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Man who broke Expos’ fans heart Trump’s man in France?

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“Weasel.”

And that was one of the more flattering descriptions of former Montreal Expos owner Jeffrey Loria, 76, who many fans blame for the team moving to Washington.

In the chubby art dealer’s wake, he left a lot of broken hearts who long for the day when MLB returns.

Now, President Donald Trump appears ready to appoint Loria his ambassador to France.

“He’s a weasel, everyone in Montreal hates him,” longtime Expos fan Bill Bailey told The Toronto Sun. “He never put a dime into the Expos, the team or a new stadium - and he ripped off Miami too.”

Bailey - who lives in Belleville - adds: “They should never have let that guy into the league.”

Loria - who made his millions selling jewelry - is equally hated in Miami where fans took to social media to lambaste him there, as well.

In Miami, he wangled a billion-dollar stadium out of taxpayers and then had a fire sale of the team’s stars.

The longtime Republican donated $125,000 to Trump’s campaign but more importantly he’s on the cusp of selling the Marlin’s to Ivanka Trump’s father-in-law.

Pricetag: A reported $1.6 billion.

But getting confirmed may be another matter as the Trump White House battles over the appointments process.

According to the New York Post, Chief of staff Reince Priebus has reportedly been circumventing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is supposed to have the final say.

“The people Reince has put up are problematic as hell,” a State Department official told the Post.

“Eventually, what Reince is doing has to be squared with process and reality. I’m not sure the White House is exactly stoked about this as they dig deeper into the background of these people.”

Loria purchased the Expos for just $12 million, sold off the team’s stars, didn’t pursue TV and radio deals and attendance slid.

He sold the team back to baseball and was given the greenlight to purchase the Marlins. The Expos staggered out of Montreal in 2004.

The Miami New Times has called Loria’s baseball dealings a “Ponzi scheme.”

Yahoo! baseball writer Jeff Passan went one step further: “Over the past 18 years ... Jeffrey Loria sprayed the stench of his naked greed across baseball like the skunk he is.”

 

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