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Whoa, check out that flock of birds. They're

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so synchronized. I wish we

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could be like that at work. Well then you should try monday.com.

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It's a work management platform. Yeah, it might ruffle

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Sounds like working together is no longer a

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get started for free. This

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episode of Swindled may contain graphic

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descriptions or audio recordings of

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disturbing events which may not be suitable

1:57

for all audiences. Listener discretion.

1:59

is advised. The

2:02

board unanimously approved the

2:05

recommendation of the expansion committee and

2:07

the plan of expansion over the next four years

2:09

will come to fruition. Nashville

2:12

will join the league in 1998-99.

2:15

In June 1997, National

2:18

Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman announced

2:21

that the league would expand to include a new team

2:23

based in Nashville, Tennessee, a

2:25

city synonymous with ice hockey. Nashville

2:28

had just built a new arena to attract

2:30

the NHL, the NBA, or both.

2:33

Wisconsin businessman Craig Leopold

2:36

jumped at the chance and signed the lease. The

2:38

Nashville Predators were born. And

2:41

now, just 16 months after

2:43

being awarded a franchise, Nashville

2:46

is ready to drop the puck.

2:47

I don't think you can describe this

2:50

emotionally because it has

2:53

been a labor of love for our entire

2:55

organization. Everyone

2:59

in our team is focused, and when I

3:01

say our team, I'm talking about the entire Predators'

3:04

staff. Everyone is focused

3:06

on one thing, and that's for making this

3:08

team happy. Like

3:12

most expansion teams in professional sports,

3:15

the Nashville Predators struggled at

3:17

first.

3:17

Ticket sales declined steadily

3:20

over the years after that initial excitement, and

3:22

just as the team was getting good, the labor

3:25

lockout canceled the 2004-2005 season, quashing whatever interest

3:30

lingered. I'm tired of

3:32

losing money, Predators owner Craig

3:34

Leopold said in 2007 after suffering an

3:37

estimated loss of $70 million

3:40

in the team's first 10 years. Behind

3:42

the scenes, Leopold had been searching for local

3:45

investors to share the bath and keep

3:47

the team in Nashville.

3:47

The Predators were good, they

3:50

were qualifying for the NHL Stanley

3:52

Cup playoffs seemingly every year, but

3:54

still, no interest and no luck.

3:58

I have come to the conclusion. I

4:00

cannot make it work," Craig Leopold

4:02

announced. It's painful to say that. As

4:05

hard as we had tried, and as good as a team

4:07

as we have, we are by far the

4:09

lowest revenue team. On

4:13

May 24, 2007, Craig Leopold announced

4:15

his agreement to sell the Nashville Predators

4:18

to Jim Bossili, the Canadian billionaire,

4:21

co-CEO of Research in Motion,

4:23

for $220 million. The

4:26

Predators were the second team Bossili

4:28

he had tried to buy in the past 12

4:29

months. It submitted an offer

4:32

for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2006, but

4:34

backed out after the league prevented him

4:37

from moving the team closer to his office in

4:39

Hamilton, Ontario. Naturally,

4:41

Predators fans were worried that Jim Bossili

4:43

would try to do the same thing to Nashville. In

4:46

less than a month after the agreement, Jim

4:48

Bossili made it clear that's exactly what

4:50

he planned to do. He renewed a lease

4:52

in Hamilton and started accepting deposits

4:54

for season tickets using the Predators' logo.

4:57

This was before any money had changed hands.

4:59

A total lack of NHL ownership

5:02

decorum. This upset Craig

5:04

Leopold, who canceled the deal. What

5:08

transpired after May 24 was

5:10

very unexpected. We certainly didn't

5:13

anticipate Jim Bossili renewing

5:15

an arena lease in Hamilton, Ontario, or

5:18

soliciting season ticket deposits

5:20

in Hamilton and using our logo

5:22

to do that, or

5:25

applying for an NHL relocation

5:27

of the franchise before applying

5:29

for ownership of a National Hockey League team.

5:33

Jim Bossili went in his own direction with

5:36

a rogue lawyer who had no intention

5:38

of honoring the process of being

5:40

an NHL owner. Obviously,

5:42

we didn't go forward, so we

5:44

began the process to find a new owner.

5:49

Predators fans rejoiced, but only momentarily.

5:52

Fans like Kansas City and Las Vegas were

5:54

reportedly desperate to get their hands on

5:56

an NHL franchise.

5:59

Fans discovered that the team couldn't break

6:02

their very expensive lease in Nashville.

6:04

It paid attendance averaged at least $14,000 per game. The

6:08

team averaged 200 shy of that number

6:10

the previous year. Maybe the Preds

6:12

could be saved after all, at least

6:15

temporarily. A coalition

6:17

of fans calling themselves our team

6:19

Nashville, organized with local sports

6:22

radio to plan a rally. The 15

6:24

hour ticket drive, if successful,

6:26

would make leaving the city difficult for the Predators

6:29

new owner,

6:29

whoever that may be. More

6:59

than 7,000 people,

6:59

including Tennessee's governor and

7:02

first lady, attended the rally.

7:04

The coalition exceeded its sales goal less

7:06

than halfway through the day. The Predators

7:08

would not be leaving Nashville any time

7:11

soon.

7:17

726 tickets

7:21

in one day is the single

7:23

biggest day since our opening day

7:25

sales event in September of 1997.

7:29

And I love the governor holding the sign,

7:32

get your damn hands off my team. Predators

7:36

fans received even better news the following

7:38

month. The Nashville owner Craig

7:40

Leopold has signed a letter of intent to sell

7:42

the Preds for about $193 million

7:45

to a group of eight, mostly local investors

7:47

who will keep the team in the music city. On

7:50

August 2, 2007, Craig

7:53

Leopold announced that he sold the Nashville Predators

7:55

for $193 million to a group of local investors.

7:59

by David Freeman, the CEO

8:02

of 36 Venture Capital. The

8:05

only partner from outside the Nashville

8:07

area was a man named William Del

8:09

Biaggio III, his friends

8:11

called him Boots. William

8:14

Del Biaggio was a 41-year-old venture

8:16

capitalist from San Jose, California,

8:19

the founder and CEO of Sand

8:21

Hill Capital. Business Insider

8:23

called him a quote, young financial

8:25

god. After he launched the fund with

8:27

money he saved from co-founding a bank with his father

8:30

when he was 20 years old.

8:32

Why didn't I think of that? To

8:34

his credit, Boots'

8:35

Silicon Valley Investment Fund

8:37

did perform well initially. But

8:40

rumor has it he was soon dipping into his own

8:42

pockets to cover Sand Hill's basic

8:44

operating expenses after the young

8:46

financial god made a bunch of bad bets

8:49

right before the tech market crash of 2000. Still,

8:53

the Del Biaggio family lived well in

8:55

San Jose and were well-liked.

8:57

Bootsy was a philanthropist just like

8:59

his old man. He had reportedly raised $400,000

9:02

for the American Heart Association by

9:05

having the singer seal perform on a

9:07

stage set up on the tennis court at the Del Biaggio's

9:10

home. It

9:11

was no secret that William Bootscoot

9:14

and Boogie Del Biaggio lacked the breast

9:16

shoulders with famous people, especially

9:18

those involved with hockey. He opened

9:20

a real estate investment fund with the owner of the

9:22

Los Angeles Kings

9:24

and his most frequent golf buddy was hockey

9:26

legend Mario Lemieux.

9:28

Del Biaggio and Lemieux also

9:30

went in together on a $2 million house

9:32

in Santa Monica, like friends often

9:34

do. Booty

9:36

boy met these people after he finally got

9:38

his chance to join the league in 2002.

9:40

William Del Biaggio purchased a 2% stake

9:43

in his hometown San Jose Sharks, which

9:45

he later sold to buy a larger piece

9:48

of the Nashville Predators five years later. Del

9:50

Biaggio's 26% share

9:52

of the Predators had cost $25 million, yet

9:56

taken out numerous loans totaling $45 million

9:58

to pay for his stake.

9:59

and other things.

10:02

As collateral for the loans, Del Biaggio

10:04

used statements for an account at Merriman-Kurten-Ford

10:07

Group, a brokerage firm in San Francisco

10:09

that showed he had a balance of $20 million in money

10:12

market funds. The only problem

10:14

was that neither those statements nor those

10:16

funds belonged to William Bootz Del

10:19

Biaggio. They belonged to unwitting

10:21

customers of Merriman-Kurten-Ford whose

10:23

information had been supplied to Del Biaggio

10:26

by a stockbroker at Merriman who owed him $2

10:28

million named David Caccioni.

10:31

Caccioni set the statements that listed accounts

10:33

worth tens of millions of dollars to Bootz who

10:35

doctored his name into the place of the rightful owners

10:38

and presented them to banks and NHL

10:40

owners like Craig Leopold to borrow

10:42

money to obtain ownership of an NHL

10:44

team.

10:45

And it worked. It wasn't until

10:47

a routine compliance audit of Merriman's accounts

10:49

in May 2008 that the SEC

10:52

discovered something was wrong.

10:54

After the scheme was uncovered, the banks who

10:56

loaned William Del Biaggio millions of dollars

10:58

on a fraudulent basis demanded repayment

11:01

immediately and filed lawsuits against

11:03

him,

11:03

including Heritage Bank of Commerce,

11:06

the bank of Bootz that co-founded with his

11:08

father. That same month,

11:10

William Del Biaggio resigned from his venture

11:12

capital firm for quote, personal reasons,

11:15

and filed for bankruptcy.

11:17

His wife divorced him, and

11:19

the SEC was digging into everything.

11:22

It was discovered that Bootz had also taken in $20

11:25

million of individual investments from

11:27

close friends and acquaintances in a Ponzi-style

11:29

scheme. Del Biaggio blew

11:32

the cash on his home mortgage and decorations,

11:34

massive credit card bills, and at least $4

11:37

million on gambling debts. But

11:39

he wasn't totally selfish. Del

11:41

Biaggio did invest some of his client's money

11:43

in stocks that tanked almost immediately.

11:46

He was absolutely ruthless. William

11:48

Barron, a real estate developer, told

11:50

the Mercury News. He would look in our eyes

11:52

and leave with our money.

11:56

William Bootz Del Biaggio III

11:58

was arrested on December 4th.

11:59

2008 and charged with

12:02

one count of securities fraud. A

12:04

separate criminal complaint filed by prosecutors

12:06

in the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco

12:09

says Del Biaggio obtained $100 million in

12:12

loans and loan guarantees from 13

12:14

banks and private lenders.

12:16

David Caccioni was also charged with one

12:18

count of securities fraud.

12:20

Both men pleaded guilty.

12:23

Caccioni was sentenced to five years in prison

12:26

and ordered to pay approximately $50 million

12:28

in restitution, primarily to

12:31

his former employer, Maryman Curtain Ford,

12:33

whose stock tanked after the scandal. William

12:36

Del Biaggio was sentenced to eight years

12:39

in prison and ordered to pay $67.4 million in restitution

12:43

to the banks, NHL owners, and personal

12:45

investors he ripped off. I'm

12:47

incredibly sorry, he said in court.

12:50

I can't begin to express how sad and

12:52

ashamed I am.

12:53

I'm losing sleep and I'm scared, and

12:56

I truly understand what the victims are going through.

12:59

There were so many investments and I

13:01

was under a lot of pressure.

13:03

I thought somehow I could pull it all together. I

13:05

was blinded by pride and ego.

13:10

In 2010, the Nashville

13:12

Predators consolidated ownership. The

13:14

local investment group that owned the team

13:17

bought the 26% stake held in

13:19

William Del Biaggio's bankruptcy estate

13:21

for $15.2 million, a

13:23

discount.

13:25

The

13:25

NHL was in a hurry to put the ordeal

13:28

behind them. It was embarrassing. The league

13:30

had failed to do its due diligence on a prospective

13:33

owner again.

13:34

That's right, believe it or not,

13:37

this was not the first time someone

13:39

successfully purchased an NHL team

13:42

with fraudulently obtained funds.

13:45

The savior of a beleaguered fan base

13:47

and franchise is exposed as

13:49

a phony on this episode of

13:51

Swindled.

14:00

and pay to play millions of taxpayer dollars

14:02

that were wasted and pay tens of millions

14:04

of dollars and billion dollars to

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hide the making of the right

14:09

to document records and in the soul

14:11

of some god of swing. Support

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15:40

The

15:43

Islanders have a new look for the upcoming season but

15:45

not much else. They lost goal score

15:47

a ray for an hour and free agent Steve Thomas

15:49

isn't likely to return. So the aisles are

15:52

focusing on the future. New York was the

15:54

second worst team in the NHL last season and used

15:56

their high draft pick to select Wade Bratton,

15:58

sophomore Brett Landry. return, bringing

16:01

power and size to the forward position, but

16:03

he's still very rough. New head

16:05

coach Mike Milbury is probably the most significant

16:08

addition he should improve the work ethic

16:10

of this young team.

16:16

By

16:16

the time the National Hockey League's

16:19

1995-96 season arrived, the

16:21

New York Islanders were a shell of the franchise

16:24

that had won four Stanley Cup championships

16:26

in a row in the early 80s. Those

16:28

teams were the pride of Long Island. Hall

16:31

of Famers like Clark Gillies, Mike

16:33

Bossie, Dennis Potvin, Brian

16:35

Trochier, and Billy Smith

16:38

fond and distant memories that only grew more

16:40

distant after each disappointing

16:42

season that followed.

16:45

By 95-96, the Islanders'

16:47

dynasty had been completely dismantled.

16:50

Injuries, trades, and roster mismanagement

16:52

had relegated the pride of Long Island to the

16:55

laughingstock of the league. The team

16:57

had rock bottomed a couple years earlier when

16:59

they were swept in humiliating fashion by

17:01

their hated rivals, the New York Rangers.

17:04

Legendary Islanders coach Al Arbor

17:07

retired that offseason.

17:09

In addition to the team falling apart, Nassau

17:12

Coliseum, where the Islanders played their

17:14

home games, was also falling apart. There

17:17

weren't enough concession stands or bathrooms to

17:19

accommodate even the sparse crowds that

17:21

still attended.

17:23

The venue's most modern features were the

17:25

trash cans used to collect the water

17:27

dripping from the ceiling.

17:29

There was no hope in sight. The

17:31

Islanders' penny-pinching owner, John

17:33

O. Pickett Jr., would not allocate

17:35

funds for improvements to the Coliseum nor

17:38

for better players for the team. Islanders

17:41

fans recognized the purgatory in which they found

17:43

themselves. Attendance dropped from $14,000

17:45

a game during the team's heyday to

17:48

less than $5,000.

17:50

The New York Islanders were losing $5-8 million annually. The

17:54

team's owner, John Pickett, was also

17:56

losing interest. He got remarried

17:58

and moved to Florida.

17:59

Leaving control of the islanders' day-to-day operations

18:03

to a group of local businessmen who owned

18:05

a minority stake, they were Robert

18:07

Rosenthal, Ralph Polsky, Paul

18:09

Greenwood, and Stephen Walsh. Fans

18:12

dubbed them the Gang of Four.

18:15

Eager to begin a new chapter in New York Islanders

18:18

hockey,

18:18

one of the Gang of Four's first orders of business

18:21

was to approve a uniform change, despite

18:24

a thousand fans signing a petition asking

18:26

them not to. The old

18:29

Islanders logo was simple,

18:30

timeless, a circle within orange

18:33

silhouette of Long Island in front of

18:35

a royal blue background with white lettering

18:38

the red N-Y, and the bottom of

18:40

the Y was a little hockey stick. To

18:42

Islanders fans, it was a reminder of

18:44

better times. For the Gang

18:46

of Four ownership group, it was a reminder

18:49

of the team's recent futility. The

18:51

Gang of Four wanted to put the past behind them.

18:54

At the same time, it would be an easy way for the

18:56

Islanders organization to make some additional

18:58

money. On

19:00

June 22nd, 1995, Stephen

19:03

Walsh, one of the Gang, unveiled

19:05

the New York Islanders' new uniforms. "'This

19:08

is Long Island, and this is a new

19:11

team,' he said. We also

19:13

are attuned to the winds of change, and quite

19:15

frankly, we believe the time for a new

19:17

uniform has come." Later

19:20

in the press conference, Stephen Walsh acknowledged

19:22

the reality of the professional sports business.

19:26

The reality is that merchandising is a major

19:28

part of the sports business, or the youngest

19:30

team in the league, which would give the guys a chance

19:33

to have their own identity. But I'd be lying

19:35

if I told you that increasing ourselves wasn't

19:37

the big part of our thinking. Our fanbase

19:40

is the kids growing up.

19:41

We have to reach them.

19:43

Other NHL teams had recent success

19:46

with re-brands and New Jersey's. The

19:48

Los Angeles Kings had changed their colors

19:50

from purple and gold to black and silver, but

19:53

they had just signed the greatest hockey player of all time,

19:55

Wayne Gretzky. The Mighty Ducks

19:57

of Anaheim were selling merchandise like crazy,

19:59

but

19:59

but they had a cute logo and were owned

20:02

by Disney. The new expansion

20:04

team, the San Jose Sharks, were also doing

20:06

quite well because people liked the design.

20:09

However, none of those teams really

20:12

had a legacy. Not like

20:14

the New York Islanders, whose front office

20:16

apparently did not have a clue at the time,

20:18

the team hired Sean Michael Edwards Design,

20:21

S.L.Mee, who had designed and redesigned

20:23

the branding for several professional sports teams.

20:26

The Islanders were living in the shadow of the Rangers.

20:29

S.L.Mee designer Ed O'Hara told Newsday,

20:31

we all agreed that a strengthened tie to Long Island

20:34

was important to keep the heritage of

20:36

the island and amplify it. Savvy

20:38

marketers will tell you to think locally.

20:42

The idea for the Islanders new branding

20:44

was inspired by Long Island's most famous

20:46

son, Billy Joel.

20:48

He released a song called Downeaster Alexa in

20:51

the late 80s about the plight of Long Island's

20:53

Baymen, the region's most recognizable

20:55

waning industry. The Baymen

20:58

were rugged and tough and intimidating,

21:00

perfect for a sports team's logo, some

21:03

may suggest. S.M.E.

21:05

Design submitted the New York Islanders new

21:07

logo to team executives during the 94-95 season.

21:11

It was a gray bearded, fierce looking

21:14

fisherman wearing a tail slicker

21:16

and a rain hat while brandishing a hockey

21:18

stick. It was different,

21:21

that's for sure.

21:23

The New York Daily News leaked images of

21:25

the new logo months before it was officially

21:27

unveiled.

21:28

The paper described it as quote, ''embarrassingly

21:31

reminiscent of the Gortons Fisherman.''

21:33

The advertising logo used on boxes of Gortons

21:36

frozen fish sticks. That was

21:38

a brutally accurate comparison. And

21:41

it was made worse in context with the rest

21:43

of the new uniform.

21:45

Gone were the traditional royal blue and orange

21:48

striped sweaters of seasons past. Now,

21:51

the Islanders jersey would feature a wave-like

21:53

striped pattern of teal, white, orange,

21:56

and gray. The names and numbers on the back

21:58

were distorted

21:59

lighthouse patches on both shoulders, just

22:02

in case the

22:03

nautical connection wasn't obvious enough.

22:06

The fan reception of the rebrand

22:08

was cold, as expected,

22:11

but Islanders executives knew that the new

22:13

identity would be embraced if the team was

22:15

a winner.

22:16

That's why Mad Mike Millberry was

22:18

hired as the new head coach.

22:20

He was a no-nonsense former player

22:23

for the Boston Bruins, who famously

22:25

climbed into the stands in 1979 and beat

22:27

a Rangers fan with his own shoe.

22:30

Millberry was a perfect fit for

22:32

Long Island.

22:34

The fans were cautiously optimistic.

22:37

There was a new leader, a new jersey, a

22:39

new mascot that looked like a giant

22:41

cartoonish version of the new logo, even

22:44

a new gold horn that sounded like a coastal

22:46

foghorn. The New

22:49

York Islanders were ready for 1996. Just

22:55

kidding. In the first five games of the 95-96

22:58

season, the New York Islanders

23:00

started with zero wins, four losses,

23:02

and one tie. It was the worst

23:04

start to a season in team history. The

23:07

front office made blunder after blunder as

23:09

it relates to the roster, and Mike

23:11

Millberry's unorthodox tactics and communication

23:14

techniques were already wearing thin

23:16

on players and fans. The losses

23:19

continued to pile up, as

23:21

did the humiliation. The opposing

23:23

fans started chanting, we want fish

23:25

sticks, when their teams took an inevitable

23:28

lead. Eventually, the Islanders fans adopted the chant

23:31

as their own and added throwing fish and

23:33

fish sticks onto the ice in disgust at

23:35

having to watch such a dismal team.

23:39

As the season wore on, dismay turned into

23:41

outright hostility. Islanders

23:43

fans booed one of the gang of four's daughters when

23:46

she sang the national anthem, and

23:48

the new fisherman mascot started wearing a protective

23:50

cup to every home game.

23:53

The

23:54

new logo was the target of most

23:56

of the fans' ire. The former players

23:58

hated it. The current players quietly cried. quietly

24:00

hated it. Clearly, it was cursed.

24:03

The coalition of fans was formed to protest

24:05

the rebrand. They argued that it stripped

24:08

the team of its tradition. The fans

24:10

organized a march for April 6, 1996. At least 300 people showed

24:12

up.

24:16

A week after the rally, the islanders front

24:18

office admitted its mistake.

24:20

The team blamed the National Hockey League for

24:22

pressuring them to rebrand to increase

24:25

merchandise sales, which had come

24:27

to fruition. The islanders sold

24:29

the 17th most jerseys in the league that

24:32

first year of the Fisherman logo, up

24:34

nearly 10 spots from prior seasons.

24:36

Nevertheless, the fans' voices were heard.

24:40

And here's some good news. That ugly logo that the

24:42

New York Islanders were using this season has

24:44

been shelled to many protests by fans,

24:46

media, and opposing fans that led

24:49

the franchise to ask the NHL

24:50

for permission to get back to its

24:52

original logo. A-ha, our team.

24:56

The islanders petitioned the change back to the

24:58

old logo for the following season.

25:00

But the NHL told them no. It

25:02

was too late. Retail

25:04

stores needed at least one calendar

25:06

year to clear their existing stock. The

25:08

islanders were stuck with the Fisherman for at

25:10

least one more season. You've got to wonder,

25:13

has the NHL not been watching the Islanders' games? They

25:15

turned down New York's request to go back to their old

25:17

uniform design and logo for next season. The

25:19

league says the Islanders missed the deadline

25:21

to inform them of any change. New

25:24

York had changed logos before last season.

25:26

They will go back to their old logo and get

25:28

rid of Captain Eyeliner after next season.

25:31

The New York Islanders finished the 1995-96 season, 22-50-10. Good enough

25:33

for last

25:34

place in

25:39

the Atlantic Division. Again.

25:42

The Islanders were somehow getting worse. The

25:44

team's big-time trade acquisition was MIA

25:47

after being sent home for demanding a trade.

25:50

The general manager was fired.

25:52

Coach Mike Milberry assumed the role, pulling

25:54

double duty for the same pay. A typical

25:57

frugal move from the Islanders' absentee

25:59

owner.

26:01

An uninspiring offseason would follow.

26:03

Another season of mediocrity straight ahead.

26:06

But no need to abandon ship. As

26:08

every bayman knows, it is always darkest

26:11

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26:16

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It became clear to us that

27:58

to ensure our success... and

28:00

achieve those goals we needed

28:02

to change the majority owner of this franchise

28:05

and to find a majority owner who would

28:07

be totally committed in time

28:10

and resources to achieving those goals.

28:13

I am pleased to announce that we have found that

28:16

individual and his name is John

28:18

Spano. He knows

28:20

his hockey, he's dedicated,

28:23

he's young, he's bright, he's

28:25

creative, he's financially

28:27

strong and most importantly,

28:29

he has an unrelenting

28:32

desire to win. Finally,

28:36

there was light at the end of the tunnel. On

28:39

October 11th, 1996, the

28:41

day before the New York Islanders first home

28:43

game of the 1996-97 season,

28:47

John O'Picket, the team's owner, announced

28:49

that he had quote, a greed in principle

28:52

to sell a substantial portion of the club.

28:55

The buyer was a man named John

28:57

Spano. He was a Manhattan

28:59

native who worked and lived in Texas. Spano

29:03

was only 32 years old, but he

29:05

had the financial portfolio of

29:07

a successful CEO and the

29:09

physical appearance of a man in the throes of

29:11

a midlife crisis. According

29:13

to John Pickett, John Spano was

29:16

quote, the type of owner that the Islanders

29:18

need. He's got youth, he's got money,

29:21

he's a hockey fan, an Islanders fan, he's

29:23

got it all. In addition,

29:26

John Spano knew all the right things

29:28

to say. For example,

29:29

owning the Islanders was a

29:32

dream come true. You know, when I

29:34

was a little kid, I used to come out here and watch Dennis and

29:36

Fosse and Troche play and I

29:39

mean, it's a dream to me. It hasn't

29:41

sunk in yet. Spano

29:43

promised to be a hands-on owner. He

29:46

had a home in the Hamptons on the east end

29:48

of Long Island. He plans to commute back

29:50

and forth from Dallas quite frequently.

29:52

It wasn't that big of a deal. Spano

29:55

had a private plane and pretty soon

29:57

he promised Islanders fans,

29:59

the team.

29:59

would have a new arena. Yes, we

30:02

will get a new building. Because

30:04

it was his highest priority, Spano

30:07

said, to keep the Islanders on

30:09

Long Island. Personally, it will

30:11

stay on Long Island. I wouldn't come back here. I

30:14

do live in Texas, but I'll spend a great deal of time

30:16

here. I wouldn't do this deal

30:18

if I had any intentions of moving the team. There's just

30:20

too much, there's too much history. The market

30:23

is too strong.

30:24

John Spano announced that the easiest way

30:26

to do that would be to make the Islanders

30:29

competitive again. If the team played

30:31

well, fans would return to the games en

30:33

masse and everything else would take care of itself.

30:36

And the easiest way to make the Islanders competitive,

30:39

Spano acknowledged, was to open

30:41

his pocketbook to improve the roster,

30:43

which he was prepared to do. Get

30:46

the fans back in the building. We have

30:48

to do something to get them excited again about coming

30:50

to Islander games. Whether it

30:52

be marketing, whether it be upgrading the talent, anything

30:55

along those lines to get them back.

30:57

That's that in the building of the number one priorities.

31:00

They're the same.

31:02

I have the capital, John Spano told

31:04

the New York Times. I am risking a lot

31:06

of what I have. The one thing I have is

31:08

the capital. I don't need anybody's

31:10

money right now. John Spano

31:13

agreed to purchase the New York Islanders and

31:15

associated assets for $165 million. Spano

31:19

took out a loan for $80 million to

31:21

pay for the team up front. And he agreed

31:23

to pay five annual installments of about $17

31:25

million for the cable television

31:28

rights that were included. The first installment

31:30

was due on April 7th, 1996,

31:32

the closing date of

31:34

the sell. There

31:35

was still an entire hockey season to

31:37

play, but the sell of the New York Islanders

31:39

to John Spano was basically a done

31:42

deal. Almost home. It's

31:44

official to the extent that he has signed off with

31:46

the lawyers and all that. Now all it needs is

31:48

league approval. And John Spano will

31:51

be the official owner of

31:53

the New York Islanders. True

31:55

to his word, the 32-year-old John

31:58

Spano flew back and forth too long.

31:59

Island throughout the season. Islanders

32:02

fans, players, and staff learned more about their

32:04

new money man. Speno was intense,

32:07

but shy and awkward. He was

32:09

married with no kids. He was easily

32:11

accessible. He was worth hundreds of millions

32:13

of dollars, but never had any staff

32:15

around. John Speno

32:18

and his wife Shelby lived in Dallas, Texas.

32:20

In a modest for them, $3 million home

32:23

that was paid in full with cash, he hobnobbed

32:25

with the Dallas elite because John

32:28

Speno was the elite. The

32:30

collection of companies he founded called the Bison

32:32

Group was 10 subsidiaries deep

32:34

with over 6,000 employees. The

32:36

Bison Group leased everything from aircraft and

32:38

heavy equipment to cappuccino makers

32:41

and hot dog machines for convenience stores.

32:44

And as if that wasn't lucrative enough, John

32:47

Speno was sitting on a fortune he inherited

32:49

from his grandpa Angelo. His pockets

32:51

were deep, which is what it would take to build a

32:53

winner in Long Island. John Speno

32:55

was ready for the challenge. I've

32:58

owned every great car that was ever made, he

33:00

told Sports Illustrated. I have the houses

33:02

and everything else. I felt I was experienced

33:05

enough to be able to take a hockey team head on.

33:09

Hockey had been John Speno's greatest passion

33:11

for as long as he could remember. Way

33:13

before he had money, but ever since having

33:15

the means, Speno has wanted to own an

33:18

NHL team. In 1995, he

33:21

was in negotiations to purchase a minority

33:23

stake in the Dallas Stars for $42 million, but

33:26

the deal fell through for whatever reason. Then

33:29

in 1996, he attempted to buy the

33:32

Florida Panthers from blockbuster

33:34

video emperor Wayne Heisinga. Speno

33:36

missed out when Wayne decided to keep the

33:38

team. But later that year,

33:41

New York Islanders owner John Pickett expressed

33:43

his desire to sell the team to NHL

33:46

commissioner Gary Bettman, who from

33:48

past negotiations, knew just

33:50

the man who might be interested. Of

33:53

course, that man was John Speno, and the

33:55

rest is unforgettable New York

33:57

Islanders history. Few

34:00

months after his initial meeting with John Pickett,

34:02

John Spano was sitting in the owner's box at

34:04

the games, shooting the ship with Islander

34:07

grades while the current team continued

34:09

to flounder. John would try to conceal

34:11

his smile when the fans started chanting,

34:14

Save Us Spano. But everyone

34:17

in the half-empty Nassau Coliseum could

34:19

tell he was enjoying every moment. John

34:26

Spano was the savior the New York

34:28

Islanders had been waiting for, and he

34:30

readily embraced the role. In

34:32

November 1996, Spano

34:34

took out a full page ad in local newspapers

34:37

to publish a letter to the fans that included

34:39

a promise, quote, I will do everything

34:41

I can to return a winner to

34:43

you. On January 4,

34:46

1997, the National Hockey

34:48

League's Board of Governors officially approved

34:50

John Spano to buy the team.

34:52

Well, it was a rubber stamping

34:55

to be sure, but the NHL did do some final paperwork

34:57

Monday and approved the sale finally of the

34:59

New York Islanders to John Spano. He's

35:01

a 33-year-old Dallas businessman who

35:03

paid $164 million for the Islanders hockey

35:05

team and some associated assets.

35:12

The New York Islanders finished the 1996-97 season with a

35:14

record of 13-23-9. Coach

35:18

Mike Milbury had stepped down about midway

35:21

through to focus solely on his general manager

35:23

duties.

35:24

Assistant Rick Bowness took over the coaching

35:26

position. Nothing changed. The

35:29

Islanders finished last in their division once

35:31

again, missing the playoffs for the third

35:33

year in a row. And John Spano,

35:35

the savior, missed the first installment

35:38

payment on April 7, 1997, a few days

35:41

before the end of the regular season, when his

35:43

deal to purchase the team was set to close.

35:46

In place of the $17 million, John

35:49

Spano offered John Pickett a promissory

35:51

note, written by Joseph Lynch at Comerica

35:53

Bank, certifying that the buyer had $107 million in

35:55

a trust fund

35:58

at Lloyd's Bank in London, which

35:59

was currently being transferred but delayed

36:02

some kind of global event or something.

36:05

There was also a letter from Speno's Texas

36:07

lawyer attesting to his client's net

36:09

worth exceeding $230 million. Satisfied

36:13

with the assurances, John Pickett closed

36:16

the deal.

36:17

John Speno was given the title to the team, but

36:19

three months later, that first payment

36:22

still had not arrived.

36:25

Not for the lack of trying, John

36:27

Speno sent Pickett a check for $17 million, but stopped

36:30

payment when the funds never hit his account. As

36:33

a sign of good faith, Speno told Pickett he would wire $5

36:36

million ASAP, and he did. Except

36:39

there was an issue with a misplaced decimal. Pickett

36:42

received $5,000 instead.

36:45

A full two months after the deal closed, John

36:47

Speno finally delivered a check for $17 million

36:50

to John Pickett. That check bounced.

36:53

Whoops. Speno wired the money. Again,

36:56

a misplaced decimal. $1,700 was

36:58

delivered instead of $17 million. John

37:03

O. Pickett had had enough of

37:05

this malarkey. John Speno

37:07

had blamed his nonpayment on everything from quote,

37:10

ravenous South Africans to a bomb

37:13

threat by the Irish Republican Army. Pickett

37:16

enlisted NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to

37:18

mediate. Meanwhile,

37:21

Long Island's daily newspaper Newsday

37:23

had been tipped off that John Speno might not

37:26

be who he said he was. The journalists

37:28

started investigating and quickly discovered

37:30

that nearly everything Speno had said was

37:33

a lie. For starters, John

37:36

Speno went to St. John's High School in

37:38

Ohio, where he had spent most of his childhood.

37:41

Not St. John's Academy like he officially

37:43

claimed. St. John's Academy does

37:46

not even exist. Guess

37:48

what else didn't exist? John Speno's

37:50

home

37:50

in the Hamptons. No record of anyone

37:53

with that name owning property in the area.

37:55

Nor did he own a private plane. Speno's

37:58

flights from Texas to Long Island.

37:59

Island and back were chartered, he

38:02

put them on the Islanders' tab.

38:04

Same with the regular stays at Long

38:06

Island's illustrious Garden City Hotel.

38:09

Spano spent over $220,000 of the Islanders'

38:12

operating budget on lodging and transportation.

38:15

He also used the funds to hire sex workers

38:17

to party with him, two or three at a time.

38:20

It was the longest winning streak Long Island

38:22

had seen in years.

38:25

It was true that John Spano owned a $3 million

38:27

home in Dallas, but he hadn't

38:29

paid in cash, as he said.

38:31

Spano's house had a $1.8 million mortgage,

38:34

and he owed $85,000 in unpaid

38:36

property taxes, which he quickly paid

38:39

when Newsday published the delinquency. Of

38:41

course, that check bounced. More

38:44

concerning, the newspaper had also discovered

38:46

that John Spano's Bison Group was not

38:49

nearly as large as he had claimed. As

38:51

of 1995, the Bison Group only had $3 million in assets with

38:55

only 22 employees, so

38:58

it was doubtful that John Spano was worth the

39:00

self-reported, but confirmed by lawyers

39:02

and bankers, $230 million. There was no proof of an inheritance either.

39:08

John Spano did not even have a grandfather named

39:10

Angelo.

39:13

But he did have a track record of questionable

39:15

financial dealings. Newsday

39:17

discovered that a law firm was suing John Spano

39:20

for non-payment of services performed as

39:22

part of his failed bid to buy the Dallas Stars.

39:25

Also, the Stalbak Group, a commercial

39:27

real estate brokerage firm owned by Dallas cowboy

39:30

great Roger Stalbak, accused Spano

39:32

of not paying back alone. And hockey

39:34

great Mario Lemieux, the second

39:36

appearance in this episode, gave John Spano $1.25

39:39

million for

39:41

shares in a company that had yet

39:43

to go

39:43

public. Mario Lemieux never

39:46

saw that money again.

39:49

John Spano was honest about one thing

39:51

though. There were ravenous

39:53

South Africans after him

39:55

that were called Linco Holdings

39:57

that made pots and pans.

40:00

New years earlier, John Spano had convinced

40:02

Linco Holdings to let him manage the

40:04

South African company's expansion into

40:06

the United States. Spano

40:08

soon proved his worth when he submitted a nearly $2 million

40:11

purchase order from Nordstrom, the luxury

40:13

department store. Linco

40:15

promptly manufactured the 270 sets

40:18

of stainless steel cookware and shipped

40:20

them to the states. Spano

40:22

transferred payment in the form of a check that

40:25

bounced. Linco decided to

40:27

follow up with Nordstrom, only to find

40:29

out that the store had never heard of John Spano

40:31

and that they did not sell pots and pans.

40:34

Linco sued John Spano. It

40:37

wasn't just a case of accepting him

40:39

on face value, an official with the company

40:41

told the Dallas Observer. He had the order

40:44

from Nordstrom with their store logo

40:46

and address right there. He had letters

40:48

from banks attesting to his worth. Our

40:50

people acted on what they thought was a good risk.

40:53

It did their due diligence and everything pointed

40:55

toward a worthwhile business arrangement. The

40:58

National Hockey League thought so too. But

41:02

on July 11, 1997, John Spano

41:04

agreed to return the New York Islanders to John

41:06

Pickett as long as Mr. Pickett agreed

41:08

to take over the $80 million loan he had used

41:10

for the down payment and to not

41:13

sue. I just can't

41:15

describe how difficult this decision has been,

41:17

John Spano said in a statement. My

41:20

instincts are to continue to fight for the Islanders

41:22

and to try and reignite my personal passion

41:24

for the sport. That is impossible.

41:27

The key issue is to do what is right for my loved

41:29

ones and that means giving up my first

41:32

love, hockey. Islanders

41:35

fans were devastated. Not only

41:37

was the savior of the franchise a complete mirage,

41:40

but the team was reverting to Stingy John

41:42

Pickett, who a fan newsletter referred

41:44

to as the NHL's version of Dracula, quote,

41:48

back to resume sucking the franchise dry.

41:59

who owns the Islanders owns

42:02

owns it's not John Spano

42:04

not anymore he either walked away or was

42:06

told to walk away after missing a deadline

42:09

on a 17 million dollar payment

42:11

so the club has returned to its former owner John

42:13

Pickett will now look to sell the team again

42:16

again to someone who will keep them

42:18

on Long Island my

42:20

reputation went from savior to devil

42:23

John Spano told Sports Illustrated

42:25

after the deal fell through the failed

42:27

owner became a bigger joke than the Gordon's

42:28

Fisherman logo the team was just now

42:31

getting off its chest

42:32

all that promise all that hope gone

42:36

in an instant thus the life

42:38

of an Islanders fan

42:40

we'll be back with lots more right after

42:42

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43:59

John

44:05

Spano's

44:09

failed attempt to buy the New York Islanders spiraled

44:11

into federal court today where the 33-year-old

44:13

businessman was arraigned on fraud charges

44:16

on Long Island. Spano housed until Monday

44:18

to post a $3 million bond. He

44:20

lost control of the Islanders nine days ago

44:22

after he missed a $17 million payment. About

44:26

a week after John Spano agreed to return

44:28

the New York Islanders, federal authorities

44:31

knocked on the door of his Dallas home. John

44:33

wasn't there. He was in the Cayman Islands,

44:36

staying at a

44:37

luxury resort. John

44:39

agreed to return to the states and turn himself

44:41

in. He's on the way back to

44:43

the country and he intends to

44:46

enter his plea of not guilty and he maintains his

44:48

innocence. On

44:51

July 20, 1997, John Spano

44:53

appeared in court for bank and wire fraud charges.

44:56

The assistant United States Attorney for the

44:58

Eastern District of New York described

45:00

Spano's dealings as a tangled web

45:02

of lies and promises. He'd lied

45:04

about his wealth and forged documents to

45:07

convince

45:07

major banks and the NHL that he was worth

45:09

more than $230 million.

45:11

In reality,

45:12

John Spano was worth about a million. I

45:15

set it up so other people couldn't talk to other

45:17

people or they didn't have enough knowledge to

45:19

put two and two together. John Spano later

45:22

told ESPN, the guy at the bank knew

45:24

one thing, the guy at the NHL knew another,

45:27

my attorney knew something else. If

45:29

they would have all got together, they would have realized

45:31

something wasn't right. Instead,

45:34

Fleet Bank of Boston loaned

45:36

John Spano $80 million based

45:39

on documents he provided that misrepresented

45:41

his net worth. The bank

45:42

never confirmed the legitimacy of those documents.

45:45

The Fleet Bank executive who approved the loan

45:48

later resigned. John Spano

45:50

put off the same scheme with Code Merica Bank

45:52

in Dallas. Joseph Lynch, the

45:54

bank's senior vice president, said he approved $8

45:57

million in loans to Spano based

45:59

on the data.

45:59

three documents, a financial report

46:02

listing his net worth is $55 million, a statement from

46:05

a bank in the Cayman Islands detailing $39 million

46:08

in assets, and a letter from Clive Jones

46:11

and Lloyd Banks' Trust Department confirming

46:14

the existence of a $107 million trust account. Unfortunately,

46:19

Lloyd's bank does not have a trust

46:21

department, a spokesperson told Newsday,

46:24

and no one named Clive Jones worked

46:27

there. Joseph Lynch

46:29

would have discovered this information on his own

46:31

had he bothered to independently verify

46:33

the documents, but just like Fleet

46:36

Bank in Boston, Comerica Bank

46:38

approved the loan without asking questions, assuming

46:41

someone else had already done the dirty work. Joseph

46:44

Lynch would later resign, but

46:46

not before John Spano found another use

46:48

for him. Spano allegedly borrowed

46:51

Joseph Lynch's letterhead and signature

46:53

without his knowledge to confirm in the letter

46:55

to Islanders owner John Pickett that a $17 million

46:58

check was on its way.

47:00

John Spano also fabricated phony financial

47:02

statements from a brokerage firm in a similar manner.

47:06

Prosecutors traced both faxes back

47:08

to the Bison Group's fax machine,

47:10

plus Spano had used the wrong

47:12

font.

47:13

Nevertheless, John Spano used

47:15

these fraudulent statements to convince

47:17

his very Texas sounding lawyer T.

47:20

McCulloch Struthers that he was sitting on

47:22

a fortune. His lawyer also trusted

47:24

the documents at face value and had not

47:26

bothered to verify. Struthers was

47:28

then happy to confirm his client's net

47:30

worth in letters to the National Hockey League, which

47:34

the National Hockey League also

47:36

did not verify. We're not

47:38

the CIA, but we have tools, investigative

47:41

procedures, NHL commissioner Gary

47:43

Bettman said during a news conference at the league's

47:45

offices. And if you ask me what

47:47

the true story is with John Spano, only

47:50

John can answer it. We were dully

47:52

diligent. We'll have to look and reexamine

47:55

the procedures. By dully

47:57

diligent, Gary Bettman was referring

47:59

to the court.

47:59

to former FBI agent Ben C.

48:02

Nix, who the league hired to dig

48:04

into John Spano's background. Nix

48:06

found nothing. He was reportedly

48:09

paid between $500 and $750 for his effort. And that

48:13

was it.

48:14

The sale was approved. But

48:16

the NHL wasn't about to take the bulk of the blame.

48:19

There's no doubt that I confirmed to John Pickett that John

48:21

Spano was interested in the club, Betman

48:23

said. I'm not sure when a married couple

48:25

gets divorced that you blame the person who introduced

48:28

them. I'm not running from this. It happened.

48:30

It's unfortunate. I wish this never happened.

48:33

I'm not the one who caused him not to make the payment.

48:37

Betman is correct. Only John Spano's

48:40

inability to come up with the other half

48:42

of the purchase price caused him not

48:44

to make the payment. Otherwise,

48:46

who knows? John Spano might still

48:49

own the Islanders today.

48:51

Instead,

48:52

John Spano was facing prison time. In

48:55

addition to the federal charges on Long Island,

48:57

it had been indicted by a grand jury in Fort Worth

48:59

on unrelated charges and was eventually

49:02

charged in Boston for fraudulently

49:04

obtaining the $80 million loan from Fleet

49:06

Bank.

49:07

Ultimately, the cases were consolidated.

49:10

John Spano's bond was set at $3 million.

49:13

His parents and sister put up their homes for collateral

49:15

to bail him out on July 28, 1997, about a week

49:20

after he had turned himself in. Free

49:22

until his trial, John Spano started

49:24

talking. The only guy who lost

49:26

money in all this was me, he told the New York

49:28

Times. I put $2.5 million

49:31

into the team to meet their payroll before I even

49:33

closed. I've got legal fees of

49:35

about $600,000. Meanwhile,

49:38

Pickett is selling the team for more money, and

49:40

the league has a stronger franchise, and

49:42

the bank has a bulletproof loan. I'm

49:45

scared of jail, Spano admitted. I

49:47

can understand about making a deal, he said

49:50

in regard to the possibility of taking a plea.

49:52

You want it to all go away. The league

49:55

led me to believe that it would all go away if I

49:57

was man enough to walk away from the team,

49:59

and I did. did. That's right, John

50:02

Spano was man enough to walk away

50:04

from the disaster he had created.

50:06

Soon after, Shelby Spano walked

50:09

away from the disaster her husband had

50:11

become.

50:12

She divorced John and sold the house. I

50:15

don't know what happened to her, but afterward

50:17

John Spano moved to Philadelphia, picked

50:19

up a drug addiction, and tried to pay his rent

50:22

with bounced checks and botched wire transfers.

50:25

Spano's landlord filed a report when his

50:27

bell was revoked. John

50:30

Spano sat in jail until he pleaded guilty

50:32

to mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud

50:34

charges on January 13, 1998. He

50:38

was ordered to pay total restitution of more than $11

50:40

million, and was sentenced to about

50:43

six years in prison. I

50:45

made a terrible mistake, John Spano

50:47

said in court. My judgment has been

50:49

incredibly poor. I don't know

50:51

what came over me to do what I did. I'm

50:54

sorry for the people I've hurt.

50:55

I'm sorry for the people of Long Island

50:57

who believed I was going to do something for the team.

51:01

That's okay. The team was doing

51:03

just fine.

51:05

Just kidding, no they weren't.

51:07

By the time Spano was sentenced, the New York

51:09

Islanders had been sold to two businessmen named

51:11

Howard Milstein and Steve Gluckstern

51:14

for $195 million. John Spano had actually increased

51:18

the value of the Islanders for the few months that he

51:20

owned them by extending the team's cable

51:22

contract, which is still one of

51:24

the best in the league.

51:26

We know we have been entrusted with

51:28

an extraordinary legacy. We

51:31

pledge to fill that empty place in

51:33

every fan's heart with a

51:35

fifth Stanley Cup.

51:38

Don't worry, as part of the league's increased

51:40

due diligence efforts, the NHL

51:42

had thoroughly investigated Milstein and Gluckstern

51:45

before handing over the reins.

51:47

The league hired an international accounting firm

51:49

and a prestigious law firm to evaluate

51:52

the prospective buyers. They never wanted

51:54

a situation like Spano to happen

51:56

again. Other than

51:58

that, not much changed.

52:00

The New York Islanders still sucked. The

52:03

new owners threatened to move

52:04

the team because of the dilapidated arena

52:06

where they played.

52:07

Sounds familiar.

52:09

And as tradition, the Islanders' front office refused

52:11

to pay for repairs or talented players.

52:14

So, the team languished at the bottom

52:16

of the league. What was new was

52:19

old already. Elsewhere

52:21

in the news, the New York Islanders have relieved Rick

52:23

Bowness of his head coaching duties. General

52:25

Manager Mike Milbury returns behind the Islanders'

52:28

bench just 14 months after relinquishing

52:30

to head coaching positions. During

52:33

the 1998-99 season, General Manager Mike

52:36

Milbury fired the man who replaced coach

52:39

Mike Milbury, only to replace him

52:41

with coach Mike Milbury, who also remained

52:44

General Manager Mike Milbury. Unsurprisingly,

52:47

it was a disaster. Milbury finished

52:49

his career as the Islanders' coach in 2000 with

52:52

twice as many losses as wins and

52:54

zero playoff appearances. Yet,

52:57

amazingly, he remained the Islanders'

52:59

General Manager for another six years.

53:02

Milbury survived his third ownership

53:04

change in five years. Charles

53:06

Wong and Sanjay Kumar bought

53:08

the team for $190 million

53:09

in the year 2000. What

53:13

I want to do is keep the team here. Long

53:15

Island needs the Islanders. We are

53:17

Long Island's team. Charles

53:21

Wong was a local software billionaire

53:23

who co-founded Computer Associates. He

53:26

and Sanjay Kumar, who replaced Wong

53:28

as CEO of the company, vowed to

53:30

return the New York Islanders to their glory

53:32

days. Wong is credited

53:35

with ensuring the team stayed on Long Island by

53:37

negotiating a deal to play in Brooklyn

53:39

until a new arena was built, which

53:41

eventually happened in 2021. Under

53:44

Charles Wong, the Islanders returned

53:46

to the playoffs for the first time in seven years. As

53:49

you might have noticed, co-owner Sanjay Kumar,

53:51

who admitted to reading hockey for dummies soon

53:54

after buying the team, is rarely mentioned

53:56

when people talk about this era,

53:58

probably because Charles Wong

53:59

bought Sanjay Kumar's share of the team

54:02

in 2006 after Kumar was sentenced

54:04

to 12 years in prison for his role

54:06

in a massive accounting fraud at Computer Associates.

54:10

The company got caught backdating more than $2 billion

54:13

in sales contracts to meet Wall Street forecasts.

54:16

Sanjay Kumar, who orchestrated the

54:18

scam, said his predecessor Charles

54:20

Wong had personally directed improper

54:22

accounting practices since the company's inception.

54:25

Charles Wong denied any knowledge of such

54:28

acts and was never charged. But

54:30

he was losing in other ways. After

54:33

more than 15 years of ownership, it

54:35

is estimated that Charles Wong lost as much

54:37

as half a billion dollars, keeping the Islanders

54:39

afloat.

54:40

He finally sold the majority

54:42

stake in the team in 2016

54:43

to John Ledeckian Scott Malkin. Charles

54:46

Wong died two years later. By

54:50

then, John Spano had resurfaced.

54:52

It had been released in June 2004

54:53

after serving more than five

54:56

years, but went right back to prison eight

54:58

months later when he was charged with setting

55:00

up a financial services company that

55:02

he used to scam over a dozen companies out of

55:05

tens of thousands of dollars. Spano

55:07

would fly around the country in a rented jet, promising

55:10

to obtain business loans for companies, pocket

55:13

the fees, and then never deliver. John

55:15

Spano pleaded guilty to fraud charges and

55:18

was imprisoned for another four years. He

55:20

was re-released on April 3rd, 2009.

55:22

He was now 45 years old. The

55:27

same

55:27

year Spano was freed,

55:29

two more familiar faces from the Islanders'

55:31

blunder years found themselves in trouble.

55:34

Stephen Walsh and Paul Greenwood, two

55:36

members of the infamous Gang of Four minority

55:38

ownership group that approved the Fisherman

55:41

logo back in 1995, were arrested for

55:43

operating a massive investment scheme of

55:45

their own. From 1996 to 2009, 64-year-old Stephen

55:50

Walsh and 61-year-old Paul

55:52

Greenwood collected more than $7.5 billion from

55:55

charities, universities,

55:57

and pension plans for investment to manage the business.

56:00

Incomprehensibly,

56:02

Walsh and Greenwood's investment strategy was

56:04

worse than their hockey team. The duo

56:06

had to issue bogus promissory notes to

56:08

investors to conceal their losses until

56:11

they could fill the hole,

56:12

but they never did.

56:14

After the stock market plunged and Bernie

56:16

Madoff was

56:17

busted, investors panicked and

56:19

asked for their money back, but much

56:21

of it was gone. In addition

56:23

to the investment losses, Stephen

56:25

Walsh had reportedly used his client's money to

56:27

fund businesses for his children and finance's

56:30

divorce. On the other hand,

56:32

Paul Greenwood used the investors' funds to buy

56:34

expensive horses for his wife and

56:36

the world's largest collection of antique

56:38

German teddy bears. I

56:41

couldn't have been more surprised if I

56:43

found out Mother Teresa was running a protection

56:45

racket in Calcutta, a longtime associate

56:48

of Paul Greenwood Toad the Associated Press. Paul

56:52

Greenwood and Stephen Walsh were arrested

56:54

on February 24, 2009 and charged with the frauding

56:57

investors out of $554 million.

57:01

Both men pleaded guilty. Paul

57:03

Greenwood was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

57:06

Stephen Walsh was sentenced to 20.

57:09

The Manhattan,

57:09

U.S. District Judge who presided

57:12

over Greenwood and Walsh's case was Miriam

57:14

Goldman-Sederbaum, best known

57:16

for sending Martha Stewart to prison. It

57:19

was Judge Sederbaum's first case back

57:21

after an eight-month recovery from a stroke. Paul

57:24

Greenwood's lawyer appealed the harsh sentence on the

57:26

grounds that the judge was cognitively

57:28

impaired. For example, during

57:30

sentencing, Judge Sederbaum referenced

57:33

all of the people who had been financially hurt by

57:35

the defendant's actions, when in reality,

57:37

all of these stolen funds were recovered and

57:39

returned.

57:41

Both Paul Greenwood and Stephen Walsh

57:43

were re-sentenced to time served in 2019 and

57:45

released after

57:48

only spending about four and a half years behind

57:50

bars.

57:52

Meanwhile, John Spano had re-entered

57:54

the public eye once again and not by choice.

57:57

In 2013, ESPN produced

57:59

a documentary about his failed bid

58:02

to buy the New York Islanders called Big Shot

58:05

that reopened old wounds for Spano. But

58:07

the documentary was light-hearted enough for

58:09

him to want to participate and to feel

58:11

comfortable talking to the media. So

58:14

what's Jon Spano doing now? What do you what

58:16

is what are you up to these days, Jon?

58:18

Just working for some people making investments

58:21

in businesses and trying to keep a little profile

58:23

really. You know, I'm

58:25

not, you know, I knew this thing would probably get

58:28

some attention when it came out, but, you know,

58:31

I'm hopeful that this storm

58:33

will go over and just go back to being.

58:37

At 50 years old, Jon Spano had been

58:39

hired as a delivery and pickup driver

58:41

for a company in Ohio called Image First.

58:44

That provided laundry services to outpatient

58:46

medical facilities.

58:48

After a while, Spano was promoted to salesman.

58:51

And that's when the Jon Spano we all know

58:53

returned.

58:55

From June 2011 to July 2013,

58:58

Jon Spano allegedly created fake customer

59:01

accounts to record fake sales to

59:03

collect real commissions,

59:05

up to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth.

59:08

Spano reportedly ran his phony sales

59:10

operation from an office he set up inside

59:12

of a storage unit. So no one

59:14

around him would know.

59:16

Jon Spano pleaded guilty to 16 counts

59:18

of forgery on May 19th, 2015. He

59:22

was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

59:24

The con man who almost bought

59:27

the Islanders decades ago has

59:29

been sentenced to 10 years in prison for

59:31

a different fraud case. I never

59:33

meant to harm you or the company. Spano

59:36

told the owner of Image First in court before

59:38

his sentencing.

59:39

I needed that job and we became friends.

59:42

You gave me a job and I wanted to keep

59:44

it. You were, uh, gave

59:46

me a chance. You're, you're

59:48

good to me. I never

59:53

wanted it to come to this. I never wanted us to

59:55

get to this position. You were my friend. You were my,

59:58

I respected you. You were my. I

1:00:02

said, would you have accomplished?

1:00:06

As I told you in those times, you were, and

1:00:10

I was a role model, you were my friend. You

1:00:13

were someone that I talked to outside of work where

1:00:15

if it wasn't about work, it was just about what we had

1:00:17

done in our lives. I

1:00:21

never meant to harm you, the company.

1:00:27

I made no money doing it, which may

1:00:29

be an issue. I did my best to

1:00:32

do what I could

1:00:33

outside of selling to make the company

1:00:35

grow and make it better. John

1:00:37

Spano claimed he created fake customers to help

1:00:39

the company appear more profitable.

1:00:42

He didn't make a dime off of it, said his defense

1:00:44

attorney.

1:00:45

This one he didn't try to make money.

1:00:47

This one he didn't try to take money. This

1:00:50

one he was just plain stupid.

1:00:53

John Spano was scheduled for release in November 2024.

1:00:57

Go Islanders!

1:01:07

Or

1:01:22

you can send us a postcard at P.O. Box 6044, Austin,

1:01:25

Texas, 78762. But

1:01:32

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1:01:34

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1:01:36

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1:01:41

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That's it.

1:02:33

Thanks for listening.

1:02:37

Hi, my name is Angie calling

1:02:40

from Australia. Hi, my name is Jost,

1:02:42

a flying Dutchman from Belgium. Hey, my

1:02:45

name is Casey from North Providence,

1:02:47

Rhode Island, and I am a concerned citizen

1:02:50

and a valued listener. Thank you.

1:02:55

And I don't trust anything or anyone

1:02:57

anymore.