McLain, Denny - Another Wrong turn for troubled...
Another wrong turn for troubled ex-Tiger Denny McLain
Former Detroit Tigers pitching great Denny McLain was arrested at the Canadian border Friday for an outstanding warrant in Louisiana.
Former Detroit Tigers pitching great Denny McLain was arrested at the Canadian border Friday for an outstanding warrant in Louisiana. / PORT HURON POLICE DEPARTMENT
By Tresa Baldas -September 24, 2011
Former Detroit Tigers star pitcher Denny McLain has made several wrong turns in his life.
His latest was missing the exit for a Cracker Barrel.
McLain wound up in jail Thursday after getting arrested in Port Huron, after he accidentally drove on the bridge to Canada while trying to get to a Cracker Barrel restaurant.
McLain is now facing extradition to Louisiana after border agents discovered he was wanted in Louisiana for theft. He is accused of stiffing some landowners out of money he owed them for scrap metal.
The Tigers great, 67, has served time in prison for embezzlement, has filed for bankruptcy three times and was once suspended from baseball for gambling.
His latest arrest can be blamed on construction.
McLain was trying to get to the Cracker Barrel, but got tangled in construction and accidentally wound up on the bridge to Canada. He turned around, then border officers ran an inspection and discovered the outstanding warrant.
McLain and his lawyer say there's been a mistake.
"Mr. McLain had no knowledge of this warrant. He was an accidental fugitive," said his lawyer Josh Fahlsing. "I think he's looking forward to getting this matter cleared up."
McLain: I am surprised
For years, he threw strikes to the plate.
Now, Denny McLain's only relief pitcher is his lawyer.
McLain, 67, the former Detroit Tigers star pitcher whose tumultuous career has included numerous run-ins with the law, is in legal hot water again -- this time over allegations of a scrap metal deal gone wrong in Louisiana.
McLain wound up in jail Thursday after getting arrested in Port Huron, when he accidentally drove on the bridge to Canada while trying to get to a Cracker Barrel restaurant.
Authorities say McLain was confused by construction and ended up on the bridge. McLain turned around, but a customs agent at the toll booth ran his name and discovered he was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant in Louisiana.
During his baseball career, the star pitcher helped the Tigers win a world championship in 1968, posting a 31-6 record and 1.96 ERA. He won the Cy Young Award that year.
McLain is now accused of stiffing two landowners in St. Charles Parish, La., out of money he owed them for scrap metal. Louisiana authorities said McLain and workers at his company, American KIE Steel and Commodities, cut a deal with two landowners to buy their scrap metal, but never paid them.
"Everything's fine," McLain told the Free Press hours after he was released on a $10,000 cash surety bond Friday.
McLain of Brighton would not discuss his case, saying only that his lawyer had it right when he said there had been a mistake.
McLain's lawyer, Grand Rapids attorney Josh Fahlsing, said his client had no idea he was wanted in Louisiana. Fahlsing said there's been a mistake involving a Louisiana business negotiation.
"Mr. McLain had no knowledge of this warrant. He was an accidental fugitive," Fahlsing said. "He was never on the run."
Fahlsing would not discuss the details of the criminal allegations.
"We hope to get this matter cleared up with the authorities in Louisiana as soon possible," Fahlsing said. "I think he's looking forward to getting this matter cleared up."
An extradition hearing is scheduled for Oct. 4 in Port Huron.
McLain's wife, Sharon McLain, isn't taking his latest arrest in stride.
"I'm just about at the end," Sharon McLain told the Free Press, sounding exasperated.
Asked whether she was surprised about the arrest warrant, she said: "Oh, yes, to say the least."
Sharon McLain said her husband called to tell her about his arrest, but she did not go to Port Huron to help him and has no plans to go to Louisiana with him when he's extradited.
According to Capt. Patrick Yoes of the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office, an arrest warrant was issued for McLain on Aug. 26 after he failed to resolve the scrap metal dispute. Yoes said the local district attorney's office "had repeated conversations with Mr. McLain" about the scrap metal, but nothing was solved.
According to Yoes, McLain, had cut a deal with landowners in the Bayou Gauche area to buy some of their scrap metal. The agreement, he said, was that once the scrap metal was weighed at a salvage yard, the owners would be paid a specific amount per pound.
With the exception of a deposit demanded in advance by one of the landowners, no money was ever paid for the scrap metal, Yoes said. Yoes said he does not know how much scrap metal was involved, or its exact worth -- only that it was worth more than $1,500.
This isn't McLain's first run-in with the law.
In 1996, McLain and his business partner were convicted of embezzling and then laundering $2.5 million from a pension fund at the now-defunct Peet Packing meat company. McLain was sentenced to eight years in prison and was ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution to the fund.
In 1970, McLain was suspended by then-baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn for alleged gambling. Later, he was fired as general manager of a minor league team for running up its debt.
In addition, he's been in bankruptcy court three times and has a cocaine possession conviction dating back to 1985.
McLain also has experienced tragedy. In 1992, his daughter, Kristin McLain-Sutherland, died in a traffic accident.
Attorney Christopher Andreoff, who represented McLain in the pension fund criminal case, was surprised and saddened when he learned about McLain's arrest.
He told the Free Press he had not heard from McLain or anyone in his family. The last time he heard from McLain was a few years ago, when McLain called to tell him he was looking for work, possibly in radio.
"I wish him all the best," Andreoff said. "I feel very bad."