Hall of Famer Duke Snider, a longtime Brooklyn Dodgers hero, was sentenced Friday by one of his old fans to two years of probation and a $5,000 fine for tax evasion.
Snider, 69, pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to commit tax fraud. He admitted not reporting $97,400 in cash from card shows and memorabilia sales between 1984 and 1993."I take full responsibilities for my actions," Snider said in a statement. "I also hope that my fans, especially those in Brooklyn, can accept my apology."
Snider was sentenced at the Brooklyn federal courthouse, a few miles from where Ebbets Field stood when he patrolled center field. With Mickey Mantle of the Yankees and Willie Mays of the Giants, he completed a triumvirate of slugging outfielders that symbolized New York's glory days in baseball.
Snider could have been sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of $250,000. In addition to the $5,000 fine, he has paid about $30,000 in back taxes, and owes the IRS about $25,000 to $27,000 in interest and penalties.
"If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't do it," he said outside the court house. "Life goes on. We're in a world of choice and I made the wrong choice."
Judge Edward Korman described Snider as "idolized by a generation of which I was one" but said the former star was not getting lenient treatment. He said sentencing guidelines did not require prison time and noted that Snider had paid his back taxes and has diabetes, hypertension and other illnesses.
"Because of who you are, you have been publicly disgraced and humiliated, and it's taken place here in Brooklyn where you were idolized by a generation," Korman told Snider as he handed down the sentence.
The case was part of a government crackdown on unreported income from autograph signings and memorabilia shows that became a multimillion-dollar industry in the 1980s.
When Snider pleaded guilty, he said he knew it was illegal to conceal the cash profits but "made the wrong choice." He apologized and asked for a second chance from his fans.
Al Hirschberg, 60, of Brooklyn, was one of the few fans at the sentencing. The retired banker said he had seen many Dodger games and despite Snider's guilty plea, he supported his hero.
"We all make mistakes. He'll be paying for this down the line. We believe it, but we don't want to believe it," Hirschberg said.
Snider, of Fallbrook, Calif., was an offensive powerhouse for Brooklyn's Boys of Summer, a team that won pennants in six of nine years beginning with his rookie season. His best year was 1954, when he batted .341 with 40 home runs and 130 RBI. He had 40 or more homers five straight years beginning in 1953.
He was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1980.
Snider is in a lineup of convicted tax cheats in a sport that has seen falling attendance and fan anger following the 232-day strike.
In 1990, Pete Rose, baseball's career hits leader, served five months in prison and paid a $50,000 fine after pleading guilty to failing to report $354,968 during a four-year period.
Earlier this year, outfielder Darryl Strawberry pleaded guilty to failing to pay between $75,000 and $120,000 in taxes between 1986 and 1990. He was given six months of home confinement and ordered to pay $350,000 in back taxes and penalties.
Former San Francisco Giants slugger Willie McCovey pleaded guilty to a tax-evasion charge on the same day as Snider. He admitted that he failed to declare $41,800 in income in 1989, when he made $87,000, and $69,800 in baseball memorabilia income received between 1988 and 1990.
McCovey faces up to seven months in prison and a $250,000 fine under a plea agreement. No sentencing date has been set.
Charles Franssen, chief of the criminal investigation division of the Internal Revenue Service, told reporters after Snider's sentencing that his unit is investigating football, basketball and hockey players, as well as baseball players.