Troy Neel once played first base for the Oakland A’s. Now he has taken a place in the loser hall-of-fame by becoming, in the words of the Texas Attorney General, “the most egregious child support evader in Texas history.” Per the Mercury News:
Former Oakland Athletics first baseman Troy Neel pleaded guilty Thursday to fleeing the country to avoid more than $700,000 in unpaid child support, which stacked up while he lived on a million-dollar South Pacific island resort bought after his brief major league career.
Shackled and wearing blue inmate scrubs, Neel made his plea in federal court and faces up to two years in prison. His attorney said Neel, 43, has no money and disputed the amount owed.
Neel lived in the Republic of Vanuatu on a tropical 16-acre resort that was purchased for a reported $1.5 million, according to court records. During the brief hearing, prosecutors said Neel stayed out of the U.S. largely to avoid paying $5,000 in monthly child support for his two children.
He played for the A’s from 1992-94, then continued his career in Japan and Korea before retiring in 2001. He hit .280 with 37 home runs in three major league seasons, and finished seventh in the 1993 rookie of the year voting.
Neel was ordered to begin paying child support in 1998. Prosecutors say he began falling behind within the first year.
Neel’s attorneys are arguing that he has no money, and therefore can’t pay the $700,000. But somehow he managed to live on a tropical island. I guess he put on a pair of shades and jiggled a can of pencils. Even Chris Bosh thinks this guy is a scumbag.
Tags: chris bosh, oakland athletics, troy neel
