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March 7, 2008

Cumberland man charged in baseball scam

A Cumberland man who claimed to be a former minor league baseball player with ties to the Baltimore Orioles organization was arrested recently after parents reported him to the state police.

Jack A. Ranallo, 52, of 39 Peacedale Rd. is facing 13 counts of obtaining money under false pretenses and two counts of providing false documents to public officials after he allegedly persuaded parents in the Northern Rhode Island area to cut him checks to start a baseball team and academy that would get their teens ready for college-level play and exposure to major league scouts.

But when the team couldn’t find a league to play in and the academy never materialized, the parents reported Ranallo to the state police.

State police Lt. Brian K. Casilli, of the financial crimes unit, says that Ranallo was arrested by Maryland State Police in September 1999 in a similar case in which he posed as a former baseball player for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Ranallo, who also goes by the names Jack A. Dorvis and Jack A. Norris, was arraigned on the local charges in District Court, Providence, on Feb. 26 and released on bail. His next court date -- determination of attorney hearing -- will take place March 11 in Superior Court in Providence.

-- Journal staff writer Philip Marcelo

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 6:10 PM | Permalink

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