The Wilpons and Saul Katz have some familiar company in this Madoff mess.
According to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, former Mets second baseman and current Triple-A Buffalo manager Tim Teufel is being sued for approximately $1.23 million in a clawback lawsuit filed by Madoff trustee Irving Picard.
According to the Daily News, the lawsuit alleges that Teufel reaped $1,219,463 in “fictitious profits” and made $13,000 from a different Madoff account.
Teufel, who is currently in spring training with the Mets as an instructor, had some brief comments on the matter for Adam Rubin of ESPN New York this morning:
“The whole thing here for me at this point is kind of in a place where people are taking care of this and I really can’t comment in a big way on anything [with] my involvement with the Madoff scandal at this point,” Teufel said. “But what I try to do professionally is not bring my personal life into the clubhouse. So I hope you guys can respect that part. I’m here to develop players, help them get to the big leagues. Being able to do the [Triple-A] Buffalo team this year, I’m excited about that, and am thrilled to be a part of something real big here. So I enjoy my job, and my time here with the Mets has been great. I feel for the Wilpon family with what they have to go through. I can certainly relate to their pain and anguish. So I’m here to leave my personal attitude and effects of what has happened in my family’s life out of the clubhouse and help develop players.”
As opposed to the lawsuit against the Wilpons and Katz, Picard is not alleging that Teufel knew or should have known about any illegal activity.
