Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 6, 1990                   TAG: 9007060175
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Medium

YANKEES' OWNER FINED

Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent, who has the authority to assess any penalty up to a lifetime ban, still is investigating charges that Steinbrenner paid a New York City gambler $40,000 for information about the outfielder and his charitable foundation.

Nothing was determined Thursday, and Steinbrenner will continue his testimony today. But earlier in the day, Vincent fined Steinbrenner and the Yankees $25,000 for tampering with Winfield's May 11 trade to California and ordered the Yankees to pay the Angels $200,000.

The commissioner's office has fined Steinbrenner five times since he bought the Yankees in 1973.

After the trade, Winfield filed a grievance citing a no-trade clause in his contract. The outfielder, negotiating a contract extension with California, then met with Steinbrenner.

"Mr. Steinbrenner's statement that Mr. Winfield would be welcomed back to the Yankees if he won the arbitration and should play on a full-time basis was clearly improper," Vincent said.

Steinbrenner slipped out of the Rockefeller Center building where Thursday's hearing was held and could not be contacted. The Yankees said they did not have any comment about the fines.

As the hearing took place, the gambler at the center of the unresolved charges was arraigned in U.S. District Court and pleaded innocent to an eight-count indictment that charges him with attempting to extort $150,000 from Steinbrenner.

The gambler, Howard Spira, must return to court July 23 for a conference to decide whether U.S. District Judge John E. Sprizzo should excuse himself because of casual friendships with Steinbrenner and Stephen B. Kaufman, one of Steinbrenner's lawyers.

After his arraignment, Spira appeared at the site of the hearing before Vincent.

"It's just a coincidence," said Spira, 31. "I had an appointment in the building."

Steinbrenner's hearing took place in the office of Howard R. Tyler Jr., a former prosecutor and deputy attorney general who was retained as the commissioner's counsel. Vincent spoke briefly afterward, surrounded by reporters, office workers and curious bystanders.

"We conducted the hearing as we anticipated," Vincent said. "We've adjourned until tomorrow morning. I'm not really going to tell you anything substantive."

During the spring, investigator John M. Dowd compiled a report about the charges. Steinbrenner has not seen the report, but his lawyers were present for the questioning of witnesses. The hearing before Vincent was Steinbrenner's opportunity to respond.

Steinbrenner was the only witness Thursday, and Vincent said he would decide after today's session how the hearing would proceed. Steinbrenner has the opportunity to call witnesses, but it is not clear if he will.

The commissioner said the length of the hearing wasn't unusual.

"I guess I was long-winded," he said. "There are matters that required some elaboration. We tried to be as efficient as we could."

Keywords:
BASEBALL