Major League Baseball

Dykstra not charged in stolen car case

Published Apr. 19, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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Prosecutors have declined to file charges against former New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Lenny Dykstra after he was arrested on suspicion of trying to buy a stolen car, authorities said Tuesday.

Prosecutors are asking Los Angeles police for more information in regards to the investigation, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. It's unknown whether charges could be filed against Dykstra at a later date.

Dykstra, 48, has been in jail since last week awaiting word on whether prosecutors would file charges against him. However, federal authorities are expected to take him into custody on a separate bankruptcy charge.

Dykstra was recently charged with embezzling money from a bankruptcy estate. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.

It wasn't immediately known whether Dykstra had retained an attorney.

Dykstra, who bought a mansion once owned by hockey star Wayne Gretzky, filed for bankruptcy two years ago, claiming he owed more than $31 million and had only $50,000 in assets.

Federal prosecutors said that after filing, Dykstra hid, sold or destroyed more than $400,000 worth of items from the $18.5 million mansion without permission of a bankruptcy trustee.

Dykstra spent 12 years in the big leagues and helped the Mets to the World Series championship in 1986. He was a three-time All-Star in the 1990s while with the Phillies.

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