Norberto Susini has told people that he was Alex Rodriguez’s nephew for years – a familial link that was called into question after Susini was abducted Wednesday.
Susini allegedly was held hostage by two men after a deal to sell a Lamborghini went bad. The first reports of the crime noted Susini’s connection to Rodriguez.
But a person close to Rodriguez with direct knowledge of his family tree told USA TODAY Sports that the former New York Yankees slugger and Susini aren’t related. The person, who was granted anonymity, was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Butch Russo, the general manager of the Utica (N.Y.) Blue Sox, told USA TODAY Sports that when he met Susini in 2010 he was introduced as the nephew of Rodriguez by another player on the team.
“He told me that the fee to play here in Utica, we are a college (summer league) team, came form his uncle, A-Rod. He went into New York on his off days and said he was out there meeting with family. I saw a picture with his father and A-Rod together.”
Russo said he’s been in regular contact with Susini in recent years as Susini bounced around independent leagues along with stints in Mexico and the Dominican Republic last year. In those conversations, Russo said that Susini mentioned money issues.
“I remember asking him, ‘Why isn’t A-Rod helping you out?’ ” Russo said. “He said he never hit it off with A-Rod and hadn’t talked in a while. That’s what he’d tell me.”
Russo said Susini explained his relationship with Rodriguez may not have been that of a blood-related uncle and nephew.
"He's not Alex's nephew,” Joe Dunand, Rodriguez’s half-brother, told The New York Daily News. "He has nothing to do with him.
The New York Daily News reported Susini is the son of Rodriguez’s brother’s late wife and another man she met before marrying the brother.
"It's only a story because they want to attach Alex's name to him," Dunand said. "I don't know what that kid does with his nights. Alex is not responsible for him.”
Susini, 29, can be seen in a video seated a few feet from Rodriguez when Dunand’s son, who goes by the same name, was drafted by the Miami Marlins last year.
Susini posted a picture of Dunand signing with the Marlins on his Instagram account, where he described Dunand as his “baby brother.”
Susini, a native of Miami, attended Odessa (Texas) College and participated in rookie ball for the Seattle Mariners in 2011. He then spent five seasons playing for various independent league teams (2012-2016) and played in the Dominican Republic and Mexico last year.
NYPD spokesperson Sophia T. Mason told USA TODAY Sports that Lamin Vucetovic, 33, and Anthony Gilkes, 30, were arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment after they held Susini captive at a New York hotel. Mason said Rodriguez’s name did not appear in any of the documents related to the arrest.
According to public records, Susini has a farily lengthy criminal record in Florida with multiple arrests, including vehcle title fraud, auto theft and dealing stolen property.
