Then his father's bank and several other lenders sued him. Del Biaggio filed for bankruptcy. And his wife filed for divorce. Del Biaggio, who has pleaded to a federal fraud charge, is scheduled to be sentenced in July to at least 6 1/2 years in prison.
Del Biaggio's fraud of more than $100 million is not in the league of the billions stolen by Bernie Madoff, but his greed has devastated his victims.
6 months ago
James Mirtle
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(and this is the type of owner that Gary approves of…)
"Without good hard work, it is impossible to reach the pinnacle of success." - Anatoli Tarasov
by PRC on May 15, 2009 3:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Again with this.
Based on the deal that Boots had with Nashville, he was nothing more than a financier for the franchise. He had no control, no say, no nothing. That is how the NHL would hav been entitled to look at him, since he had no obligation to provide operating capital or anything to do with the actual ongoing financial wellbeing of the franchise. It would be akin to looking at whether one wants a franchise to accept a loan from a bank.
The NHL asked him for certification of his wealth. He provided fraudulent information with the cooperation of a crook at a financial institution. here is a wake-up call: if you have a way to get a guy at a financial institution to turn crooked, anyone can fool anyone. Witness Boots, in fact, as he used the same information to bilk a series of banks whose very BUSINESS is tied up in checking out prospective borrowers. The NHL’s due diligence would only require that he had the money in his bank account. this they did. They didn’t lose any $.
by Gerald on May 15, 2009 5:34 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
That’s all fair.
What isn’t mentioned however is that Boots had a plan designed to flip the franchise to a Kansas City group. Was he really less nefarious about moving the team than Balsillie? Or was the fact AEG and Leipold were giving Boots money something the league should have known about?
Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com
by James Mirtle on May 15, 2009 7:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
For sure it is something they should have known about.
To say Boots “had a plan” is about the same as saying I have a plan to flip the franchise. Based on the documents that were publicly made available, both had an exactly equal chance of coming to fruition. Boots did not have the contractual ability to do so unless every one of the Nashville owners went bankrupt.
I would not quibble about whether Boots was less nefarious. Boots’ nefariousaciousness is well documented. i am not sure JB would appreciate you comparing his nefarious quotient to boots.
by Gerald on May 16, 2009 11:59 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Balsillie’s motives and intentions have been well known since the beginning of this mess. He’s done with the backroom dealings.
Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com
by James Mirtle on May 16, 2009 12:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
“Del Biaggio’s application received the normal level of due diligence done on investments of the same size,‘’ said NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly. "Del Biaggio was not given any special treatment.’’
“The situation was unfortunate and regrettable, but it has not had a huge effect on the league or how we conduct business,’’ Daly said.
Are you kidding me? Wouldn’t someone want to tighten up the “normal level of due diligence” to prevent a similar fiasco in the future?
by hockeycountry on May 16, 2009 5:50 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
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