Doubleday: Selig, Wilpon ‘in Cahoots’

A co-owner of the New York Mets accused baseball commissioner Bud Selig of conspiring with a former Arthur Andersen accountant to “manufacture phantom operating losses” in the sport’s books.

Nelson Doubleday, in papers filed Tuesday in federal court in New York, said the commissioner’s office was “in cahoots” with Fred Wilpon, his co-owner, to put an artificially low value on the team. Wilpon is attempting to buy out Doubleday under the provisions of an agreement they made when they bought the team in 1986.

“MLB orchestrated a sham process that not only mistreated Doubleday and betrayed his trust; it actively favored Wilpon and engineered a result that served MLB’s other and conflicting interests,” Doubleday’s lawyers said.

Last month, the 14 former limited partners of the Montreal Expos sued Selig under federal racketeering laws, claiming he conspired to dilute their investments.

Selig isn’t a defendant in the Doubleday suit, but he was accused of trying to inflate losses as part of his strategy in labor talks with the players’ association. Selig claims the 30 teams had $232 million in operating losses last year and that the sport needs widespread changes in its next contract, currently under negotiation.

Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer, called Doubleday’s accusations “nonsense and a complete fabrication.”

Union head Donald Fehr called the allegations “serious,” but said he would not make additional comments before reading the papers in greater detail.

Wilpon sued Doubleday last month to force him to accept a buyout based on a $391-million evaluation made in April by Robert Starkey, a former Arthur Andersen partner who left in 1999 to form his own company. In June, Arthur Andersen was convicted of obstruction of justice for its work for Enron Corp. Starkey’s work for Andersen was related to sports teams, not Enron.

Selig did not return a telephone call seeking comment, and Starkey refused comment.

Wilpon spokesman Richard Auletta called Doubleday’s accusations “unfounded” and “irresponsible.”