Did Cesar Peralta hit David Ortiz?
Cesar Peralta ordered hitmen on David Ortiz.
According to the Associated Press, a Dominican drug trafficker who was envious of David Ortiz and felt “disrespected” by him ordered the shooting in 2019 that almost killed the former Red Sox slugger to be carried out.
With the help of a private investigator, Ortiz enlisted the help of former Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis.
During an interview with the Boston Globe, Davis said that César Peralta had placed a bounty on Ortiz’s head, then ordered a hit team to assassinate him.
Davis’ private probe was thwarted by Dominican officials who refused to cooperate.
In Puerto Rico, Peralta is being jailed without bail on unrelated allegations of conspiracy to import cocaine and heroin.
In 2019, the United States labeled him as a drug kingpin, and as a result, he was extradited to Puerto Rico.
No charges have been filed against Peralta in connection with Ortiz’s shooting. Joaquin Perez, Peralta’s lawyer, indicated that Peralta had nothing to do with the attempted assassination of Ortiz.
“As horrible as Cesar Peralta is, it’s not even close to being in the ballpark to suggest he had anything to do with this,” Perez added.
In Perez’s words, Ortiz and Peralta are “good buddies.” Ortiz, who only had a passing acquaintance with Peralta was “sad, bewildered, outraged, all kinds of feelings” when he heard the news from Davis and Ric Prado, a former high-ranking CIA official who took part in the investigation.
According to Dominican investigators, the intended victim was Ortiz’s dining companion, Sixto David Fernandez, who was shot as well.
Hitmen allegedly mistook Fernandez for Ortiz, a legendary Dominican baseball player. As a result of the shooting of Ortiz, thirteen persons have been arrested and are currently being held without bail in the Dominican Republic.
