The Dominican Newspaper Diario Libre reports former Mets pitcher Octavio Dotel has been arrested. According to Marly Rivera of ESPN, Dotel’s arrest was part of what the Dominican Republic’s Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez has described as the “largest operation against organized crime” in the country.
Another Dominican newspaper, Listin Dario, has reported former Mets second baseman Luis Castillo was also among those arrested today. The newspaper reports both former major leaguers have been linked to both drug trafficking and money laundering.
Dotel only pitched for the Mets in 1999 before being part of a blockbuster trade to the Houston Astros in the ensuing offseason,. In that trade, the Mets sent Dotel, Roger Cedeno, and Kyle Kessel to the Astros for Mike Hampton and Derek Bell. The Mets and Astros were the first two of what was a record 13 franchises Dotel played for in his career.
Castillo came to the Mets in 2007 trade deadline trade with the Minnesota Twins. Castillo played four years for the Mets hitting .274/.366/.324. Amongst Mets fans, he will be forever remembered for his dropping Alex Rodriguez‘s popup allowing Mark Teixeira to score a go-ahead run in the first Subway Series played at Citi Field.
Check back with MMO as this story continues to develop.
