Ex-Dodgers All-Star sentenced in Dominican Republic corruption case

Unknown date 1998; Phoenix, AZ, USA; FILE PHOTO; Los Angeles Dodgers batter Raul Mondesi against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Bank One Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Former MLB slugger Raul Mondesi has been under house arrest for several years after he was convicted of corruption charges from his time as a mayor in the Dominican Republic, but he is now free.

A Dominican court on Friday sentenced Mondesi to six years and nine months in jail, according to Steve Henson of the Los Angeles Times. Since Mondesi had already been under house arrest for that amount of time, a deal was made with the prosecution to consider his prison sentence satisfied.

Mondesi served as the mayor of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic — which is his hometown — from 2010-2016. In 2017, he was convicted of defrauding more than $6 million during his time in office and sentenced to prison. Mondesi was also barred from holding public office for 10 years and ordered to pay a fine of $1.3 million.

Mondesi was placed under house arrest during the appeals process for his case, which took years to complete. In 2020, prosecutors petitioned the court to send the 53-year-old to prison after he allegedly violated the terms of his house arrest. That never happened, and the Court of Appeals of San Cristobal ordered a new trial in 2023, which concluded with Friday’s sentence.

Mondesi played in MLB from 1993-2005, most notably for the Dodgers from 1993-1999. He won NL Rookie of the Year, was named to an All-Star team, and won two Gold Gloves during his time with L.A. Mondesi also played for the Blue Jays, Yankees, Diamondbacks, Pirates, Angels and Braves across his 13 MLB seasons.