Friends of Snipes and the St. Louis Cardinals (Scott Spiezio may be enabled to his grave).
Enablers of the Month:
Family members, friends and fellow actors Woody Harrelson and Denzel Washington, who attested to actor Wesley Snipes’ “compassion, intelligence and value as a mentor” in letters to the court asking for leniency at Snipes’ sentencing, where he was given three years in prison on three counts of misdemeanor failure to file tax returns (incredibly, he was acquitted on felony charges of tax evasion). Such comments stand in stark contrast to those made by journalist Chris Parry, who recounts a day on the set of “Blade: Trinity” in a piece entitled, “Drugs, Stand-Ins, Mood Swings and Legal Action: The Real Wesley Snipes,” describing Snipes as a “drug-affected, moody, uncooperative piece of garbage, masquerading as an actor while all [those] around him tried to cover up for his shitty attitude.” Snipes’ trial was the most celebrated tax fraud case since Leona “only little people pay taxes” Helmsley was convicted on charges of tax evasion in 1989 (see the September 2007 TAR for more on her).
The St. Louis Cardinals, which signed third-baseman Scott Spiezio for a two-year $4.5 million contract after the 2006 season despite, well, a behavioral history that is as outrageous as that of Britney Spears’. After gaining folk-hero status in Game 6 of the 2002 World Series by hitting a seventh-inning three-run homer for the Anaheim Angels, Spiezio signed a three-year $9 million deal with the Seattle Mariners, for whom he hit .215 in 2004. He divorced his childhood sweetheart, with whom he has three young children, in 2004. Around the same time, he became estranged from dad, Ed Spiezio, who played nine years in the majors. In 2005, he hit .064 (3 hits in 47 times at bat) before being sent to the minor leagues and then released in August. Also in 2005, he and his fiancée Jennifer Pankratz were charged with simple assault and criminal damage to a cabdriver after a fare dispute. When police arrived, the cabbie accused the couple of stealing his cell phone, which they denied. Police called his number and the phone rang–you’ll never believe this–in Pankratz’s purse. When he married Pankratz soon after, his family refused to attend the wedding. In 2006, his teammates recall that Spiezio’s behavior started changing, particularly during late-night partying in the course of an August 22-24 Cardinals trip to play the New York Mets. One friend said, “He just wasn’t the same guy.”
The trouble is, alcoholism progresses in erratic fashion. After he helped beat the Mets with a two-run triple in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series in 2006, the Cardinals decided he was worth $2.25 million per year. Unfortunately for them, as the 2007 season unfolded he began looking increasingly sluggish and the rumors began. In August he was forced into an outpatient rehab program, but according to then-teammate Troy Percival, “hung out in clubs at night.” And then came December 30, when he and his wife went to dinner, where he downed six Grey Goose vodkas with cranberry juice before going to another restaurant and consuming several more vodka drinks. He later left by himself, speeding at up to 100 mph, cutting across lanes through oncoming traffic, over a curb and into a fence. After fleeing the scene, he assaulted a friend who tried to clean wounds received from the crash. Two months later an arrest warrant was issued, charging Spiezio with DUI, hit and run and assault. After the warrant was issued, he was released from his contract. A month later, on March 31, he signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves. On April 7, Spiezio pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving and hit-and-run charges and was ordered to serve three years probation, undergo a three-month alcohol program, attend two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and complete 80 hours of community service. If the terms of probation require that he submit to regular and random alcohol and other-drug testing with a promise of prison time for any failure, there is short-term hope for Scott Spiezio. However, such terms are unlikely, since he was released by the Braves on April 12 because he was “unprepared” for play.