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Sammy
Sosa's foundation seems to be cleared of all allegations of misuse.
 August
5, 2000 -- As reported here
at Latino Legends in Sports last year,
baseball superstar Sammy Sosa's charitable foundation was
in disarray and was accused of misusing money, but according to Florida investigators it seems
to have been operated honestly after a three-month probe.
"Most of our questions appear to be answered," said Daniel Stermer, a Florida
assistant attorney general who has led the investigation.
Stermer characterized the Cubs slugger and the operators of his foundation as
well-intentioned but "clearly in over their heads" as the charity took in and spent
about $900,000 over a two-year period.
The Sosa foundation still hasn't filed its non-profit tax returns
for 1999, and Stermer said the inquiry won't be finished until Sosa's representatives complete
the tax forms and submit additional documentation.
After reviewing the foundation's records and conducting interviews, however,
investigators have backed off their original suspicions that Sosa's camp improperly siphoned off donations intended
to benefit poor children in his native Dominican Republic and hurricane victims throughout the
Caribbean.
It's still unclear how much of the money donated was actually used to provide charitable
services instead of being consumed by administrative overhead. The Sosa foundation must report that amount in its tax return.
Roger Browning, a California lawyer hired by Sosa to straighten out the charity's
problems, said all the foundation's bills are now paid and there are sufficient funds to
continue operating its centerpiece children's health clinic for several months.
Professional management is being sought to take over the foundation's operations once
the legal problems are resolved, he said.
To help end any remaining controversy, Sosa last month wrote a check to the
foundation for $126,445, mainly to cover expenditures that had been questioned by a
former foundation employee who alleged self-dealing by Sosa.
The former employee, Arturo Sandoval, had criticized Sosa for donating to the
foundation a failed business investment--30-30 Plaza--a three-story commercial
building he constructed in his hometown of San Pedro de Macoris.
The foundation, which operates its clinic on the Plaza's first floor, appraised the
building at $2.7 million, an inflated value that allowed Sosa to claim a tax deduction
greatly exceeding his actual contributions to the charity, Sandoval said.
Browning defended all the transactions as legal and proper but said Sosa decided to
reimburse the foundation to remove any taint.
He said the car was purchased for the foundation, not for Jose Sosa, who used it
sparingly while helping the organization in its fund-raising. Money spent on the car was
repaid anyway, Browning said.
Sosa paid the foundation $31,733 to make up for his sisters' rent, explaining that he had
never charged them rent and didn't plan to start now, Browning said. Sosa also paid
back the $1,500 for the apartment.
In addition, Sosa repaid the foundation for some items that had not been made public
previously, including about $11,000 in salary for Jose Sosa and $5,800 that the
foundation spent to transport Sosa's private yacht from the Dominican Republic to
Florida so he could sell it. Sosa threw in an extra $35,000 to cover operating expenses.
The story behind the yacht sale is typical of how the foundation allegedly got itself into
trouble.
"His bookkeeping and allocations of funds was sorely lacking," Stermer said of Chase.
Still unresolved is confusion related to a separate foundation Sosa maintains in the
Dominican Republic. That foundation is administered by his other key business
adviser, Domingo Dauhajre.
To make the U.S. foundation whole, Sosa donated $35,000 from the sale of some
memorabilia and included another $25,000 as part of the recent $126,000 payment,
Browning said.
Sosa also gave $16,005 in January from the sale of his 61st home-run ball, $2,000 in May
from an appearance fee for a Major League Baseball video, $23,280 in December to be used for Venezuelan emergency relief and his $1,000 fee for participating in the
All-Star Home Run Derby, also in December.
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