e wrote:
all that said, this wasn't purely a baseball decision on pena's part. he was served a subpoena for some sort of disturbance charge last week. 610 sports was talking about it. i'm looking for a link.
From The Pitch Weekly
...and no, that's not a rag I normally read, but wifey told me they had the scoop.
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Together We Can't
Tony Peña accused of adulterous affair in divorce suit.
BY TONY ORTEGA
tony.ortega@pitch.com
Wednesday, May 11
Kelly J. Locke, a Kansas City North realtor who works in Gladstone, has confirmed to the Pitch that he subpoenaed former Kansas City Royals manager Tony Peña to testify in his pending divorce trial because he believes that Peña had an affair with his wife, Monica A. Locke, and that the relationship contributed to the marriage’s breakup.
Peña, 47, resigned abruptly as manager of the Royals Tuesday night in Toronto following a 3-1 loss that lowered the team’s league-worst record to 8 wins and 25 losses. The resignation came just hours before Peña was commanded by the subpoena to appear in Clay County Circuit Court in Liberty with documents requested by Kelly Locke.
Peña’s attorney, Edward Ford III, filed a motion May 4 to quash the subpoena, arguing that it was unreasonable to ask Peña to appear in a Missouri court when he was on the road with the team. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Davis had not ruled on the motion as of Wednesday morning.
Peña has refused to comment on the subpoena and could not be reached for comment today. Club vice president Mark Gorris did not return a call from the Pitch. Peña has been replaced by Royals bench coach Bob Schaefer, who will act as interim manager.
Property records show that Peña and his wife, Amaris Peña, were neighbors of the Lockes in Kansas City North. In June 2004, the Peñas purchased a new home in another neighborhood. Last November, the couple sold the house that was about a block from the Locke home.
This past January, the Lockes filed for divorce. In March, Monica Locke, 33, claimed in court papers that Kelly Locke, 32, had “physically abused” her and had, on March 21, “threatened to kill” her at their home. The couple are parents of a 5-year-old boy and 2-year-old triplets.
In late April, Kelly Locke subpoenaed three witnesses in the case, which is scheduled to go to trial on June 27. Court records indicate that at least one of those witnesses appeared in court and was deposed by Kelly Locke’s attorney, David Sexton.
Monica Locke also was deposed, according to the court record. Sexton tells the Pitch that, in her deposition, Monica Locke admitted to the affair with Peña. Neither Monica Locke nor her attorney, Thomas Capps, returned phone calls from the Pitch.
According to the motion Ford filed to quash Peña’s subpoena, the former Royals manager was asked to show up in court this morning with “(1) Any and all correspondence including, but not limited to, e-mails, letters, and notes from Monica Locke from January 1, 2003, to the present; and (2) his cell phone bills from January 1, 2003, to the present.”
Peña’s attorney argued that the Royals would be in Toronto today and that Peña had already offered to be “available for deposition when the Royals are in town, to testify and bring whatever documents he may have. This offer was rejected by [Kelly Locke’s] attorney.”
Ford argued that Peña’s testimony was of questionable relevance anyway, writing that whatever Locke hoped to “obtain from Tony Peña can be obtained directly from [Monica Locke], as evidenced by her interrogatory answers.”
Yesterday, the Pitch reached Kelly Locke at his office and asked him to confirm that he’d subpoenaed Peña because he believed that Peña had engaged in an affair with Monica Locke. “I can confirm that,” Locke responded. Asked if he believed the affair had contributed to his divorce, Locke replied, “Yes.” He declined to comment further.
This morning, Locke again refused to detail what evidence he has that the affair took place. “It will all come out in court,” he said. “That’s why, in my opinion, Tony Peña quit his job.”
Peña became manager of the Royals on May 15, 2002. After the 2003 season, during which the Royals compiled an 83-79 record, the American League named Peña its Manager of the Year. His record over two full and two partial seasons was 198 wins and 285 losses.