Son of Yankee hotshot Felix Lopez had steroids charge in 2002

• Please note, this is an old story that was naturally going to be picked up by the newspapers because it involves people of power and privilege. The extent to which, if any, the son is involved with the organization today is the main surviving point of interest for those who care about the Yankees. The owners are free to do as they wish, of course. ed., 6/20/10

Felix Lopez Jr. is everywhere in Yankeeland these days having married Mr. Steinbrenner's daughter Jessica in 2004. Newsday reports today that in 2002, before he was involved with the Steinbrenner family or the Yankees, his son Felix Lopez III was arrested after a raid on his apartment:

• "Felix M. Lopez III, the son of George Steinbrenner's son-in-law Felix M. Lopez Jr., was charged with trafficking illegal steroids in 2002", (from a later report it sounds like this charge was reduced, ed) "a first-degree felony that was punishable by up to life in prison. Lopez III, 30, cut a plea deal in which he received three years of probation for pleading guilty to possession with intent, which is a second-degree felony, according to Hillsborough County Court records.

• In an interview with Newsday Friday, the Yankees senior vice president said he stands by his son. But he said his son will never work for the Yankees because of his past and the negative perception it would create. "Sometimes kids make mistakes," Lopez Jr. said."...

Felix Lopez is a bully and a boor in muddled Yankee leadership.

• Update: The NY Post has more on this showing dysfunction and
• lack of leadership in the Yankee organization, letting this creep hang around.

(NY Post): "Felix Lopez III, who in recent weeks has been spotted at the Yankees' minor league facility in Tampa working out in official team sweats, served 19 months of probation after pleading guilty to reduced charges in 2003....

• Cops kicked in the door to his apartment after he signed for a package containing a shipment of GBL, which is chemically related to the date-rape drug GHB,...

Lopez, records say, failed to answer a door knock by cops, who apprehended him at gunpoint after breaking into his residence. Inside the apartment, police found multiple vials of anabolic steroids, a shotgun, paperwork referring to the chemical used to make the club-drug Ecstasy, as well as between one and five kilograms of GBL....

• But that top charge was reduced to a lesser drug felony of possession with intent to distribute. He pleaded guilty to that, and to the possession charge related to the steroids, and received a sentence of 36 months of probation which was later reduced at his request to 19 months.

• Lopez also was arrested on a battery charge in 2005 after allegedly punching his estranged girlfriend, who soon after claimed he called her and co-workers and threatened to release salacious videos of her.

That case later was dropped. Earlier this year, Lopez was accused of allegedly kiting a check of more than $2,000 to a contractor, but that case also was later dropped when the parties agreed to resolve the case civilly.

• Earlier this week, a source told The Post that Lopez had been acquired as a strength trainer for the Yankees minor league facility, which his father, Felix Lopez Jr., oversees.

Lopez Jr. is married to Jessica Steinbrenner, the younger daughter of the Yankees principal owner.

• But Lopez III, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, and Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for George Steinbrenner, all denied that the younger Lopez had been, or was going to ever be, hired by the Yankees.

"I have not," Lopez III said, when asked if he had been hired. "I'm not a hire ... I wish.

"No, it's always best to let family just do kind of their own thing. I don't work for the complex at all, no W-2, no paychecks, nothing."

• Lopez III did confirm he has visited the minor league complex, noting that his dad works there.

The Post's questions about Lopez's criminal record caught a number of highly placed Yankees sources by surprise, as they were completely unaware of that aspect of his history."

• AND: "Felix Manuel Lopez III was seen by reporters working as a trainer with players
• at the Yankees minor league complex this month,
• performing tasks such as putting down cones for running drills in the outfield." (item at end of article)

***This is just one example of many who try to take advantage of what appears to be a porous organization. ed.

• A commenter to this post writes as follows in May or June, 2010 (attached):

• "Concerned"

"Allow me to clarify what was written here out of context in order for "Susan" to make a name for herself. If you actually take a deeper look at what happened to Felix Lopez III, you will see how this blog is inaccurate. Yes Mr Lopez was arrested, but you make it out as if he was a dealer. He had different types of steroids, but each was only sufficient for a single person. The only reason he was arrested, was because he ordered it online and law enforcment was building a case against the internet provider operating in the States. The only reason it was considered trafficking, was because technically the order crossed state lines. He never sold or distributed any substances to anyone. As for the GBL that you like to place in the same category as GHB(the date rape drug), it's just that. Related and not the same. GBL was sold legally for years at GNC and other supplement stores right before his arrest. It is known by bodybuilders and athletes to help with the release of natural Human Growth Hormone. In order to get close to having the same effects as GHB, one would have to drink nearly a full cup and there is no way of masking the substance by mixing with a drink. Hardly a substance you could use to date rape anyone. You have to understand that he was also a baseball player and was just trying to recover from injuries to return to the game. He was like so many that are admitting to taking it, however they get away with no repercussions and Mr Lopez becomes an easy target for people trying to combing steroids and baseball. Especially because of his relationship with the Yankees. Shame on all of you."

Tweet Stumbleupon StumbleUpon