Posted on 02/07/2006 3:18:59 PM PST by wouldntbprudent
EWING, N.J. (AP) - Wayne Gretzky's wife and about a half-dozen NHL players placed bets - but not on hockey - with a nationwide sports gambling ring financed by Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet, authorities said Tuesday.
Gretzky, hockey's greatest player, is in his first season coaching the Coyotes and is a part-owner of the team.
Actress-wife Janet Jones was among those implicated, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because no bettors have been publicly identified.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.foxsports.com ...
NHL Assistant Is Cited as Head of Betting Ring
By Richard Lezin Jones
WEST TRENTON, N.J., Feb. 7
A former National Hockey League player who now coaches alongside Wayne Gretzky faces charges of financing a multimillion-dollar sports gambling ring. The authorities said the ring had links to organized crime and clients that included at least a half-dozen current or ex-players.
The accusations were revealed Tuesday by New Jersey law enforcement officials. They said that Rick Tocchet, who played for 18 seasons in the N.H.L., had organized the ring with the help of a New Jersey state trooper, James J. Harney, who investigators said accepted bets while on patrol.
Mr. Tocchet, 41, is an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes, where he works for Mr. Gretzky, a longtime friend who is the team's head coach and a part owner. Mr. Gretzky, the N.H.L.'s career scoring leader and an icon in the sport, was not linked to the ring.
But the authorities said that a "movie celebrity" had placed wagers with Mr. Tocchet's operation. A lawyer for Mr. Harney, Craig R. Mitnick, said that the celebrity was Janet Jones, the wife of Mr. Gretzky and an actress. Two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that Ms. Jones was among those implicated.
Investigators did not name the hockey players who were suspected of involvement. They said that they were continuing to interview players and that they had collected no evidence so far that players had wagered on any hockey games or that the outcomes of games had been fixed.
The accusations resulted from a four-month investigation, Operation Slapshot, by the New Jersey State Police. The ring took in more than $1.7 million on 1,000 wagers during a recent 40-day period, said Col. Joseph R. Fuentes, the superintendent of the State Police.
He said that the operation had ties to organized crime figures in Philadelphia and South Jersey and that most of the betting was on football and basketball at the professional and college level.
The investigation comes at a crucial time for the N.H.L., which has embarked on an aggressive public relations campaign after a bitter labor dispute that led to the cancellation of the 2004-5 season. The league's deputy commissioner, Bill Daly, said in statement that even if players did not bet on league games, "it in no way justifies poor judgment or otherwise alleged inappropriate conduct." He added, "We take this issue very seriously and will monitor the proceedings closely."
Speaking to reporters after the Coyotes' practice Tuesday morning in Arizona, Mr. Tocchet confirmed that he had received a criminal summons.
"It's a football-related issue, not hockey-related," he said, according to The East Valley Tribune. He declined to comment further.
Mr. Tocchet was served with a criminal complaint Monday and was expected to travel from his Arizona home to answer charges of promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy, Colonel Fuentes said. A criminal complaint informs an individual of the authorities' intention to charge him and the need for him to arrange to travel to appear for formal charges or face arrest.
Officials said that they expected Mr. Tocchet to surrender in the next several days. He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Mr. Tocchet was not behind the bench for the Coyotes' home game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. He was flying to New York to meet with N.H.L. Commissioner Gary Bettman, the Coyotes said.
Mr. Gretzky acknowledged that the charges were serious. "It's a situation that, obviously, concerns the organization at this point," he said. "Everyone in the world is innocent until proven guilty."
After Tuesday night's game in Glendale, Ariz., Mr. Gretzky said he would not comment on his wife's purported role.
"Listen, first of all, my wife is my best friend, so my love for her is deeper than anything," he said. "The reality is, I'm not involved. I wasn't involved. I'm not going to be involved."
Colonel Fuentes said that players who had placed bets wagered almost exclusively on football and basketball. One investigator left open the possibility that players had bet on hockey, which would violate N.H.L. policy.
"We're looking at professional athletes in the National Hockey League, and of course there are other bettors, but you can understand I can't release their identities at this time," Colonel Fuentes said, adding that more charges were possible.
He did not rule out the possibility that investigators might learn that the outcomes of games had been fixed.
"We haven't seen that in our investigation to date," Colonel Fuentes said. "Whether that would come to light in any future investigation remains to be seen. We can simply connect them from the Philly mob to this book-making enterprise."
The State Police opened its investigation in October after receiving a tip that the trooper, Mr. Harney, was suspected of involvement in a gambling operation. Mr. Harney, 40, has been a trooper for eight years. He was arrested late Monday and charged with official misconduct, promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy. Officers who searched Mr. Harney's home in Marlton, N.J., said they found $27,000 in cash, Rolex watches worth $250,000 and nine plasma television sets, including two in a bathroom.
Mr. Harney, who has an annual salary of $89,000, has been suspended without pay. He was released on $100,000 bail and could face 10 to 20 years in prison if convicted of money laundering and another 10 years if convicted of official misconduct.
Mr. Mitnick, the lawyer for Mr. Harney, said his client was "shell-shocked." He added: "His record has been impeccable, as a human being and as a trooper. It's too premature to say where this will go."
Investigators said they had enlisted another state trooper to place a bet with Mr. Harney. Over the course of several months, they said, they pieced together what they believed to be a large gambling network headed by Mr. Tocchet and Mr. Harney.
"In his role in this gambling enterprise, Tocchet received illegal sports wagers from bettors and forwarded winnings and losses to Harney from Arizona to New Jersey," Colonel Fuentes said.
Officials said that Mr. Tocchet and Mr. Harney met about eight years ago, when Mr. Tocchet played for the Philadelphia Flyers and Mr. Harney worked as a bartender.
Mr. Tocchet played in the N.H.L. with Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, Phoenix. He returned to Philadelphia, where he spent his final three seasons before retiring in the 2001-2 season.
Mr. Tocchet and Mr. Gretzky were teammates with the Los Angeles Kings from 1994 to 1996. It is widely believed that Mr. Tocchet is being groomed to be Mr. Gretzky's coaching successor, when Mr. Gretzky decides to step down. When Mr. Gretzky briefly left the Coyotes in late December to be with his ailing mother, Phyllis, who died of cancer on Dec. 19, Mr. Tocchet served as the Coyotes' head coach.
Scott Gomez, a center for the Devils, praised Mr. Tocchet as an individual and professional. "He's a great guy," Mr. Gomez said. "He's as good as they come for the game. He's one of those old-school guys who makes things better for the young guys."
The police also announced the arrest of James A. Ulmer, who is 40 and lives in Swedesboro, N.J. They accused Mr. Ulmer of being a low-level member of the operation.
Zulima V. Farber, the state's attorney general, attended a news conference to announce the investigation Tuesday.
"We will not stand for official corruption, no matter where it's found," she said. "Even among our own."
Gambling scandals have periodically intersected with professional sports, perhaps most notably when eight players on the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series against Cincinnati. The National Football League, the National Basketball Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association have all confronted the issue as well.
And Pete Rose didn't bet on baseball.
This guy sounds dumber than a bag of rocks. Perhaps it never occurred to him that there's a good reason why he's going to see NHL commissioner Gary Bettman instead of NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue over this.
Thanks, AC. NO mention here in Phoenix yet of the NJ connection. Tocchet was recalled to Phoenix by Bettman's office for a meeting, and wasn't on the bench for the Coyote's game last night. He might have seen his last game as a coach.
Weel we knew that tool sold out to something I guess now we know why...
FYI -- One of the other names that surfaced in connection to this gambling operation is Jeremy Roenick.
JR was also in Philly for a spell.
Oh come on now, what's the big deal? It was Gretzky's wife, not Gretzky himself. She's..... an avid sports fan! Yeaah, THAT'S the ticket! Sheeeeee, didn't place any bets for Wayne, why would anyone think THAT?! Yeaaaahhh, sheeee even picked the SEAHAWKS! Yeahhh, Wayne would never have bet on the Seahawks, yeah... THAT'S the ticket!
You are exactly right. If they can't tax it, it has no right to exist especially now that the states have taken over the mob's former position in running all the gambling. There will be no competition.
ummm read the story.
This involved a NJ State trooper and numerous crime families in Philly and New Jersey...
this is bigger than Gretzky's wife....
Hey Wayne, go tell that to the Islamofascists.
If they can prove that the greatest hockey player in the history of the game was sending his wife out to do his illegal betting, the press won't care what crime families were involved.
maybe, but I doubt it.
Wayne and his wife are completely different. Wayne is, in fact, a conservative. NOt that it matters if he did anything, but I doubt he did.
But there are bigger fish involved here that Gretzky's wife. There MIGHT be some NHL players involved as well. Not good for Hockey either way.
Then the press will have a field day. And they'll go completely bonkers if and when they find out the Gretzky's donated any possible illegal gambling money to the Bush campaign or other Republican candidates. AND... did the Gretzky's give any money to John McCain out there in Arizona? They are searching for their ammo as we speak to defend Barak Obama. Can we link McCain to organized crime families in New Jersey and New York?!
You see how this works?
Is it me or does it look like someone inserted a cereal bowl under her chest?
It's you.
(grin) No, you're right, of course. As you probably know, guys are suckers.
Gretzky is a Canadian. I kinda doubt he donated ANY money to the Republicans.
The irony with the money being funneled back to New Jersey is that you can legally bet on sports at the casinos in Atlantic City.
Always a big Richard Crenna fan.
It may not be good for the NHL's image, but this really isn't good for America's justice system if one gman is breaking an unjust law and other gmen are arresting him for breaking an unjust law.
The strongest argument in my mind is that gambling shouldn't be a crime and the gmen should be solving or preventing crimes where there's actually a victim. If the gmen are able to get a conviction against that crime family for a crime that actually harmed someone, then great, but it shouldn't involve convicting anyone for betting on sports.
I don't think the gambling is the problem, but what was going on AFTER the gambling....
More or less the gambling brought in a bunch of other stuff like money laundering, crime families, RICO problems, etc, along with a bit of corruption by a NJ state policeman.
Think about it this way. Say Tocchet does get down a bit. Sure they WEREN'T betting on hockey now, but who's to say that he wouldn't if he was down? If someone was putting pressue on him? Maybe he wouldn't bet on his team, but he might put some information out there that wasn't known.
it would compromise the game. The NHL doesn't need that. That's why the NHL and the rest of the sports world is in a bit of a frenzy over this.
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