Wilpon's Involvement In Madofff's Ponzi Scheme Might Not Have Only Been Out Of Line, But Outside The Lines

"… See, I think Freddy is getting an enormous bad rap, because Freddy would never, ever do a dishonest thing, or screw a friend. He would be the last person in the world. … I think Freddy will not go down without swinging, and he won’t go down. I don’t think he’ll go down. The tragedy would be if he ever lost that team. I think that would be the tragedy of a lifetime. I pray it never happens.”

~ Larry King ~

This morning on ESPN's Outside The Lines, they chronicled the Wilpon soap-opera. While obviously they interviewed those who believed in the Wilpon's guilt, they also interviewed former CNN talk show host Larry King.

King went to the ends of the earth to defend his "BFF Freddy", and for how phony "Freddy" sounded in the piece, King should be fined $2B.

Nothing new was raised in the piece, because those "close" to the Wilpon family defend them, and those in the industry, whether it be investments or law, don't buy what Fred, Saul, and Jeff are selling.

When former Texas Ranger President Tom Cramer was questioned about the Mets selling a minority stake, he offered this:

“You could say that you’re an owner of the Mets, but that’s about all you can say. You will have nothing whatsoever to say about the operation of the team. You may have some access. You might have a nice parking spot. You might even be able to get some extra tickets if they get to the World Series.”

ESPN's Buster Olney closed out by stating the obvious:

"But the big question within Major League Baseball circles is how steep is this debt? How much money can the Mets lose before Fred Wilpon might actually be forced to sell the team … A number of executives are saying the idea of selling 20 to 25 percent of the Mets while not giving up control to another owner is almost unworkable because, of course, if someone invests with the team and then Fred Wilpon put out a cash call to his investors as he dealt with his financial problems, who knows where that would end? That’s why, in the end, the question of how much the Wilpons are going to have to give up in this suit is a major factor in whether or not he maintains ownership of the Mets.”

The most telling quote is from Madoff victim Dewitt Baker:

“If you look at it morally, the money you took was somebody else’s.”

Source: Adam Rubin ESPN NY