Responding to an article in Fortune magazine, the President of the Sammy Sosa Foundation has roundly dismissed an allegation of bankruptcy. "If you can tell me anything about this, I’d like to know," declared Chase Kaufman when queried by a reporter from Listin Diario. The man known to Sosa as "Papa Chase," and regarded by the slugger as a second father, also denied that foundation funds were used to buy a luxurious car for Sammy’s brother, Jose. Reportedly, the source for the accusations is Arturo Sandoval, who lost his place on the foundation’s board of directors. The Fortune article reports that Sosa’s only contribution to the foundation that bears his name was a building valued at US$2.7 million which, it alleges, allowed him to take a US$1 million tax write-off. Among the building’s tenants, the article lists two non-rent paying sisters of Sosa who maintain a dance studio, beauty parlor and boutique. The foundation’s offices are also housed there. Fellow home-run king Mark McGwire made a US$100,000 cash contribution, but no further details of the foundation’s income are known. The foundation vaccinates children and provides education on pediatric dental care. Domingo Dauhajre, Sosa’s business manager, while not denying the charges of bankruptcy, said that Sandoval was motivated by "jealousy." A law firm, Reich, Katz and Landis, has been retained, he said, to go to Miami to investigate.
