Byron McLaughlin was indicted for allegedly running a fake shoe ring. But the former Mariners and Angels pitcher has disappeared.
Screenshot via undertheradarsports.net
But McLaughlin’s surfer dude looks belied a dark life that would take him around the world — and eventually on the lam.He first caught on as a free agent for the Montreal Expos in 1974. After bouncing around the minors for a few years, he was signed by the Mariners. In 1979, McLaughlin, then just 24, took a short August break for his wedding in Mexico. He left his usual gear and luggage with the team.
The biggest shoe companies in the world took notice. Fake Reeboks, Nikes, Adidas and Vans were flooding the market. In 1989, customs officials in Nogales, Arizona, found hundreds of boxes of Vans shoes. When they opened a box, they realized they were knockoffs. Customs officials reached out to Vans. To their surprise, Vans told them they already knew about the problem.
that they estimated half of the counterfeit shoes coming out of the entire country of Mexico could be tied back to McLaughlin’s ring.SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
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