Ernest Dent

Paul Hammack, who promoted a "Baseball Legends" show in Glendale in September and bounced checks to Mickey Mantle, Brooks Robinson and Bill Russell, was sentenced to eight years in prison for fraud. Hammack, who used the alias Ernest Dent, still faces 20 federal charges stemming from complaints about the card show. Police say Hammack, 43, stole more than $200,000 in memorabilia and cheated celebrities he had hired to sign autographs.

A sports promoter accused of writing bad checks to baseball players, including Mickey Mantle, Steve Garvey and Don Drysdale, withdrew his guilty plea Friday in his fraud case. Paul Howard Hammack, 44, is charged with 19 felonies and one misdemeanor stemming from a memorabilia show he staged at the Pasadena Center in 1990. Prosecutors said celebrities and collectors lost more than $200,000 after Hammack allegedly wrote bad checks and failed to return signed memorabilia. Deputy Dist. Atty.

A sports memorabilia show promoter, who was charged with writing bad checks to such sports celebrities as Mickey Mantle, Ernie Banks and the Dodgers' Steve Garvey and Don Drysdale, has pleaded guilty. Paul Howard Hammack, 44, who called himself Ernest Dent when he organized a memorabilia show that attracted thousands of fans to the Pasadena Center in September, 1990, entered the plea Friday in Pasadena Superior Court to 19 felony counts and one misdemeanor.

A sports memorabilia show promoter, who was charged with writing bad checks to such sports celebrities as Mickey Mantle, Ernie Banks and the Dodgers' Steve Garvey and Don Drysdale, has pleaded guilty. Paul Howard Hammack, 44, who called himself Ernest Dent when he organized a memorabilia show that attracted thousands of fans to the Pasadena Center in September, 1990, entered the plea Friday in Pasadena Superior Court to 19 felony counts and one misdemeanor.

The promoter accused of bilking businesses and such sports celebrities as Mickey Mantle and Don Drysdale at a recent Pasadena memorabilia show appeared before a U.S. magistrate in Los Angeles on Tuesday for a bail hearing on an unrelated fraud charge in Texas.

One of the organizers of a recent Pasadena sports memorabilia show that led to allegations that sports celebrities and small businesses were bilked of more than $100,000 said Wednesday that he was not involved in any wrongdoing and did not know the whereabouts of the show's principal promoter, Ernest Dent. West Virginia officials, meanwhile, said Dent was involved in a failed business venture that was accused of misusing federal and state job training funds in that state.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has filed 20 felony charges of grand theft, fraud, and writing bad checks against Paul Howard Hammack, alias Ernest Dent, for allegedly bilking sports fans and celebrities such as Mickey Mantle and Don Drysdale at a Pasadena sports memorabilia show in September.

A judge threw out a more lenient plea bargain Wednesday and sentenced Paul Hammack, a promoter accused of bilking celebrities and businessmen at a Pasadena baseball memorabilia show last September, to eight years in prison on an unrelated fraud charge from Texas. U.S. District Court Judge William D. Keller in Los Angeles rejected an agreement that would have allowed Hammack to serve 366 days in jail and pay back $67,500 to David Lee of Laredo, Tex.

A major sports memorabilia show's organizer was under investigation by Pasadena policeMonday as more than a dozen sports stars, including Mickey Mantle, Don Drysdale and Ernie Banks, complained that they were bilked of tens of thousands of dollars. Half a dozen businesses involved with the three-day "Baseball Legends" show at the Pasadena Center Sept. 7-9 also have told The Times they were owed thousands of dollars more for their services.

The sports memorabilia promoter who has been accused of bilking celebrities and businessmen of more than $100,000 at a recent Pasadena show was arrested Friday night on an unrelated fugitive warrant for fraud. A man Pasadena police identified as Paul Hammack who, under the name of Ernest E. Dent, staged the controversial "Baseball Legends" card and collectibles show, was arrested at his rented Glendale townhouse on a 5-year-old Texas charge of defrauding a Laredo man of about $70,000.

Paul Hammack, who promoted a "Baseball Legends" show in Glendale in September and bounced checks to Mickey Mantle, Brooks Robinson and Bill Russell, was sentenced to eight years in prison for fraud. Hammack, who used the alias Ernest Dent, still faces 20 federal charges stemming from complaints about the card show. Police say Hammack, 43, stole more than $200,000 in memorabilia and cheated celebrities he had hired to sign autographs.

A judge threw out a more lenient plea bargain Wednesday and sentenced Paul Hammack, a promoter accused of bilking celebrities and businessmen at a Pasadena baseball memorabilia show last September, to eight years in prison on an unrelated fraud charge from Texas. U.S. District Court Judge William D. Keller in Los Angeles rejected an agreement that would have allowed Hammack to serve 366 days in jail and pay back $67,500 to David Lee of Laredo, Tex.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has filed 20 felony charges of grand theft, fraud, and writing bad checks against Paul Howard Hammack, alias Ernest Dent, for allegedly bilking sports fans and celebrities such as Mickey Mantle and Don Drysdale at a Pasadena sports memorabilia show in September.

The promoter accused of bilking businesses and such sports celebrities as Mickey Mantle and Don Drysdale at a recent Pasadena memorabilia show appeared before a U.S. magistrate in Los Angeles on Tuesday for a bail hearing on an unrelated fraud charge in Texas.

The sports memorabilia promoter who has been accused of bilking celebrities and businessmen of more than $100,000 at a recent Pasadena show was arrested Friday night on an unrelated fugitive warrant for fraud. A man Pasadena police identified as Paul Hammack who, under the name of Ernest E. Dent, staged the controversial "Baseball Legends" card and collectibles show, was arrested at his rented Glendale townhouse on a 5-year-old Texas charge of defrauding a Laredo man of about $70,000.

One of the organizers of a recent Pasadena sports memorabilia show that led to allegations that sports celebrities and small businesses were bilked of more than $100,000 said Wednesday that he was not involved in any wrongdoing and did not know the whereabouts of the show's principal promoter, Ernest Dent. West Virginia officials, meanwhile, said Dent was involved in a failed business venture that was accused of misusing federal and state job training funds in that state.

A sports promoter accused of writing bad checks to baseball players, including Mickey Mantle, Steve Garvey and Don Drysdale, withdrew his guilty plea Friday in his fraud case. Paul Howard Hammack, 44, is charged with 19 felonies and one misdemeanor stemming from a memorabilia show he staged at the Pasadena Center in 1990. Prosecutors said celebrities and collectors lost more than $200,000 after Hammack allegedly wrote bad checks and failed to return signed memorabilia. Deputy Dist. Atty.

A major sports memorabilia show's organizer was under investigation by Pasadena policeMonday as more than a dozen sports stars, including Mickey Mantle, Don Drysdale and Ernie Banks, complained that they were bilked of tens of thousands of dollars. Half a dozen businesses involved with the three-day "Baseball Legends" show at the Pasadena Center Sept. 7-9 also have told The Times they were owed thousands of dollars more for their services.