Report: Mickelson tied to money laundering, gambling case

[Kevin Greene]

Phil Mickelson wired millions of dollars to a middleman, who then laundered that money as part of "an illegal gambling operation which accepted and placed bets on sporting events," according to a report from ESPN's Outside the Lines.

According to the report, Mickelson transferred the money to 56-year-old Greg Silveira of La Quinta, Calif., who has pleaded guilty to three federal counts of money laundering as part of a plea deal. Silveira pled guilty to laundering $2.75 million that he says belonged to Mickelson, according to the report.

The plea deal centers around three wire transfers from March 2010 to February 2013 connected to Silveira. In 2010, Silveira first accepted a $2.75 million wire transfer into a Wells Fargo Bank account from a "gambling client," identified in the report as Mickelson. That money was then transferred in two installments – first $2.475 million, then $275,000 – into another of Silveira's bank accounts. Finally, Silveira transferred $2.475 million into another account he controlled with JP Morgan Chase Bank. Those transfers constitute money laundering.

Silveira will be sentenced on Oct. 5 and could face up to 60 years in prison, though a much shorter sentence is expected.

Federal prosecutors, Silveira's lawyer, Mickelson and his attorneys, as well the PGA Tour all declined to comment on the case.

It's a shame. Plenty of rumors abound of Phil's actions when the camera isn't on him and what his peers think of him behind the scenes.

 http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/golf-devil-ball-golf/report--mickelson-tied-to-money-laundering--gambling-case-204514645-golf.html

[Darth Biscuit]

Not a good look for Phil for sure, but I haven't heard rumors of his fellow pros not liking him behind the scenes.  You got any info on that?

[stirs]

So what is the take here?

He wanted to gamble anonymously?

 

[Johnny Rockets]

So what is the take here?

He wanted to gamble anonymously?

 

I think that is probably about right and having a bookie is more convenient. I think legally Phil is in the clear here but it's obvious Phil loves to gamble and may be in deeper than he should. He is opening the door for people to start trying to find more dirt on him. Maybe he is clean and there is nothing to find but where there is smoke.......well you know. 

The PGA already reprimanded Phil for gambling in the clubhouse (it was a minor offense) and the rumor has always been that Phil left Titleist and jumped to Callaway because they made a gambling debt go away for him. If you have ever listened to Phil talk about football, you can tell he is more than just a novice fan. 

I don't think this is the last that we hear about this type of thing with him and it may get ugly but I hope I am wrong. 

[Kevin Greene]

Not a good look for Phil for sure, but I haven't heard rumors of his fellow pros not liking him behind the scenes.  You got any info on that?

8. Phil Mickelson

Last August at the PGA Championship at Baltusrol, in New Jersey, a reporter turned to a golfer on the tour and said of Phil Mickelson, “Man, the fans here love Phil.” The golfer replied, “They don’t know him the way we do.” It blew our minds a little when we heard this, since Mickelson ranks among the most admired golfers in America. But today the same reporter makes his case bluntly: “Phil Mickelson literally has no friends out there. He annoys everybody.”

Mickelson has earned many nicknames on the Tour, but our favorite is FIGJAM (fug, I’m good—just ask me). “There are a bunch of pros who think he and his whole smiley, happy face are a fraud,” another reporter says. “They think he’s preening and insincere.” Mickelson has aggressively pursued a family-man image that is crucial to his success as an endorser. In 1999, when he nearly won the U.S. Open, Mickelson wore a beeper onto the fairway to alert him when his wife went into labor. If the beeper went off during the final round, he announced, he would simply walk off the course. Some of Mickelson’s peers, smelling a PR stunt, badly wanted to call his bluff. “Everybody’s saying, ‘Oh God, I want that beeper to go off,’ ” recalls one writer. (It didn’t.)

In 2003, Mickelson violated multiple taboos when he told a reporter that Tiger Woods was playing with “inferior equipment” and that he envied Mickelson’s longer drives from the tee. Woods was infuriated. “You just don’t say poo like that in golf,” says a reporter. (To be fair, another reporter says, “Phil was right.”)

Shortly before the 2004 Ryder Cup, though, Mickelson abruptly switched from Titleist to Callaway equipment. He left himself little time to get used to the new balls and clubs. “It wasn’t in the best interest of the team,” says a reporter. “The only thing that it was in the best interest of was his financial gain.” The contract paid a reported $7 million to $10 million annually. “What it did was set up a bull’s-eye on him if he played poorly,” says a different reporter. “Which he did.”

Most recently, Mickelson blew off the 2005 Tour Championship, though the PGA was in the midst of negotiating its new TV contract. One reporter says, “The Tour was trying to come up with a plan that would make the networks happy, so it wouldn’t have to give back a lot of money, and here’s the number three player in the world skipping the premier season-ending event. Other players said, ‘How about helping the rest of us who aren’t as rich?’ ” Adds another reporter: “It’s like not showing up for somebody’s wedding.”

http://www.gq.com/sports/profiles/200601/most-hates-athletes 

[Kevin Greene]

It's interesting remember a couple years back Phil threatened retirement due to taxes he'd have to pay.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonynitti/2013/01/21/golfer-phil-mickelson-may-call-it-quits-due-to-climbing-tax-rates/

[Darth Biscuit]

Interesting... I actually did a good bit of looking online about Phil not so long ago and couldn't really find anything super negative.

I've always found him to seem like a pretty genuine guy.  I've heard some stories at the tournaments about different guys and talked to some of them on the course and you can generally get a feeling for who seems decent, who seems fake and who seems like an ass.  Never got anything but good vibes from Phil and never heard any negative stories from the people around him at tournaments.  I have heard negative stuff about other guys like Goosen, Tiger and Davis Love III.

As for the gambling, obviously if he's involved in illegality, he needs to distance himself from it or suffer the consequences.  I mean it's not all that surprising, rich guy, good at what he does, likes to throw money around... I've heard similar sentiments about Michael Jordan over the years... but just like Phil, Jordan's still at the top of my list as far as being a fan goes.

[Sapper]

Among many other stories I've heard about Phil, the one that seems to hold true from friends that travel to the British Open yearly and speak with caddies and players alike say that Phil and Amy are both swingers and treat their marriage as very open.