Source: Clubhouse manager Samuels said he bet on baseball
In this Oct. 2, 2005, file photo, then-New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza embraces Mets clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels after a tribute to Piazza's seven-year career with the Mets, during a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in New York. Credit: AP
Mets clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels admitted to Major League Baseball investigators that he had bet on baseball, according to a person familiar with the league's internal investigation.
Samuels told them that his bets on baseball games were "minimal" and happened "years ago," according to the person, who spoke to Newsday on the condition of anonymity. Samuels also revealed that he bet mostly on other sports such as football and horse racing, the person said.
Major League Baseball passed the results of its internal investigation on to the New York Police Department, which has been conducting a criminal investigation in conjunction with the Queens District Attorney's Office, according to a high-ranking law enforcement official who refused to be quoted by name because of the ongoing nature of the investigation.
A spokesman for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown confirmed Friday that an investigation was under way but wouldn't comment further about the specifics of the probe.
Samuels, who has been the Mets' clubhouse manager since 1983, declined to comment Friday through his attorney, Michael Bachner.
A Mets spokesman said only that the organization stood by its statement Thursday in which it announced that its longtime clubhouse manager had been suspended indefinitely without pay on Oct. 27 because of a "personnel matter."
The Mets first learned Samuels was allegedly involved in gambling when he admitted it to the team during an internal investigation into his suspected misappropriation of cash, equipment and tickets, the law enforcement official said.
The team also passed the results of its internal investigation to the NYPD and Queens D.A.'s office, the law enforcement official added.
In Samuels' position as clubhouse manager, he is privy to the most up-to-date information regarding player injuries, information that potentially would give bettors an edge. Major League Baseball has long taken a strict stance against gambling by players, coaches and other employees; all-time hits leader Pete Rose, for example, received a lifetime ban in 1989 after an investigation found that he bet on major-league games while manager of the Cincinnati Reds.
Word that Samuels, 53, was in the crosshairs of a gambling-related probe spread late Thursday when the Mets confirmed his suspension. Samuels, whose duties included making team travel and hotel arrangements, had not been arrested as of late Friday.
Employed by the team since 1976, Samuels has always been a familiar - and popular - face to the revolving door of players through the years. According to the team's media guide, he currently lives in Arverne, a small beach community adjacent to Rockaway Beach.
The NYPD end of the case is being in part handled by the organized crime control bureau because gambling appears to be involved, said the law enforcement source. The source said Samuels didn't indicate that Mets players were involved in gambling.. A second law enforcement source indicated that Samuels had told the Mets he may have written checks on Mets accounts for personal expenses and then repaid the amounts at a later date.
It was unclear Friday what potential crimes were under investigation by Queens prosecutors. But one law enforcement official, who also didn't want to be named because the investigation is ongoing, suggested that the matter didn't involve a large amount of money or sensational revelations.
This is the second time in six years that a Mets employee has been linked to a gambling investigation. In 2005, a foreman on the Shea Stadium groundskeeping crew, Dominic Valila, pleaded guilty to participating in a major illegal sports-gambling ring that prosecutors contend was based in Queens and Costa Rica.
With David Lennon
