle long ago.

[trumad]

22. you included...

Why the fuck are you going out of the way to diss the Marlins?

That to me is the very definition of a Douche.

[El Supremo]

25. I already answered you once.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=215&topic_id=155219&mesg_id=155244

[trumad]

26. That's not good enough...

You are simply dissing Miami at every turn---their fans, the County (Dade) etc... and for what?---because the Marlins and Denver started at the same time.

You diss the owners--- I point out that Denver had an owner that was one of the biggest crooks in baseball history--- you diss Dade County for giving Bush the Presidency--- I point out that Colorado overwhelmingly voted for Bush in 2000. Oh but never mind that...

Your franchise Pal has not even close to being lilly white but yet you ride the high horse.

You've quickly morphed into a Cboy/Upton doucheness with your stupid obsession.

Now stop---you're better than that.

[El Supremo]

31. Just be glad that your team isn't ...

the Yankees!

[trumad]

21. You know what I hate

I hate fucking no nothing douchebags who apply labels with a broad brush.

[KamaAina]

23. You know what I hate?

People who can't spell "know-nothing". :P

And we're not talking about the D-Bags. That's the regrettable Arizona expansion team.

[trumad]

27. Well Spell nazi's here on DU have their own Douchebag zone...

Now get on over there.

[KamaAina]

24. I stand corrected

turns out they do have a fan after all.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/florida-marlins-delay-game-until-their-fan-shows-u,17891/

MIAMI—The Florida Marlins delayed the start of their game against the St. Louis Cardinals last Sunday when Steve, their fan, failed to show up at Sun Life Stadium by the scheduled 1 p.m. start time.

"That's strange," Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said while squinting up at their sole fan's unoccupied bleacher seat. "It's not like him to be late, especially on a Sunday. And this is his last chance to see us before we go on the road for 10 days."...

The third-place Marlins, who have struggled with attendance for some time, have come to count on Steve to lovingly call out players' names, start "Let's go, Marlins" chants, and boo the visiting team. In addition, the team was reportedly excited to see what Steve would write on a sign to make fun of Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols.

Steve is the only person to attend a Marlins baseball game in eight years.

:rofl:

[trumad]

28. You do realize that you have entered Cboy and Upton territory?

How's that feel?

[madinmaryland]

30. Oh come on! Lighten the fuck up, Francis!

[trumad]

32. A Pot--- Kettle moment from our resident Cboy expert...

[madinmaryland]

33. Too funny! nt