Back in 2011 former Orioles and Angels third baseman Doug DeCinces was charged with insider trading arising out of a tip he received regarding the buyout of a medical devices company by Abbott Labs. It was a civil charge at the time, filed by the SEC, which he settled for $2.5 million. The basics of the case: his neighbor was the CEO of a company that was about to be bought and he let DeCinces know about it ahead of time.
The following year he was charged criminally in the matter and was indicted on 42 counts of securities fraud and a count of money laundering. Each of the fraud counts carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. I’m not sure why it took so long for that to go to trial, but flash forward five years and now DeCinces has been convicted. The jury came back with that verdict on Friday, convicting him on 13 counts. A sentencing date has yet to be determined.
DeCinces played 15 years in the bigs, famously taking over as Brooks Robinson’s replacement at third base. He broke into the bigs in 1973 and started at the hot corner from 1976 through 1981. In 1982 he was traded to the California Angels. He played four games for the St. Louis Cardinals before hanging it up at the end of the 1987 season. Over the course of his career he won a Sliver Slugger award and made the All-Star team in 1983. He finished his career with a line of .259/.329/.445 with 237 homers and 879 RBI.
He’ll turn 67 in August. He’ll be spending his late 60s and probably a chunk of his 70s in a federal penitentiary.
