Major League Baseball

Report: Mets clubbie comped bookies

Published Nov. 5, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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Disgraced Met clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels, who has confessed to betting on baseball games, comped his mobbed-up bookies prime $400 seats at Citi Field, the New York Post reported Saturday, citing sources.

Samuels' shameless actions, which led to his unpaid suspension and a criminal probe, came to light Friday as the Post learned he had been playing house with another troubled Met figure — pitcher Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez.

The reliever, who faces his own criminal charges for attacking his girlfriend's dad in the clubhouse in August, has been crashing at Samuels' home in the Rockaways while under a restraining order, the sources said.

Samuels, 53, is likely to be canned from his $80,000-a-year post for his gambling, which was captured on wiretaps.

Samuels placed wagers ranging from several hundred dollars to $5,000 on horse races and NFL games and has admitted betting on baseball games, the sources said.

Probers are looking into whether he gave mobbed-up associates dope about the team or they were able to glean useful info from his wagers.

Photos show Samuels gave some of those bookies — Gambino crime-family associates from Howard Beach — comped seats at Citi Field that normally sell for $400 each, sources said.

Samuels has worked for the Mets since 1976 and has been the clubhouse manager for 27 seasons. He is also associate travel director and equipment manager. On other teams, several individuals usually hold those posts.

Major League Baseball began eyeing Samuels last season after getting a tip that he was gambling with illegal bookies.

MLB soon notified the Mets, telling the team that it should audit its financial records because Samuels' several jobs gave him control over large amounts of money, a source said.

The Mets, who refused to comment Friday, suspended Samuels indefinitely without pay on Oct. 27.

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