Settlement negotiations between the owners of the Mets and the trustee who is suing them, alleging that their company was a “net winner” in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, ended acrimoniously today. It seems the talks broke down because the Wilpons were upset over details of the lawsuit leaking to the press, which resulted in a pretty lousy week for the Wilpons and the Mets organization. "Defendants cannot cry confidentiality to this court while publicly attacking the complaint and continuing to frustrate the public's right to know the contents of the same complaint they disparage," said the trustee's lawyer, David Sheehan.
Because of the suit, the Wilpons are looking to sell around 25 percent of the team. They've already had two potential buyers voice preliminary interest in aiding the team, liquor distributor and Georgi Vodka owner/provocateur Martin Silver, and a group of investors that includes Martin Luther King III, but neither party seems prepared to purchase a non-majority share. But maybe what the Mets really need is a loudmouth billionaire owner: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, whose net worth is $2.3 billion according to Forbes. He told reporters at the Knicks/Mavs game last night, “If they want to sit down and sell me on it, I can be a willing buyer and a willing customer. But I’m not going to be a bidder on anything.”
Cuban had previously tried and failed to buy the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs, the experience of which has left a bitter taste in his mouth, but one which cannot be sated until he drinks the sweet nectar that is a major league baseball franchise. He said: "If someone sees me as a potential owner, I’ll take their call and discuss a deal. I’m not going to get into a bidding situation ever again…Obviously, I feel like I’d be a good team owner in baseball, but I’m not going to go through the same process I did with the Rangers and the Cubs...Like I said, I’m not going to be making any phone calls, but I’ll answer the phone.”
