Former MLB star Raúl Mondesi was sentenced by a Dominican court to six years and nine months in jail and fined $507,000 for corruption during his time as mayor in the city of San Cristobal.
According to a report from ESPN, Mondesi was caught up in corruptions charges stemming from his time as mayor of San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic, which he was convicted of in 2017.
Prosecutors accused the 53-year-old baseball player turned politician of embezzling $5 million during his time as mayor between 2010 and 2016. The sentence came after a deal with the prosecutors’ office.
However, Mondesi’s legal woes are already behind him as the Dominican court ruled that his prison term has already been satisfied by his six years of house arrest.
Prosecutors had attempted to have him sent to prison for the remainder of his sentence in 2020, alleging that he had violated the terms of his house arrest.
However, nothing came of their petition and in 2023 the Court of Appeals of San Cristobal ordered a new trial.
Mondesi’s career began with Los Angeles Dodgers, where he won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1994 and played in the All-Star Game one year later. Mondesi’s career also includes stints with the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Angels and Atlanta Braves.
Mondesi played in the MLB for 13 seasons and won two Gold Gloves. He finished his career with an average of .273, 271 homers and 860 RBIs, retiring after the 2005 season when he turned to politics.
Mondesi’s political career started in San Cristobal, which he represented as a lawmaker between 2006 and 2010.
After retiring from baseball he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, which is similar to the US House of Representatives.
He went on to serve as mayor of San Cristobal from 2010 to 2016, before attempting a bid for the senate which failed.
Dominican prosecutors brought several charges against Mondesi, including falsification of documents, criminal association and malfeasance.