When an agent from the Internal Revenue Service first questioned former Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig as part of a sports gambling investigation, the agent opened with a stern warning: If you lie, you will be charged with a federal crime.
That aggressive posture, lawyers for Puig have alleged in court filings, remained until investigators abruptly ended the interview when Puig asked to review old records to refresh his memory.
Puig and his defense team pointed to this and federal authorities’ alleged dealings with other Black individuals entangled in the case as evidence of racial bias. They argue that white defendants in the case were treated more benignly and their credibility not challenged.
Puig, who last year withdrew from an agreement to plead guilty to lying to federal authorities in the investigation, indicated at a news conference Saturday that he will fight the charges at trial after pleading not guilty Friday morning in a downtown Los Angeles courthouse.
“They didn’t take into account his cultural background, his personal experiences or even his capacity to understand the process,” Puig’s agent, Lisette Carnet of Leona Sports Agency, said at the news conference. “They gave him one interview, and during that interview when he tried to rehabilitate his statements after further memory recall, they shut it down.”
She was joined on the steps of the downtown federal courthouse by Puig’s attorneys, Keri Curtis Axel and Benjamin Crump. Puig, who was also present, read...
The Dangote Group has denied claims that its President, Aliko Dangote, is at odds with Tony Elumelu, describing the report as false, malicious and baseless. In a statement signed by its Group Chie...