by: Mike Miller
7/14/2017

Not wanting to sound biased, it might be best not to befriend an exotic dancer when you have thousands of dollars in jewelry and cash in your hotel room. This is true even for your favorite stripper!

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman defected to the United States from Cuba a couple of years ago. The naïve young lad chose to pitch for the Cincinnati Reds instead of a major powerhouse because he liked their uniforms. He could have received millions more from another team like the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox. Even the Chicago Cubs would have paid seven figures for an arm that can throw over 100 miles per hour!

Instead Chapman found himself robbed of $6,000 worth of goods after befriending an exotic dancer. The stripper in question, one Claudia Manrique has been charged with filing a false police report about a robbery at the downtown Pittsburgh hotel room of Chapman.

Chapman arranged for Manrique, an exotic dancer he had met earlier this year, to fly to Pittsburgh in May. The Reds were in town for a series with the Pirates at the time.

Manrique lied when she claimed she was tied up in Chapman's hotel room by an unknown assailant who made off with about $6,000 in jewelry and other items.

Manrique first told police the man showed up at the room pretending to be a maintenance man who was there to fix the toilet, but she later changed her story, saying she first encountered the man in a downtown drug store and he later showed up at Chapman's room seeking a bag filled with more than $200,000 in jewelry.

No matter the story, Manrique is a confirmed liar and most likely guilty of theft and abetting a theft. She and her accomplice will need a Pennsylvania theft class and counseling when all is said and done.