Almonte's father charged with falsifying document

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Danny Almonte's father was charged Tuesday with falsifying a birth certificate to make his son appear to be 12 when he actually was 14 -- and thus too old for Little League.

Felipe de Jesus Almonte "will be arrested as soon as he sets foot in this country," said Victor Romero, a public-records official in the Dominican Republic who determined the young pitcher's real age.

De Jesus, who is still in New York, faces three to five years in jail if convicted.

Danny's father has not made himself available to the media.

Also on Tuesday, school officials said Almonte was finishing seventh grade in the Dominican Republic up to June -- another reason he should not have qualified for Little League championships.

Almonte finished seventh grade June 15 at the Andres Bello Primary School, said Bolivar de Luna Gomez, vice principal of the school in Moca, a small farming town 90 miles north of Santo Domingo.

That would have prevented the boy from playing the required six Little League games to qualify for the championships.