How much are World Series tickets worth? That’s one of many questions former Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette faced last week.
According to Boston.com, Duquette faced questions from the state Ethics Commission's Enforcement Division on April 6 regarding his sale of tickets to Game 2 of the 2004 World Series to Pittsfield Mayor James M. Roberto. The commission questioned Duquette to determine if Roberto broke a conflict of interest law when he purchased the World Series tickets.
The two-day hearing came as a result of a state inquiry filed over two years ago. The state panel alleges Duquette sold the tickets to persuade Roberto to allow the Duquette-owned Berkshire Dukes, a minor league baseball team, to play their home games at city-owned Wahconah Park. The Berkshire Dukes became the Pittsfield Dukes after Duquette negotiated an agreement to move the team in 2005.
According to Leonard Cohen, Roberto's attorney, Duquette and Roberto were not involved in the city's decision to let the Dukes play at Wahconah Park. Cohen claims the mayor paid the actual purchase price for the highly sought-after tickets.
The opportunity to watch the Red Sox break the Curse of the Bambino made the tickets a hot item in Boston.
"There was an incredible demand for tickets," Matthew Freedman, director of purchasing for Ace Tickets, told the Web site."I've never seen anything like it. It was pretty much off the charts."
The state panel will hear closing arguments in two months, according to The Berkshire Eagle.
