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The man who traded Wayne Gretzky, Peter Pocklington, pleaded guilty to perjury last week in a Southern Calif. bankruptcy case. The “Great One” trade was 1988 and Pocklington was the owner of the Edmonton Oilers. By 1998, he was no longer the owner of the team and by 2008 he’d found himself in hotter water than he was 20 years earlier with Oilers fans.
Pocklington, who filed for bankruptcy in ’08, claimed debts of $19.6 million and assets of $2,900. Not $2.9 million, $2,900. Pocklington, who failed to mention his two bank accounts and two storage facilities, was arrested at his Palm Desert home in March 2009 on allegations he concealed assets during bankruptcy proceedings. FBI agents that raided his home found $2,000 in cash along with artwork and Cuban cigars.
Here’s the twist: Pocklington says his guilty plea is his lawyer’s fault. “Unfortunately, the lawyer I hired to do the original case is what caused all the problems,” Pocklington said after his plea. “He said, ‘sign here,’ and I did, and unfortunately he left a multitude of things out.”
The owner whose team hoisted the Stanley Cup five times during his tenure was also not impressed by the jury. “Unfortunately the jury pool is not a jury of your peers; it’s a jury of some of them unemployed, some of them that aren’t particularly bright….And of course with the press and so on, and in this country (the USA) and Canada they seem to hate anyone that has been successful.”
Pocklington, 68, avoided a possible 10-year prison term for making false statements under oath in bankruptcy by pleading guilty. The agreement also stipulates that he make full restitution, which includes paying back nearly $13 million in loan money that the Alberta government claims it loanded to Pocklington’s meatpacking company in 1988.
Source: Associated Press
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Matthew Coller is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, and is a freelance writer. He can be followed on Twitter
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