BY Chivis Martinez
Borderland Beat
June 19, 2019
I wondered if the shooting of former Boston Red Sox slugger, David “Big Papi” Ortiz, may have been cartel related….and now reportedly it may have been both cartel related and a case of mistaken identity.
Ortiz was not the target of the June 9th shooting; it was his friend who was the real target. The shooting occurred in a Santo Domingo nightclub. “Dial Bar and Lodge” , the Dominican Republic's lead prosecutor has revealed.
Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez says David Fernandez, the “real target”, was dressed similarly to Ortiz and seated with the ex-baseball star on the night of the shooting.
Ortiz had his back to the entrance when he was shot in the back.
There have been 11 suspects arrests, including the alleged shooter, Rolfy Ferreyra, aka Sandy, U.S. prosecutors said Ferreyra is wanted on armed robbery and gun charges in New Jersey.
He says he became confused by the similar clothing and shot Ortiz by mistake.
Rodriguez said the shooting was ordered by a man named Victor Hugo Gomez, who the prosecutor described as a member of the Gulf Cartel, [ “El Cártel del Golfo”] he describes as “one of Mexico’s major cartel”.
Unofficially the hit was a settling of scores for “snitching”.
8,000 USD was to be paid for the hit.
Gomez was believed to be in the United States and was being sought by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Ortiz recovers at Massachusetts General Hospital. Doctors in the Dominican Republic removed his gallbladder and part of his intestine before he was transferred to Boston in an air ambulance sent by the Red Sox.
From Reforma:
Gabriel Alexander Pérez Vizcaíno, is accused of being the link between the alleged assassins and the people who paid them.
The documents also establish that a man, who is imprisoned for a case, approached Pérez to propose his participation, one week before June 9, when the retired baseball player was shot in a bar Santo Domingo. That subject sent Perez a picture of the victim, so he could share it with the hit men.
According to the authorities cited by the court documents, Perez shared the image with the other suspects, during a meeting at a nearby gas station, a few minutes before the attack. The authorities have not said whether the image was of Ortiz.
The documents also indicate that Pérez sold a golden iPhone 6, which was used to plan the attack, to a woman who paid $ 180. Seeking to get rid of evidence, a day after the former player was wounded.
"He ... did it to get rid of the cell phone when he found out that the police were looking for him," the document said.
A lawyer for Perez refused to issue statements when leaving the hearing, while the police took the suspect, wearing a red shirt, an armored vest and a helmet. The suspect also did not talk to the reporters.
"El Hueso", 24, is one of 10 suspects detained by the authorities, who are also seeking at least two other people mentioned in the court documents, including a man who would have paid the hit men.
José Martínez Hoepelman, attorney for Ortiz, said he was satisfied with the progress of the investigation.
"I trust the authorities," he asked. "They have worked tirelessly to get the result we have so far, we all want to get more information, but we have to wait."
Ortiz’ attorney also made it clear said that he has no connection with criminal activities, that are linked to the attack against his life.
"I can say that David Ortiz is innocent in what happened. It has no connection to illicit activities, does not have relationships with people who have criminal connections, or violated family values that could cause such an incident,” he said in an interview with the Boston Globe.
The police have said that they offered 400 thousand Dominican pesos (about 7 thousand 800 dollars) to the coordinator of the attack against "Big Papi".
Ortiz guided the Red Sox to three World Series titles. He was chosen 10 times to the All-Star Game and totaled 541 homers. He resides in Boston, but visits his native Dominican Republic several times a year.
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