LOS ANGELES—Former All-Star outfielder Lenny Dykstra pleaded guilty Friday and could face 20 years in prison for hiding and selling sports memorabilia and other items that were supposed to be part of his bankruptcy filing.
Dykstra, 49, entered his plea in U.S. District Court to one count each of bankruptcy fraud, concealment of assets and money laundering.
It was the latest legal problem for Dykstra, who earned the nickname “Nails” because of his gritty style of play, and spent his 12-year career with the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. He previously pleaded no contest to grand theft auto and exposing himself to women he met through Craigslist.
Dykstra, who bought a mansion once owned by hockey star Wayne Gretzky, filed for bankruptcy three years ago, claiming he owed more than $31 million and had only $50,000 in assets.
After the filing, Dykstra hid, sold or destroyed more than $400,000 worth of items without permission of a bankruptcy trustee, prosecutors said.
“Mr. Dykstra’s days of playing games with the public and the legal system are over,” said U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. “These convictions should serve as a cautionary tale of a high-flying sports celebrity who tried to manipulate and exploit both his creditors and the bankruptcy laws.”
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1. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: July 13, 2012 at 10:38 PM (#4182241)Any more pending charges? 20 years seems a little light.
Bill James and Posnanski say "Don't jump to any conclusions."
Is literally every thread going to be full of this stuff now?
For a few days, probably. But eventually they're bound to start playing baseball again, which should help a little.
That's a clown question, bro.
After which a surprised Gretzky kicked Dykstra out. "I didn't even know him," said the hockey star.
I like to pretend that "exposing yourself on Craigslist" is an actual legal charge like "grand theft auto".
But I wonder if bankruptcy fraud requires an unusually harsh sentence to act as a deterrent. People going to bankruptcy are already in rather desperate circumstances, and there must be a great temptation to hold back a few things. The formerly rich probably especially so
And it's not like there's much to say about this topic, other than a Nelsonesqe "Ha ha!"
Well, Darren Daulton's probably not making any plans for that far out.
He has been pretty delusional in interviews, but I guess that madness would have to be confirmed by doctors. And that he has plead no contest and guilty in his latest trials does show that he is a bit more realistic now about his abilities to fast talk his way out of trouble with the justice system, so maybe he has caught a bout of rationality.
Regarding stupidity as defense:
A football supporter in Sweden got off manslaughter charges after the court decided he was too dumb to realize that you could kill someone by hitting them on the head with a plank. So it works sometimes.
Lying any time it serves your interests doesn't mean you are insane.
The delusional part is the lying and bragging that doesn't serve his interests and may directly harm them.
Maybe, but given the number of crimes Dykstra has either plead guilty to -- these three counts, plus "grand theft auto and exposing himself to women he met through Craigslist", as well as the large number and variety of financial crimes that have been rolled up into the plea bargain, this seems reasonable.
That's kind of the definition of voluntary manslaughter in most US jurisdictions, right? "I meant to hurt him but didn't realize that hurting him would kill him." vs. "I meant to kill him"
he deserves it all, and then some.
Off the top of my flat dome: Gary Carter, very sad. Strawberry and Gooden, sad. Dykstra, ha ha, yeah, that's one I can cheer. Backman had some issues, no? And Tim Teufel is Satan.
Ray Knight was cursed by having some moron with the same name as him appearing on Baseball Tonight for years.
Prosecutors said he agreed to waive his right to appeal if he's sentenced to less than 51 months in prison. Dykstra also could face fines up to $750,000. He is currently serving a three-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to grand theft auto and providing a false financial statement. In that case, Dykstra was arrested last year by police who said they found cocaine, Ecstasy and synthetic human growth hormone at his Los Angeles home last. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped 21 counts against him. He also was sentenced this year to nine months in jail after pleading no contest to charges he exposed himself to women he met through Craigslist.
so 51 plus 36 plus 9 months equals 8 years max, assuming the prosecution accepts the waiver and nothing runs concurrent. Even assuming he only winds up serving half that, that's not getting off easy. 4 years would be an irrevocable disaster for most folks.
How'd he do against Jim Gott?
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