Former major leaguer Raul Mondesi’s legal troubles appear to be over after a Dominican Republic court ruled that his six-year, nine-month prison sentence for corruption charges must be served with house arrest. According to the Los Angeles Times.
Mondesi was arrested on corruption charges while he was mayor of San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic and was convicted in 2017.
Mondesi has been under house arrest pending his appeal, which finally concluded on Friday.
As part of his 2017 conviction, Mondesi was fined $1.3 million for defrauding more than $6 million and was barred from holding public office for 10 years.
Friday’s decision came after Mondesi reached an agreement with prosecutors.
In 2020, prosecutors had asked that the defendant serve the remainder of his sentence in prison, arguing that he had violated the terms of his house arrest, but the petition was unsuccessful and the San Cristobal Court of Appeals ordered a retrial in 2023.
Mondesi played baseball in the major leagues for 13 years, before moving into politics after retiring.
He spent two seasons in the Bronx with the Yankees, appearing in 169 games during the 2002-2003 season.
He batted .273 with 271 home runs and 860 RBIs during his MLB career.
Mondesi won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1994, his first season with the Dodgers, and was selected to the MLB All-Star Game in 1995.
During his career, Mondesi played for the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Yankees, Diamondbacks, Pirates, Angels and Braves.
After retiring, he returned to his hometown of San Cristobal and eventually went into politics, being elected to the House of Representatives, which is similar to the U.S. House of Representatives.
He served as mayor of San Cristobal from 2010 to 2016 and was ultimately indicted on charges of “public conspiracy, forgery, use of forged documents, perjury, embezzlement, engaging in matters unbecoming of a public servant and criminal conspiracy.”
