|
Report
says that Sammy Sosa's foundation is broke and in debt!
 The
charitable foundation set up by Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa is
broke and in disarray less than two years after its high-profile debut,
according to Fortune Magazine.
Amid board members' allegations of misuse of funds, operations are at a
standstill — leaving 7,000 pounds of food, clothing and medical
equipment to accumulate $2,000 a month in storage charges in a Miami
warehouse since last fall, according to the magazine's April 17 issue.
Tax records indicate Sosa, who hit 63 homers last season, has never made a
"significant cash contribution" to the foundation, according to
Fortune. But in another report given to Latino Legends in Sports, it
clearly states that Sosa made a $24,000 contribution in December 1999.
The foundation's secretary, Arturo Sandoval, told Fortune that Sosa's
sisters owed back rent in a foundation-owned building in the Cubs star's
hometown of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic.
The foundation, headquartered in Pembroke Pines, Fla., was founded in June
1998 to help provide medical care in San Pedro de Macoris. It has
distributed relief to victims of Hurricane Georges.
Reached yesterday at his home in Florida, foundation president Bill Chase
conceded the organization is in flux as one board member prepares to
resign, but said the conflict "has been blown out of
proportion."
Tenants in the San Pedro de Macoris building, including Sosa's sisters,
have been served with eviction notices, said Chase. The amount owed is
small, he said, adding, "You're talking pesos, not dollars."
As for the goods in storage, Chase said he didn't know they existed,
saying he never received any bills.
"There is some stuff," but it's not enough to fill up a trailer
to send overseas, he said.
Sosa's agent, Adam Katz, could not be reached yesterday. But he told
Fortune: "I'm going to go down and clean this thing up. I can
virtually assure you there's been no impropriety."
|
