Troy Neel
Encyclopedia
Troy Lee Neel is a former professional baseball
player who played in the major leagues
for the Oakland Athletics
primarily as a first baseman
and designated hitter
from -. He also had a successful baseball career in Japan
for the Orix BlueWave, playing for them for six seasons from until .
In 2000, Neel was ordered by the State of Texas to pay $5000 a month in child support to his ex-wife and mother of his two children. Instead of paying, Neel fled the country, remarried, and purchased a small island in Vanuatu
, where he and his new wife run a 21-room resort overlooking a lagoon. He now owes over $725,000 in child support
. His passport expired in 2008 and Vanuatu authorities forced him to leave the country. On December 11, 2008, Neel was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport
by U.S. Health and Human Services investigators after he got off a plane from Sydney, Australia; he awaits trial in San Antonio, Texas
.
In 2005, a grand jury in San Antonio indicted Neel on a charge of foreign travel to evade child support obligations. Neel, is accused of leaving the U.S. to avoid paying more than $725,000 in child support in Texas. Neel remains in federal custody in San Antonio.
On May 7, 2009 Neel was scheduled to plead guilty in court to avoiding over $700,000 in child support payments. Neel now faces as much as two years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/courts/entries/2009/05/07/former_austinite_big_leaguer_t.html
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player who played in the major leagues
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
for the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
primarily as a first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
and designated hitter
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
from -. He also had a successful baseball career in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for the Orix BlueWave, playing for them for six seasons from until .
In 2000, Neel was ordered by the State of Texas to pay $5000 a month in child support to his ex-wife and mother of his two children. Instead of paying, Neel fled the country, remarried, and purchased a small island in Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
, where he and his new wife run a 21-room resort overlooking a lagoon. He now owes over $725,000 in child support
Child support
In family law and public policy, child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other relationship...
. His passport expired in 2008 and Vanuatu authorities forced him to leave the country. On December 11, 2008, Neel was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
by U.S. Health and Human Services investigators after he got off a plane from Sydney, Australia; he awaits trial in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
.
In 2005, a grand jury in San Antonio indicted Neel on a charge of foreign travel to evade child support obligations. Neel, is accused of leaving the U.S. to avoid paying more than $725,000 in child support in Texas. Neel remains in federal custody in San Antonio.
On May 7, 2009 Neel was scheduled to plead guilty in court to avoiding over $700,000 in child support payments. Neel now faces as much as two years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/courts/entries/2009/05/07/former_austinite_big_leaguer_t.html