Tornadoes Face Lawsuits Over Bills
Financial woes for the Worcester Tornadoes seem to be mounting, with a handful of Worcester County parties taking legal action to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars allegedly owed them by the independent baseball team.
Lawyers for Jose Canseco and Worcester's Hilton Garden Inn, filed separate suits in Worcester Superior Court on Aug. 23. Each claim the team, led by owner Todd Breighner, has defaulted on payments.
Canseco, the former Major League slugger and one-time American League Most Valuable Player, who recently filed for bankruptcy, according to published reports, is seeking a total of $363,000 in damages, according to court documents. He is claiming various legal injuries, including breach of contract, fraud, larceny, misrepresentation, failure to pay wages, injury to business reputation, and emotional distress.
The suit states that Canseco, who signed with the Tornadoes in April to large fanfare given his Major League career, and left earlier this month, did not receive his paycheck, or received bad paychecks. Breighner allegedly tried to negotiate for less than the amount owed, or settle for no wages at all. Canseco alleged that a heated discussion with Breighner ensued after he refused to settle.
Meanwhile, Hilton Garden Inn general manager Paula Marcelina is seeking money she says the hotel is owed for unpaid room rentals and services -- a total of $32,562, according to the suit.
Breighner could not be reached Friday at his Worcester office, or on his cell phone. A receptionist said he was out of town. Breighner could not receive voice messages because his mailbox was full, and he did not return an e-mail seeking comment.
In an affidavit, Marcelina stated the rooms and services at the hotel were used by players and visiting teams, as well as by baseball officials and Breighner himself. All invoices were payable by the Worcester Tornadoes and Streamlined Sports Inc., the company that owns the team, according to the affidavit.
Marcelina claimed the Tornadoes have has problems paying bills, and the hotel set up a payment plan with the team in the past to bring the balance to zero. But she said that recently, hotel representatives had trouble reaching Breighner.
When the hotel finally got in touch with him, Marcelina said Breighner agreed to make daily payments of $1,000 to no avail.
"We actually did receive a series of checks in the amount of $1,000 each, but all of those checks have been returned for insufficient funds," Marcelina said, in the affidavit.
The Worcester Telegram & Gazette has reported that two other companies have filed suit against the Tornadoes recently, alleging unpaid bills. Northeast Promotion and Apparel Inc. of Fitchburg is seeking $12,000, while Enterprise Cleaning Co. of Worcester sued for $5,510, but was later paid, according to those reports.
The Tornadoes are scheduled to play the Quebec Capitales at home tonight after a six-game road trip.
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