Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz pleads not guilty in pitch rigging case | SportsCenter

Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz pleads not guilty in pitch rigging case | SportsCenter

Breaking news from baseball this morning. Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz pled not guilty to multiple charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery in a Brooklyn federal court. He and his teammate Emanuel Class are accused of rigging individual pitches for betterers who won hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ortiz was taken into custody in Boston and released on a $500,000 bond. Ortiz’s lawyer says he is innocent. Claws will be arraigned in Brooklyn tomorrow. So, we now welcome in ABC News chief investigative investigative correspondent Aaron Kurski who was in the Eastern District Court in Brooklyn today. Aaron, what more can you tell us about Ortiz’s appearance today and the next steps in the process? He looked a little nervous, I think, to to be there. He did not say much. He relied on the services of a Spanish language interpreter. He appeared in a leather jacket. He had his long dreadlocks pulled into a loose ponytail. and he relied on his wife to help guarantee that $500,000 bond. And it had to have been uncomfortable to have the judge asking his wife, “Do you work?” “No. Who pays for you to live?” And she said, “I’m financially dependent on my husband.” And there he is at the defense table now pleading not guilty to these conspiracy charges that accuse him of rigging the pitches that he would throw in certain games so sports betterers could benefit. And even though the prosecutors did not ask for any kind of a gambling restriction, the judge went ahead and imposed one anyway. So while he’s out on bond, Ortiz is not allowed to gamble. He said the whole point of the case is related to gambling. And so Ortiz is not allowed, even casually, to uh to be doing any gambling while he’s awaiting trial. Okay. So, when all of this is said and done, do the players face jail time if they are convicted? Oh, a lot of jail time. If they’re convicted as charged, it’s possible they could be facing decades in prison. Now, for each of the defendants, for Ortiz, for Claus A, this would be a a firsttime offense. It’s a nonviolent crime. So, you’d think that the prison time would be minimal, but there were a ton of bets that were placed allegedly based on their rigged pitches and to the tune of what, almost a half million dollars. So, the amount of the wages would also factor into sentencing. It is possible that they would face prison time even if it’s not exactly the decades that the charges would call for. Okay. There will certainly be more to come. As I mentioned, Claus say, will be arraign tomorrow. We know that you will keep us filled in with everything for Book and Aaron. Thank you very much.

ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Aaron Katersky joins SportsCenter to report on Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz pleading not guilty to charges that he and teammate Emmanuel Clase took bribes to help gamblers win bets placed on pitches they threw.

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