LOS ANGELES — Ippei Mizuhara appeared in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Friday and surrendered to authorities. He was released on a $25,000 bond and will return to court for the next hearing on May 9.
Mizuhara, who had shackles around his ankles and was dressed in a suit with no tie, was ordered to surrender his passport, was barred from gambling and from entering casinos, and was instructed not to have any contact with Shohei Ohtani, the star baseball player from whom he is accused of stealing roughly $16 million. Judge Maria Audero also ordered that Mizuhara attend a program to treat gambling addiction and that he seek employment and remain employed.
The shackles were ultimately removed at the request of Mizuhara’s attorney, Michael G. Freedman. In a statement, Freedman said that Mizuhara “is continuing to cooperate with the legal process and is hopeful that he can reach an agreement with the government to resolve this case as quickly as possible so that he can take responsibility.”
The statement also noted that Mizuhara “wishes to apologize to Mr. Ohtani, the Dodgers, Major League Baseball, and his family. As noted in court, he is also eager to seek treatment for his gambling.”
Am I to believe that Ohtani’s interpreter stole $16 million from Ohtani. Yah right. That doesn’t pass the smell test or the laugh test. If it was his financial advisor or someone with power of attorney I might buy it but not this. Mizuhari will take the fall and retire someday to Switzerland with a few million scones. As long as Ohtsni didn’t bet on baseball I don’t care.
Everyone is doing and saying all the right things to reduce the amount of anal rape in prison. Prison time. And the inconvenience to the money making machine for MLB, LAD and $hoehei inc.