Police photos show dirty conditions at the Homestead baseball stadium, where young Venezuelan athletes were living for a training camp
Slideshow at the Miami Herald:http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/06/2836162/homestead-pd-releases-reports.html#storylink=cpy
By Christina Veiga
cveiga@MiamiHerald.com
The young athletes discovered to be living at the Homestead baseball stadium were given enough to eat, according to newly released police reports.
But police photos show the Venezuelan teens were using a bathroom with clogged toilets and dirty sinks, a water fountain full of ants and other “untidy” conditions.
Homestead police in late April investigated complaints that the players, recruited for a baseball training camp, were sleeping at the stadium unattended and that they weren’t being fed. The investigation, according to police reports, determined the allegations were “unfounded.”
One of the boys, according to a police report, admitted that “during the early phase of the training camp the food was not as plentiful as expected but that there has been much improvement.” Other players complained the food provided was “too ‘American style’ or too ‘Cuban style’.”
Homestead police did not respond to requests for comment.
Police photos show the locker room where the boys slept looks neat, though the carpet appears to be stained. Twin beds are lined up against the lockers, which served as the boys’ closets. There are blankets on the beds.
But pictures of the bathroom and shower area, described as “untidy” in a police report, show toilets clogged with brown water. The urinals are stained yellow, and one looks like there’s a dead bug plastered to the bowl.
The sinks are stained an orange color. The garbage overflows.
Another photo shows a line of ants marching into the drain of a water fountain.
The complaints came to light when an athlete who had attended the camp complained to the Spanish-language television station Univision about the conditions at the stadium. Homestead city officials investigated, and found the living arrangements violated several city codes and zoning laws.
The Department of Children and Families also was investigating. A spokeswoman there did not respond as to whether DCF’s investigation has ended.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials cited numerous violations at the stadium, such as not having working fire alarms or sprinklers. The young athletes had to move out because of the safety issues. A spokeswoman there wrote in an email that “the violations are still pending.” The city-owned ballpark’s tenant, La Ley Sports, has until Saturday to fix the problems, according to a fire inspection report.
La Ley, without the city’s knowledge, entered into an agreement to let Canadian company Gigante Baseball Group use the stadium to train young players recruited from Venezuela.
Homestead officials in May decided the agreement was a breach of La Ley’s lease with the city, and declared the company to be in default for that and other reasons. La Ley responded with lawsuits, which are still pending.
Ricky Todd, general manager of Gigante, told The Miami Herald in April that the complaints against Gigante came from a player who was bitter after being cut. Another player and the woman responsible for the boys, Romilys Maria Acevedo-Torribilla, gave Homestead police the same theory, according to reports.
Todd did not return a call and text message for comment in the last few days.
Todd has previously provided the Herald with receipts that show hundreds of dollars of food purchases, and a police report noted the boys appeared to be “in good health.”
Gigante has since moved out, according to La Ley owner John H. Ruiz.
For more Homestead news, follow @Cveiga on Twitter.
But police photos show the Venezuelan teens were using a bathroom with clogged toilets and dirty sinks, a water fountain full of ants and other “untidy” conditions.
Homestead police in late April investigated complaints that the players, recruited for a baseball training camp, were sleeping at the stadium unattended and that they weren’t being fed. The investigation, according to police reports, determined the allegations were “unfounded.”
One of the boys, according to a police report, admitted that “during the early phase of the training camp the food was not as plentiful as expected but that there has been much improvement.” Other players complained the food provided was “too ‘American style’ or too ‘Cuban style’.”
Homestead police did not respond to requests for comment.
Police photos show the locker room where the boys slept looks neat, though the carpet appears to be stained. Twin beds are lined up against the lockers, which served as the boys’ closets. There are blankets on the beds.
But pictures of the bathroom and shower area, described as “untidy” in a police report, show toilets clogged with brown water. The urinals are stained yellow, and one looks like there’s a dead bug plastered to the bowl.
The sinks are stained an orange color. The garbage overflows.
Another photo shows a line of ants marching into the drain of a water fountain.
The complaints came to light when an athlete who had attended the camp complained to the Spanish-language television station Univision about the conditions at the stadium. Homestead city officials investigated, and found the living arrangements violated several city codes and zoning laws.
The Department of Children and Families also was investigating. A spokeswoman there did not respond as to whether DCF’s investigation has ended.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials cited numerous violations at the stadium, such as not having working fire alarms or sprinklers. The young athletes had to move out because of the safety issues. A spokeswoman there wrote in an email that “the violations are still pending.” The city-owned ballpark’s tenant, La Ley Sports, has until Saturday to fix the problems, according to a fire inspection report.
La Ley, without the city’s knowledge, entered into an agreement to let Canadian company Gigante Baseball Group use the stadium to train young players recruited from Venezuela.
Homestead officials in May decided the agreement was a breach of La Ley’s lease with the city, and declared the company to be in default for that and other reasons. La Ley responded with lawsuits, which are still pending.
Ricky Todd, general manager of Gigante, told The Miami Herald in April that the complaints against Gigante came from a player who was bitter after being cut. Another player and the woman responsible for the boys, Romilys Maria Acevedo-Torribilla, gave Homestead police the same theory, according to reports.
Todd did not return a call and text message for comment in the last few days.
Todd has previously provided the Herald with receipts that show hundreds of dollars of food purchases, and a police report noted the boys appeared to be “in good health.”
Gigante has since moved out, according to La Ley owner John H. Ruiz.
For more Homestead news, follow @Cveiga on Twitter.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/06/2836162/homestead-pd-releases-reports.html#storylink=cpy
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