Ex-Baseball Star Freed After Serving Over Six Years of House Arrest

(RepublicanDaily.org) – Though he was sentenced to eight years in prison, former Major League Baseball All-Star Raul Mondesi never saw the inside of a jail cell. And now, he’s a free man. The player from the Dominican Republic struck a deal with prosecutors in his home country that allowed him to serve his sentence at home under house arrest, where he has been since 2017.

Mondesi, 53, became the mayor in his hometown of San Cristobal in 2010. Just seven years later he was prosecuted on corruption charges. He was convicted of embezzling more than $6 million in taxpayer/public money when he was mayor, and has been serving his sentence at home. But as of Friday July 5, Mondesi is free to go after prosecutors were satisfied he had served enough time under house arrest.

Mondesi made his debut in baseball in 1993 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team he played for for six years. In 1994 he was named National League Rookie of the Year. During his time with the Dodgers, Mondesi hit .288 and boasts 163 home runs. In the late 90s he fell out with the Dodgers and insisted on being traded; he ended up with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1999.

His baseball career made him a hometown hero in San Cristobal. His Dodgers teammate and fellow Dominican Republic countryman shortstop Jose Offerman told reporters in 1995 that Mondesi was a “genuine hero” in their home country. Though many Dominicans have played major league ball, he said, no one has been as enthusiastically embraced as Mondesi has been.

Every year Mondesi put together a care package for Dominican kids that included dozens of bats, pairs of shoes, and gloves that he shipped to his home country. Describing himself as having been a poor child who “never had anything,” Mondesi said he felt for other poor families and wanted the kids to have equipment they couldn’t otherwise get.

His baseball career ended in 2005 after 13 years. During that time, Mondesi played for the Dodgers, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the New York Yankees, the Anaheim Angels, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Atlanta Braves.