David Ortiz was targeted and shot in 2019 while out in his native Dominican Republic and has received different answers regarding the motivation for the incident. Now he has been told something else that conflicts what Dominican prosecutors said.
Initial reports said Ortiz was shot during a robbery attempt. However, that story quickly went away. Later, Dominican officials said some people were paid to carry out a hit on Ortiz. Dominican prosecutors later said people were targeting Ortiz’s friend, whom they claimed was an informant, and that Ortiz was shot accidentally.
Separately, a report from the Daily Mail said that a drug lord hired some men to kill Ortiz because he was upset with the ballplayer having an affair with his wife or girlfriend.
Ortiz was dissatisfied with the apparent mixed messages and hired his own private investigators to come up with answers. The private investigators, comprised of former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis and former CIA official Ric Prado, shared their findings with the former Red Sox slugger. The findings of their investigation were published by The Boston Globe on Saturday.
Davis told The Boston Globe that his findings indicated drug kingpin Cesar Peralta put out a bounty on Ortiz and wanted the ballplayer killed.
“I accept what Ed and Ric are telling me, but how come no one in the Dominican justice system has told me this is how it went down?” Ortiz told The Globe. “Instead, it’s the opposite.”
Ortiz said he hired the private investigation in 2019 because he did not trust the Dominican Republic’s attorney general at the time. The former attorney general has since been jailed on public corruption charges unrelated to Peralta.
Ortiz denied the allegation that he had romantic involvement with a woman linked to Peralta.
Peralta was extradited to Puerto Rico in December 2021. 13 suspects are awaiting trial in the case.
Ortiz, who was recently elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, underwent four surgeries following the shooting. The 46-year-old has recovered and now travels with security.
Photo: Jul 11, 2017; Miami, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox former player David Ortiz is interviewed before the 2017 MLB All-Star Game at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
