NHL Hitman??

ESPN had a 3-minute segment about the whole situation (I don't want to say affair) on SportsCenter this morning. No mention of lovers. They did, however, make the target, David Frost, out to be a complete monster. According to the segment, the guy is completely domineering, psychologically "owning" him since his junior hockey days. According to Danton's uncle, he couldn't even talk to Danton on the phone without going through Frost, and even then it was never a private conversation.

No matter which way you look, this is a seriously messed up situation.

The segment was also on NHL Tonight last night. Jeremy Schaap '91 was the lead reporter for the segment. I wound up feeling both sympathy and sorrow for Danton, who, based upon the interviews they showed, was portrayed as being totally dominated and brainwashed by Frost. Frost, by the way, had been Danton's assistant coach at age 15 and then wound up being Danton's agent.

I noticed that cnn.com had something else posted about this:

[www.cnn.com]

Check this out: [www.tsn.ca]

[Q]FBI: Wolfmeyer had chances to get out


Associated Press



9/8/2004

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - Katie Wolfmeyer's best friend staunchly defended her Wednesday at the 19-year-old's trial on murder-for-hire charges.



Katie Gruenloh, who was called to the stand by the prosecution, said she's known Wolfmeyer for about eight years. ``The girl wouldn't hurt a fly,'' Gruenloh said under cross-examination by Wolfmeyer's lawyers.



FBI agent Martin Feely said just the opposite in his testimony - that Wolfmeyer had plenty of chances to distance herself from former pro hockey player Mike Danton's plot to hire a hit man, but failed to do so.



Wolfmeyer, who lives in the St. Louis suburb of Florissant, faces conspiracy charges in federal court for her alleged role in a scheme by the former St. Louis Blues player to kill his agent, David Frost.





Danton and Frost had allegedly quarrelled over Danton's promiscuity and alcohol use, with Danton fearing Frost would go to Blues management and ruin his career.



Danton pleaded guilty in July to a charge of conspiracy to commit murder in July. He will be sentenced in October.



During her testimony, Gruenloh described Wolfmeyer as a young woman enthralled by attention from a professional hockey player. Gruenloh said Wolfmeyer had a boyfriend of about two years, Jason Spafford, but began flirting with Danton while Wolfmeyer worked at the Blues' practice rink.



Gruenloh said Wolfmeyer told her when the relationship with Danton became intimate, less than a week after she met the player. Gruenloh said that not long afterward, she and Wolfmeyer watched Danton practise at a mall rink and had lunch with him in the food court.



That day, she learned a little about Danton's close, but unconventional, relationship with his agent. She said Danton showed them photos from his wallet, including one of two little boys he called his children. Gruenloh said Danton then told them the truth. ``He said `They're not mine, they're my agent's kids,''' Gruenloh said.



She said Wolfmeyer also told her Danton got upset when he felt Frost called him too often, and apparently told Wolfmeyer he couldn't see her while his agent was in town, because he wasn't supposed to fraternize with people who worked at the rink.



Wolfmeyer's best friend also recounted how she and Wolfmeyer made T-shirts that said ``We want Danton'' on them, which they wore to a Blues game on April 13, the night before the alleged plot was hatched.



She said Wolfmeyer was selected to play a game while in the Blues audience and appeared on a large screen in her homemade Danton shirt. ``What do you want him to do, score some goals?'' an announcer asked Wolfmeyer about her shirt when a tape of the appearance played in court. ``Yeah, and he's also hot. He's gorgeous,'' a clearly excited Wolfmeyer said.



``I hope you meet Mr. Danton at some time in the future,'' the announcer then tells Wolfmeyer, who was already having a secret relationship with him.



Frost spotted Danton with Wolfmeyer later that night, upsetting Frost, Gruenloh said. She said Danton asked Wolfmeyer who she'd told about them, since his agent saw them together and became agitated.



He also would not give Wolfmeyer his phone numbers, and called or e-mailed her when he wanted to reach her, Gruenloh said.



On Thursday, Danton's would-be hit man in the scheme, Justin Levi Jones, is scheduled to testify. He is a police dispatcher in Columbia, Ill., who became an FBI informant after learning about the plot.



Working with the FBI, he wore a wire and brought a disabled gun with him to Danton's apartment complex the night Danton wanted the hit.



Wolfmeyer provided directions and a detailed description of Danton's apartment while she and Jones were in the car, even after he told her he had a gun.



``She had an opportunity when Levi said he'd gone to pick up a gun to say, `What, are you crazy? I don't want any part of this,''' FBI Special Agent Martin Feely testified.



Feely rejected the suggestion that the FBI could have let her off the hook by telling her they were on to Danton's plan and asking for her co-operation. He said agents were concerned that she might tip off Danton.



``If we'd just gone after Danton, we would have missed one of the other conspirators in the plan,'' Feely said.



Lawyers said Wolfmeyer was hanging out with Gruenloh, Jones and another young man, Collin Caywood, on April 14 when she received a phone call from Danton, who was with the Blues in California for a playoff game.



According to the tapes, Wolfmeyer said Danton asked if she knew someone ``who would do anything for a friend,'' a person who would help him out.



U.S. Attorney Stephen Clark said Wolfmeyer gave the cellphone to Jones, whom she had just met, and Danton asked him about arranging a killing.



Also Wednesday, Blues right-winger Mark Rycroft appeared briefly in court to go over phone records. He roomed with Danton while the team was in California.[/Q]

I wonder if he wrote this, or if his lawyers did. Beeeej, you have any ideas? It sounds heartfelt...

[www.tsn.ca]

[Q]11/8/2004

Mike Danton spoke to TSN via telephone on Monday. This is a transcript of his statement:

Before I say my press release, there's something I need to say to set the record straight.

There was never a time that I spoke with any of the Blues teammates or anyone else for that matter about switching agents, firing agents, or anything of that sort. Every player will attest to that and it is a completely false statement from someone that is sick and not well himself. So, I just wanted to clear that up.

As for my press release, I would like to thank the following people from the bottom of my heart, for sticking by me during the gruelling period in my life and for all their love and support. Dave, Bridgette and the kids, Sheldon, Jackie, Larry, Michelle, Adam, Brad, Jen, Shawn, Darryl, Bill, Neery and Dan.

Also, I would like to thank my numerous other friends for their kind words and support. Additionally I would like to thank the countless Blues fans for all the letters of support that I received. To them, I would like to say I loved playing in St. Louis as much as they seemed to love having me there. Furthermore, I would like to extend my thanks to my teammates for sticking up for me in what must have been a very difficult time for them as well. I hope that you remember me for the competitor that I was on the ice every night while playing along side of you. I truly loved being a part of the team in St. Louis.

I want to say to everyone that I will continue to work with my doctors in getting back to full mental, emotional and physical health. With a clear healthy mind, my doctor's believe that, if given the opportunity, I will be able to become an even better player, playing the game I love with a clear and healthy conscious. My life is very personal to me and I will continue to get better. My closest friends and doctors are the only ones that know exactly what I've gone through.

Some of the media's absolutely unfair and, more importantly, completely false spin of their stories have amplified this situation. Make no mistake, any media member that has been seduced by other individuals lies has mistakenly aligned themselves with preserving a false perspective on the truth of the matter.

I ask for you to be patient and allow some time for the truth to be conveyed. There is much that cannot be said at the moment, however I will follow through to the fullest of informing those interested in the truth of my situation. Saying that, please allow me some time to further heal myself and respect the fact that I'm putting my health ahead of everything else at the moment.[/Q]

[q]Some of the media's absolutely unfair and, more importantly, completely false spin of their stories have amplified this situation. Make no mistake, any media member that has been seduced by other individuals lies has mistakenly aligned themselves with preserving a false perspective on the truth of the matter. [/q]

I don't know about the entire thing being written by lawyers, but one paragraph certainly was.

Or by a PR person.

[Q]Jordan 04 Wrote:

Some of the media's absolutely unfair and, more importantly, completely false spin of their stories have amplified this situation. Make no mistake, any media member that has been seduced by other individuals lies has mistakenly aligned themselves with preserving a false perspective on the truth of the matter. [/Q]
I don't know about the entire thing being written by lawyers, but one paragraph certainly was.[/q]

If a lawyer wrote that, it was a lawyer who doesn't know grammar or punctuation very well. Not that this isn't a distinct possibility, of course.

Beeeej

 

___________________________
Beeeej, Esq.

"Cornell isn't an organization. It's a loose affiliation of independent fiefdoms united by a common hockey team."
- Steve Worona