Teenager Charged With Falsely Obtaining Media Credentials

Eighteen-year-old Ryan Leli has been criminally charged with “using a fake ID to dupe [Mets] officials into giving him media credentials that allowed him full access to Shea Stadium” during an August 10 game against the Padres, according to Deborah Morris of NEWSDAY. Leli, using a fake NBC identification card made on his computer, was seen “displaying the credentials inside the Padres clubhouse and approaching players ... before and after the game.” A source said that he “had to be escorted from the clubhouse after that game because he had exceeded the time allotted for player interviews.” Leli was arrested when he presented the fake ID for credentials for Rockies-Mets Friday night (NEWSDAY, 8/20). Mets VP/Media Relations Jay Horwitz said that the Padres complained after the game “about a reporter’s ‘unprofessional behavior toward [C Mike Piazza].’” The team called NBC to inquire about Leli, and the net claimed never to have heard of him. Horwitz said that the team “did not have immediate plans to upgrade security procedures but added, ‘If people want to do that, they’re not getting a slap on the wrist. They’re going to jail’” (N.Y. POST, 8/20).