Ex Cincinnati Reds star pitcher charged in money laundering, murder case

SANTO DOMINGO.- Former Cincinnati Reds star pitcher Jose Rijo was indicted on charges of money laundering linked to alleged drug trafficker Matias Avelino Castro (Joaquin Almeyda), accused of ordering the killing of the journalist José Silvestre, an underworld murder that rocked Dominican Republic .

The Justice Ministry’s Anti-money laundering Unit says Rijo organized a several property transactions with Avelino, despite knowing the illicit origin of his partner’s funds.

The San Pedro Office of the Prosecutor also asked that bond be set at RD$20 million, a ban on travel, and a month visit to the courthouse against the former Major League All-Star.

The indictment filed on Friday says Silvestre (Gajo) was kidnapped in August last year and shot twice, and his body found on a country road in San Pedro.

Silvestre, editor of the magazine "Voz de la Verdad” (Voice of Truth), had blamed the now fugitive Avelino for ordering the death of Ramon Antonio Herrera (Momón), in La Romana, during an alleged turf war among members of the drug organization “Cartel del Este.”