EDNY COURTHOUSE, Oct 30 – The weekday
before the scheduled start of the baseball bribery trial
of suspended Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase
and Luis Ortiz, along with bettor Robinson Vasquez
Germosen, a final pre-trial conference was held in Federal
court in Brooklyn. Inner City Press, with a trial-by-trial
badge for the case, live tweeted it, thread here, extra
here and below
OK - now at pitch
rigging conspiracy case final pre-trial conference.
Judge Matsumoto says still not sure trial starts Monday,
given Ortiz' mandemos in 2d Circuit. Name of Bo Naylor
and others to be raised to jurors 1/x
Fourth defendant's name will be
redacted from indictment. Bettor-1, the AUSA says, will
NOT be called for prosecution. Defense says he's invoke
the 5th if they call him, citing cooperation agreement
2/x
3d defendant Germosen is in
jeans and yellow "Boston" hoodie. Clase and Ortiz in
suits. Seems jury selection will proceed on Nov 3,
election day. Judge will tell jurors main trial may run
to Dec 3 - AUSA says may rest by Thanksgiving
Here in the gallery: Pablo Davis, who will not be a
witness but will be listrd to jury, as will Austin
Hedges, Mike Zunino, coach Carl Willis and others. Full
thread and story with extra asap
11:25 am
Talk has turned to WhatsApps between Ortiz and Clase
"about a horse."
Judge Matsumoto: Reach an agreement. I have another
trial after this one in Decrmber
Seems the Diaz financial
affidavit will be given to defense, which cites Inner
City Press' win unsealing the CJA financial affidavit of
Michael Avenatti (court staff cuts in, "How do you spell
that?")
Judge Matsumoto: The case has
become personal and nastier than I'm used to. I am
disappointed.
A defense witness on honeymoon Nov 6-27 may testify out
of turn. He is a catcher, on interactions off-camera.
AUSA: Mr Clase had a $500,000
debt to the IRS. It is evidence of motive.
Defense: Exclude it - they will put in evidence of his
debt to his jeweler. But I think they most they say he
got in the alleged scheme was $20,000
Clase's lawyer: He's in line
for a six figure contract-
Another: Seven figure. No, eight.
Clase's lawyer: A huge amount.
AUSA: This was as athlete over- extended
Clase's lawyer: He has millions
of dollars of assets in the DR. That he did this for
money is ludicrous. If they want to destroy their
credibility with the jurors, I'd be amazed
Judge: Why don't you call an
IRS agent?
AUSA: We have his tax preparer. I don't know if he's a
CPA.
Clase's lawyer: They can list a
mortgage, Rock Fence, they can argue financial motive.
Judge: Brief it
[But will the public and Press have access to these
weekend filings?
Clase's 2d lawyer: Let me read
you what they sent us, "168 k, foreign banks accounts"
--
AUSA: This is sensitive 3500 material
Clase's lawyer: It is Emmanuel Clase's information, we
are allowed to talk about it
Judge: The timing of this may
be unfair, it may be precluded.
Clase's 3d lawyer: It's prejudicial, to tell the jury,
Mr. Clase had priblems with the IRS.
Clase's 2d lawyer Mr Ferrara:
They dropped a nuclear bomb on us, that they will not
call to the stand what was going to be their main
witness, the cooperator.
Judge: I am precluding if, for
the US' delay. You have a bank account with a near zero
balance.
AUSA: We'll want to use it in our rebuttal case.
Judge: I'll consider it.
After a break
Ortiz' lawyer: The 2d Circuit is not staying the trial,
but stay of Oct 9 order is referred to three judge
panel.
Judge: US should ask the Circuit, cc-ing us.
[Not in the public docket??]
Defense: We'll have a three day
defense case.
Judge: US opening?
AUSA: 10 min
Clase:20 to 25
Ortiz: Same
Germosen: 20
Adjourned
This as the 2d Circuit ruled: "USCA ORDER:
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that, to the extent Petitioner seeks
an adminstrative stay of district court proceedings
pending review by a three-Judge panel, the motion is
DENIED. The motion to stay is REFERRED to a three-Judge
panel. The Governments motion for leave to respond to the
petition is GRANTED; any response shall be filed today,
October 30, 2026. The parties motions to seal are GRANTED.
The Governments motion to expedite is DENIED as moot.
Certified Copy Issued: 10/30/2026. USCA# 26-2965."
EDNY prosecutors wrote in that "the
government anticipates admitting translations of
Spanish-language text messages, videos, and voice memos
exchanged and among co-conspirators. The government
respectfully requests that the Court admit these
translations as evidence, rather than merely as jury aids.
The government will continue to confer with defense
counsel regarding the translations but, to the extent the
defendants do not stipulate to the authenticity of the
translations, the Court should require the defendants to
“raise any specific complaints about the translations or
proffer alternative translations before the start of
trial.†United States v. Yurofsky, 55 F. App’x 13, 14 (2d
Cir. 2002)."
Judge Kiyo Matsumoto, who has
yet to respond to a Press challenge to sealing (in another
of her high-profile cases, USA v. Carone, et al.), ruled:
"The Court is in receipt of the Government's motion in
limine [322] to admit its proposed English translations.
The Government's motion represented that Defendants are
not prepared to stipulate to the authenticity of the
Government's translations and disagree with the
Government's translations. If Defendants are not prepared
to stipulate to the authenticity of the Government's
translations or disagree with the Government's
translations, Defendants shall present their specific
proposed translations, by a court certified Spanish
interpreter, tomorrow at the final pre-trial conference.
Ordered by Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto on 10/29/2026."
An October 30 final pre-trial
conference for a November 2 trial is cutting it close -
painting on the black, so to speak. Inner City Press
in its expanding EDNY coverage has come upon translation
issues, like here,
a recent change of plea interruptus - while still only
permitted trial-by-trial, unlike others. We'll have more
on this - watch this site
Just weeks before this new EDNY trial, a
lawyer in the Southern District case for deadly fentanyl
in Washington Square Park asked for an
adjournment.
Cesar de Castro explained the need:
"because a matter on which I was appointed late last week
in the Eastern District required unexpected and relatively
urgent international travel from October 16 to 18, 2026."
Inner City Press exclusively reported it, on October 9, here.
Days after his trip, the destination became
more widely known: the Dominican Republic. He had been
appointed to represent the fourth defendant in the Clase
case: Luis Arismendy Paca Mendez, who was then extradited
and detained. But since then, what? Much is
sealed in the docket - too much.
Ortiz quickly reiterated his request to
adjourn the trial, citing the newly arrived co-defendant.
Counsel to Vasquez Germosen wrote it to say all four
defendants should have a single trial, by implication
postponed. But on October 21, Ortiz put in his
exhibit list - like so many documents so far in the case,
entirely under seal. And on October 22 the US Attorney's
Office in a form of mea culpa wrote in, "When the messages
described above were recently converted to U.S.-Eastern
Time in connection with preparing trial exhibits, the
government observed that Clase’s exchange with Bettor-1
occurred shortly after, rather than during, the May 17,
2025 game."
Does this continued and accelerating
pace of filings mean that, despite the late arrival, the
November 2 trial is still on? Whenever it takes place,
Inner City Press will be covering it - in the right time
zone (albeit after the fall-back of daylight savings
time.)
