Posted on 04/22/2004 5:44:53 PM PDT by Pharmboy
ST. LOUIS (AP) - NHL tough guy Mike Danton relishes his role as the mouthy player who gets under his opponents' skin, racking up 141 minutes in the penalty box this season with the St. Louis Blues. But now he is behind bars, accused of trying to get someone to kill his agent, a man with a sinister reputation as a hockey-world Svengali.
The arrest last week has raised disturbing questions about both Danton and his agent, David Frost. Frost insists Danton never wanted him dead and is in dire need of counseling. Danton's estranged father blames Frost for his son's emotional problems.
The FBI brought the charges last Friday in East St. Louis, Ill., accusing Danton, 23, of trying to hire a hit man for $10,000 to kill someone at his suburban St. Louis apartment. The intended victim was not identified in court papers, but news reports citing unidentified law enforcement sources have said Frost was the target.
Danton and a woman authorities say helped him were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday of conspiring to arrange a murder for hire.
Danton wanted Frost dead because he feared Frost would ruin his career by telling the Blues front office about Danton's supposed "promiscuity and use of alcohol," according to the FBI.
Also arrested in the alleged plot was Katie Wolfmeyer, a 19-year-old who worked at a mall where the Blues have a practice rink. Authorities said Danton went to her for help in finding a killer, and she put him in touch with another man, unaware he was working for the FBI.
Danton allegedly told the informant that he wanted the killing to take place at his home April 15 - while Danton was in California - and he wanted it to look like a burglary gone bad.
Wolfmeyer was arrested hours later as she showed up with the informant at Danton's place, where Frost was said to be inside. Authorities caught up with Danton the next day in San Jose, Calif., where the Blues had just been bounced from the playoffs.
A federal prosecutor said Danton was being brought back to Illinois. His lawyer did not return calls for comment.
During a court appearance Monday, Wolfmeyer's attorney Donald Groshong called her "the real victim" and a "young girl smitten with a hockey player who lied to her." He did not elaborate.
Danton's involvement with Frost dates back a dozen years. Danton's father, Stephen Jefferson, introduced the boy to Frost. By the time Danton was 15, Frost was serving as the Ontario native's agent. In 1999, Jefferson called the agent "the best thing to ever happen to my kid."
But Jefferson claims it wasn't long before Frost took over the boy's life.
Some in Canada's hockey circles have cast Frost as a monster, a manipulator of young players, a cult leader whose disciples are often too afraid to speak out against him. John Gardner, head of the Greater Toronto Hockey League, told the Toronto Star this week that Frost "practiced mind control."
Frost used to be a coach but was suspended by two junior hockey leagues in Ontario in the mid-1990s, in one case because of his team's unruly play. In 1997, he pleaded guilty to a charge that he assaulted one of his players.
Others have said he was a positive influence when he coached, dutifully making sure his players did their schoolwork.
"I didn't come into this business to make friends," the Toronto Sun quoted him as saying in 1999. "I've heard the brainwash stuff, that I brainwash players. You know how crazy that is? If I was that smart, I would brainwash 20 of them and we would go win the Stanley Cup."
"I know I'm a rebel and an intimidating person," he said. But he added: "I don't care who I rub the wrong way. I'm not about to change. Not for anybody."
While playing in Canada, Danton was known to teammates as a quiet sort, who did not go out much, the Toronto Star said.
"He never (went) out to the bars, never saw him with anyone outside hockey," Ryan O'Keefe, a former Danton teammate with the Barrie Colts, told that newspaper. "I've known himself since I was a kid and basically his whole life revolves around hockey."
His biggest liability has been his mouth: He groused about playing time as a New Jersey Devils rookie in 2002 and was suspended for failing to report to the minors. He sat out most of the previous season, after a disagreement with the Devils management over the severity of an abdominal injury.
Between those seasons, Danton legally changed his name from Mike Jefferson, apparently to distance himself from his family.
After Danton's arrest, his father accused Frost of ruining Danton's life and driving a wedge between father and son. Frost countered by calling Jefferson a "village idiot."
Traded to the Blues last year, Danton this season had seven goals, 12 points and 141 penalty minutes - all career highs in 68 games. His work ethic was considered strong, his skill level moderate.
The 5-foot-9, 190-pound Danton played the role of the "agitator."
"I don't know a tougher guy than him. I don't know a guy that goes in the corner and gets killed and that will drop his gloves with a guy who's 40 pounds heavier in a flash," Blues forward Doug Weight said. "He's tough as nails."
AP-ES-04-22-04 1952EDT
Not to worry, dude! A professional athlete having sex and boozing a bit? No problem! Maybe its stricter in hockey than in basketball or football?
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