Federal prosecutors have agreed to review the case of a sports promoter charged with theft in connection with a promotion and management business he operated, a Snohomish County official said Thursday.
Eddie William Rivera, 31, of Mukilteo was jailed last month after the Snohomish County prosecutor’s office and sheriff’s detectives started looking into complaints that he bilked investors and a local car dealership out of cash.
He said he represented numerous Seattle Mariner baseball players, while he had a local endorsement contract only for pitcher Ryan Franklin, according to court papers. He sought promotional contracts with retailers through a company known as Sports Management International.
He allegedly failed to keep promises to a car dealership, an investor and an inventor, taking cash for his personal use, documents say.
Deputy prosecutor Jim Townsend said federal prosecutors agreed Thursday to take the case. He was charged with three theft counts related to the sports business earlier this month in Everett District Court.
In addition, Rivera stands charged with nine other counts of theft in connection with a 2001 incident in which he allegedly represented that he was a Seattle attorney, and he agreed to arrange for a lawsuit to be filed in Utah.
Rivera, who is not a lawyer, allegedly took $60,000 in payments without getting the lawsuit filed. Those charges were filed in February, and Townsend said federal prosecutors also will look at that case to determine if they should handle it instead of Snohomish County officials.
Rivera is out on bail. His Seattle attorney, Richard Hansen, could not be reached Thursday for comment.
Earlier, Hansen said Rivera was running a legitimate business that was ruined by the Snohomish County allegations. He said the dispute over money is a civil matter, and it was brought to the attention of authorities by a disgruntled investor.
In Seattle, the U.S. Attorney’s office had no immediate comment.
Spokesman Lawrence Lincoln said it is his office’s policy to not comment on any case that could be under investigation.
Townsend said the sports promoting case suits the federal prosecutors because it involves a substantial amount of money, there are a lot of out-of-state witnesses and Rivera engaged in repetitive behavior.
If Rivera is convicted, Townsend said the federal system is better than the state for monitoring and supervising convicts who get out of prison.
"It’s an appropriate case for the feds, and there are a lot of out-of-state connections," Townsend said, crediting Detective Matt Trafford with following a complicated money trail.
Under the federal system, Townsend said he expects a grand jury to look into Rivera’s activities. That could lead to an indictment.
Rivera was charged with first-degree theft in Snohomish County. Townsend said he’s not certain what charges could be filed in federal court.
The three theft charges filed in Everett District Court expire today because they were not brought into Superior Court, Townsend said, and his office won’t pursue that case as long as federal investigators are involved.
The nine theft charges filed in February will remain active in Superior Court unless the federal officials take over that case as well, Townsend said.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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