It’s July 1st, which for New York Mets fans means it’s Bobby Bonilla Day.
The former servant retired in 2001 with the cardinals of St. Louis, but he was collecting a check of nearly $ 1.2 million from the Mets every year on July 1 for nearly a decade.
The deal is part of a contract negotiated by Bonill’s agent Dennis Gilbert, who will pay Bonilla $ 1,193,248.20 each year until 2035. Bonilla, a former All-Star who last played with the Mets in 1999, will turn 72 when his contract expires with the team,
How could Gilbert secure such a dear offer for his client? Both can thank the infamous financier Bernie Madoff and Mets owner Fred Wilpon.
The Mets wanted to break up with Bonilla in 1999, but he had $ 6 million left on his contract. Wilpon believed he would get a big return on his investment through Madoff, but the Mets owner turned out to be a victim of Madoff’s infamous Ponzi scheme.
Instead of paying Bonilla directly, Wilpon decided to defer payments so he could inadvertently invest the money in Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
Gilbert negotiated with the team a deferral of payment until 2011, with an 8% annual interest rate.
Madoff was the initiator of the most notorious Ponzi program in history. The Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that uses the funds of newer investors to pay out profits to earlier investors, leading them to believe that their investments are part of a successful business.
Madoff is serving 150 years in prison for a multimillion-dollar scheme he has run for decades.
All in all, Bonilla will leave with a $ 29.8 million payment for Wilpon’s mistake.
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