LARGO, Fla. -- Ex-major league pitcher Mark Lemongello remained at large today on charges of kidnapping and robbery, but another suspect, Manuel Seoane, also an ex-major league pitcher, surrendered to deputies Tuesday night.
They are charged with abducting and robbing Lemongello's cousins - Mike and Peter Lemongello -- last Friday at a housing subdivision the brothers are developing north of St. Petersburg.
Seoane went to the sheriff's office with an attorney and after being booked was released on $10,000 bond.
Investigators said Tuesday that the kidnapping and robbery was the climax of a dispute between Lemongello, 26, and his cousins over a finder's fee for a home contruction job the brothers were doing for Houston Astros pitcher Joe Sambito.
Mike Lemongello, 37, is a former professional bowler, and Peter Lemongello, 34, is a former singer in Las Vegas, Nev., and the New York area. They now own Heron Development Co. and are building homes in the Feather Sound subdivision, starting at $150,000.
Detective Michael Hunter said that Sambito and a landscaper were at the home under construction at the time of the abduction. He said when the two suspects arrived and began fighting with the brothers, Sambito tried to intervene but backed away when Lemongello pointed a .32-caliber revolver at him.
'His life was threatened, so he backed off,' Hunter said.
When the suspects left with the cousins in a van, the landscaper called police.
Hunter said that while Peter was held in the van by Seoane, Mark accompanied Mike inside a bank where Mike was forced to withdraw 'more than $50,000' in cash from a safety deposit box.
Capt. Lou Kubler said that the brothers had offered Mark a $10,000 finder's fee but he wanted $45,000, claiming he had invested that much in the company.
After obtaining the money, Lemongello and Seoane are accused of taking the brothers to a wooded area north of St. Petersburg, where they were released.
Lemongello was a friend and Astros teammate of Sambito. He played with the Astros in 1976-78 and with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1979.
Seoane saw brief action with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1977, pitching six innings, and with the Chicago Cubs in 1978, pitching eight innings
