Promoter’s theft charges filed again

A man who told people he was a sports promoter and manager was charged Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court with three counts of first-degree theft and one count of forgery in connection with his business dealings.

Eddie William Rivera, 33, formerly of Mukilteo, will be summoned to appear in court in about two weeks to face the charges, deputy prosecutor Jim Townsend said.

The charges are similar to those filed by Townsend in 2003. The charges then were dropped when federal authorities agreed to examine the case, Townsend said.

“We’ve given up all hope of the feds doing anything with it,” Townsend said Friday.

Rivera could not be reached by telephone.

In an interview earlier this year, Rivera denied all wrongdoing and said he was set up by associates to drive him out of the sports management business.

Rivera founded Sports Management International and associated himself with several members of the Seattle Mariners baseball club.

According to documents, Rivera allegedly failed to keep promises to a car dealership, an investor and an inventor, while saying that he represented several Mariners as a sports agent.

Documents say Rivera only had a promotional contract for Mariner pitcher Ryan Franklin.

Rivera allegedly accepted $70,000 in promotional fees, but never paid a production company for making commercials, documents say.

In a separate incident, Rivera accepted $61,000 to market a new pitching machine, but never followed through, documents say.

Charging papers also say one investor got stuck paying for an expensive car that he never received.

Bank records obtained after a search warrant show funds obtained by Rivera “from various alleged victims were all used by the defendant for personal and living expenses,” documents say.