college boys in a rushed but fertile meeting in the Veterans Stadium parking lot.
He got $160. They got two tickets.
Perhaps the IRS would not condone such a tax-free transaction, but this is the '90s and Martinez was open about his business - as long as there were no pictures.
He's a stocky guy, in denim and an earring and John Kruk haircut. He was wearing a Phillies cap - a business expense, really - to present a homier appearance to potential customers.
He scampered about the parking lot chattering, "Selling tickets, selling tickets," the way a shortstop peppers the opposition: "Hey, batter, hey, batter."
Martinez says he acquires tickets from various sources - including a network of people around the country who buy them on his behalf and, in some cities, box-office contacts.
Scalping, of course, is illegal, and Martinez carried on his sales last night against a backdrop of announcements by Vet management that fans caught with scalped tickets would be ejected.
Martinez says he is saving money to start a restaurant, but he doesn't save money the conventional way. He says he made $20,000 scalping tickets at the All-Star Game in Baltimore, and when you start depositing such big sums into a bank account, the IRS tends to ask questions. So he hands his money to a bookie, who takes 25 percent.
"It's a lot, I know," he said of the percentage, "but I can't hold on to money too good, you know, with the girls and the clothes."
Such spending habits are hardly surprising for a man of his worldliness. He has scalped in Barcelona for the Olympics, in Toronto for the World Series, and routinely hits Los Angeles, New York, Washington and occasionally London.
With the playoffs underway in both Chicago and Philadelphia, Martinez opted to bring his financial services here. It was a sound business decision.
"Chicago's tougher," he said. "If the cops don't get you, the gangs will."
