"I got lectured a lot by Mr. Brosal, our commissioner," A.J.
began moonlighting as a boxing manager. They were both in waste management, and both possessed an undeniable charm that compensated for their rough edges. The Trashers still trigger strong responses in Danbury, too. And the players were devoted to the owner and their young GM. At a press conference on April 1, Galante also introduced the team's 17-year-old president, who had just bought a suit for the occasion. Italy | Galante and his father, Jimmy of the Danbury Trashers. says, shifting uneasily in his seat. And there are legendary stories out there of threats made toward the league office. From the start, A.J. Seven players were sent to the penalty box. Also, the film talks about attendance records being smashed. At 32, Todd was younger than some of the players. "I was a big Oakland Raiders fan," says A.J. ", In their box above center ice the Galantes heckled refs and sometimes pelted opposing players with Skittles. As for Brosal, he was terrified of James Galante. (A.J. Lithuania | Romania |
Barely 50 games into the season Stirling, the coach, was suspended for three games for failing to control his players. There were hundreds of fans like Greg and Brenda St. Clair, a Danbury couple who went halfway through the season to check out the new team. THEY WERE EVEN WELCOME TO STAY IN THE GALANTES' GARGANTUAN HOME. And thats what Untold: Crime & Penalties is really missing: interviews from players and owners from others teams, so they could have talked about the impact outside of Danbury. But it wasn't just the players who were punished. about getting back into sports. PHOTOGRAPHS BY WENDY CARLSON (MASCOT, 5); VIDEO STILLS BY THOMAS BUTKIER (2). ", Three years ago A.J. "You need a wild card," says A.J., "so we decided we would beat people to submission. "Then everyone would ask for the check so they could be there for face-off. was helped by former equipment manager and longtime family friend, Tommy T-Bone Pomposello, a bald, cigar-smoking bruiser who had a steady smirk behind his tinted glasses. Most dismaying to the citizenry of Danbury, the Trashers' 2006--07 season was canceled. He knows how to treat people. He was 17-years-old. We reported in 2006 that the Trashers had a payroll of $750,000, with three players receiving $100,000 each, and the documentary makes it sound like we may have been way too low. A welcome email is on its way. Its kinda like Mighty Ducks meets the Sopranos, the low-rent auteur might suggest, and toss in some WWE. Maybe the funniest press release ever written came from the Trashers announcing A.J.
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Upon his release he had rebuilt his empire and now, according to The Hartford Courant, was worth more than $100 million. ", THESE BONDS were cemented by a brand of violence the Trashers purveyed without apology. But its not an act, thats the real Tommy you see there. Its come full circle but what I think I really want to do is move to Canada, he said, adding that both he and his father thought Crimes and Penalties was very fair and balanced. The United Hockey League's $300,000 franchising fee for a new team? The league set an annual salary cap of $275,000, with a $2 luxury tax for every dollar spent above the threshold. He was a great owner." Its debatable. AJ GALANTE/ FACEBOOK, BE BETTER PEOPLE: Blue Jays Kevin Gausman blasts autograph seeker who elbowed kid, LILLEY: Trudeau continues immigration games as Roxham Road sees record numbers, 'Baywatch' star Donna DErrico blasts trolls who branded her 'too old to wear a bikini', Joe Rogan slammed for joke about shooting homeless people, Hells Angels rolling into Toronto to pay tribute to fallen member, tap here to see other videos from our team. He paid the funeral costs of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq and donated $200,000 to a nonprofit that provided financial assistance to soldiers serving overseas. pursues his new sports passion, boxing management. Says Andy Paproski, a lifelong resident of Danbury (pop.
It had a great economic impact on the entire downtown.". "He must've thought he was on Punk'd or something. He started playing the game and got pretty good at it: A burly, bruising player who wasnt afraid to use his size. KHL | 80,893) who owns a dry cleaning business, "People thought, You know what, he may be caught up in questionable activity, but he's good to the town.". And the fans, from section 102 and beyond, still miss their team. We have enabled email notificationsyou will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Launching an expansion hockey team in Danbury seemed less like a vanity play than a natural progression.
Brenda got tattoos of the names of her favorite players. (Colella denies this.) felt that the Trashers needed a goal scorer.
THE NEW HAVEN division of the FBI is located downtown, on the old site of the New Haven Arena, a prime hockey venue that housed minor league teams from the 1930s to the '70s. So glorify the Trashers all you want, but they were essentially hurting other small businesses around the league both on and off the ice and the UHL was either incapable or too afraid to do anything about it. wasn't the only reason Galante drew comparisons with Tony Soprano. Jon (Nasty) Mirasty averaged more than eight minutes of penalties over 25 games.
Wingnut. Investigators alleged that by paying a quarterly $30,000 "mob tax" to Matthew (Matty the Horse) Ianniellothen the highest-ranking member of New York City's Genovese crime familyGalante's companies had muscled out potential competitors and charged counties and businesses inflated carting rates.
"It was loud," says A.J., "and security was very, let's just say, flexible." [The attitude was,] You're supposed to be courteous in minor league hockey? "I'm one of those guys who lives for competition," he says. In September 2008, U.S. District Court judge Ellen B. Burns sentenced him to 87 months in prison. After taking swipes at various players, he grabbed Potvin, the Adirondack coach, and knocked him down. One was Rumun Ndur, a Nigeria-born Canadian who was known for his aggression. signed him for another game against Adirondack, in Danbury on Feb. 23, which was also WWE Night. had been a serviceable defenseman in high school and had followed the Devils, so he reckoned he knew the sport well enough. ", THE RAIDERS' AL DAVIS WAS "A WILD MAN WITH A TEAM FULL OF OUTLAWS," SAYS A.J., "AND THAT'S HOW I WANTED TO BE. How did A.J. There was an error, please provide a valid email address. "Before games we'd be mobbed," says Tom Devine, owner of the Two Steps Downtown Grille. In the summer of '06, the Trashers sent 105 season-ticket holders refund checks, totaling $31,177. Galante, then a freshman at Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y., introduced himself as team president. The Trashers fought with everyone. They weren't just happy to go to games. They had their own chants and waved body bags when opposing players lost fights. Great Britain | Says Pomposello, "Jimmy's old school. And its jaw-dropping to hear that James Galante essentially offered to put a hit on a player who had broken Wingfields leg. Today, the 34-year-old owns the Champs Boxing Club and is also passing on his love of hockey to the under-privileged kids of Danbury. But his passion for sports never faded. And then when he was seven years old, A.J. ", In his first game for Danbury, Beauregard had a goal and an assist as the Trashers won 5--1. Danbury isnt a hockey hotbed. recalls, "even the commissioner was like, 'I would advise against that. DeLuca pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of threatening. saw the Disney hockey film The Might Ducks and that changed everything. In his 56 games with the Trashers, Wingfield piled up 496 penalty minutes. Yet the father delegated personnel moves to the son. Like Mike Tyson in his prime.".
"Jimmy's a guest of the government, and I love that man." "Honestly, a lot of it was getting so close to a championship with the Trashers but not winning. That's all we needed to hear. MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (A.J.). THE PLAYERS KNEW THAT THEIR OWNER WAS, WELL, CONNECTED, BUT THEY DIDN'T CARE. Estonia | called his middleman in Quebec and essentially rented Wagner for a game against Adirondack. I bought 20 street hockey sticks. "He's the only thing this team has going for it.". All would plead guilty, as would Galante. Greg St. Clair, the fan who accompanied his wheelchair-bound wife to games, marked the occasion by getting a tattoo on his left calf of Scrappy the mascot shooting a puck emblazoned with the letters fbi. Was Danburys hockey-playing ability that good? just landed Galarza his first TV fight, on Showtime's ShoBox series, and an endorsement deal with the apparel company Rival Boxing.
Galante had contributed to DeLuca's campaignsand those of many Connecticut politiciansbut this was personal. As he headed to baggage claim at the small suburban airport, something didn't look right. All very dodgy. The judge let Galante remain out of prison pending trial but put him under house arrest. As evidence that Galante was prone to violence, the prosecution played footage of him purportedly striking the official during the infamous Kalamazoo game. "I said, 'Sure,' which, to my dad, was like signing a contract.
Associated Press
The Danbury Trashers, featured in a new documentary on Netflix, skirted the salary cap big-time when they were in the UHL and owned by a mob boss.
. Was it a mockery to the league and the sport as a whole? At 4 a.m. the players would be out in the parking lot, huddled in their underwear. Pick your poison. Get Toronto Sun, Ottawa Sun and 14 other news sites for $1/week. "When we got him," A.J. A doctor told him he would never play hockey again. Yep. For himself he built a skybox equipped with a kitchenette and a flat-screen TV. We didnt see ourselves above them, we took their suggestions with marketing and players, A.J. When the 2004--05 lockout ended, Rupp returned to the NHL and is still playing, for the Wild. And so it was that Jimmy Galante's "property rights system," as the government called it, became one of the largest racketeering cases in U.S. history. 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4. Read more about cookies here. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings. "You had blue-collar guys banging on the glass. Elzinga declined, but as Wingfield skated away, Elzinga pulled on his jersey and stuck out a foot to trip him. AHL |, The second European club competition celebrates the quarter of century starting the battles for the silver plate in September Readmore, Ice Hockey is a very popular sport. Then Sen. Joseph Lieberman hailed Galante as a "shining example" in the community. He was an owner of Automated Waste Disposal, a conglomerate of at least 25 trash-hauling businesses that held a near monopoly in western Connecticut and Westchester. sensed a fight coming, he headed down near the ice to capture it on his camcorder. Word got around the hockey world, and soon A.J. "I cut a foot off the visitors' bench," says Pomposello, "so they'd be all squished together." Tipsport extraliga | Still, as one might expect from a teenage GM, the roster was dense with goons. They also saw the Trashers as a kind of validation: Someone believes in Danbury. In keeping with the menacing nickname they gave themselves, the Trashers dropped their gloves at every opportunity, gleefully racking up penalty minutes. Poland | "But you got to stir it up sometimes.". The pediatric emergency room at Danbury Hospital was named for Galante after he helped fund it. We knew the reality: It was hockey, but it was also entertainment. A bit of WWE, a bit of Mighty Ducks, and a whole lot of Slapshot.says. But even Wingnut had nothing on Chad Wagner. The rest of the game doubled as a near riot. said. Players were welcome to stay at the Galantes' gargantuan home and, in one case, not even asked to leave after using Roseanne Galante's laptop to download Internet porn. A.J. also hired Tommy (T-Bone) Pomposello, a former minor leaguer, who would do everything from managing the equipment to scouting talent to helping run practice. 2022 Toronto Sun, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved.
2.liga, Finland: While I understand the need for dramatic effect, and also to make it understandable for people who arent knee deep in the goings on of Double-A professional hockey, there are problems in the film. Belarus | said.
recalled, adding he didnt feel any pain. A.J. Ten years ago, Connecticut waste-management king Jimmy Galante started a minor league hockey team and put his teenage son, A.J., in charge. Were other UHL teams cheating the cap? "The Danbury Trashers were the Syracuse Bulldogs of the movie Slap Shot," says Pomposello, the all-purpose assistant. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. "You don't get involved in verbal altercations," Brosal admonished the ref. Galante passed him a note that asked, Do you want me to have someone pay him a visit?
HockeyAllsvenskan, Switzerland: While David-Alexandre Beauregard was no goon, he fit into the Danbury menagerie. 'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Czech Rep.: The team would be named the Danbury Trashers after Jimmys waste disposal empire. EBEL | Do players nowadays still get paid under the table? Galante pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the federal RICO act, one count of conspiring to defraud the IRS and one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud with the Trashers' bogus salary-cap figures. The aforementioned equipment manager was dinged because he had the hot water turned off in the visitors locker room and didnt provide enough towels.
Brenda, confined to a wheelchair because of spina bifida, had never been to a pro hockey game. You'll be the president. Jimmy was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault. FACE-OFF Backed by some of his father's truck drivers in 2004, A.J. Wingfield was back in uniform, having healed from the slew-footing by Elzinga that had broken his leg in several places. "Lemme get this straight," he said. He reportedly spent more than $3 million to expand the rink from a 600-seat bandbox to a 2,500-seat showplace called the Danbury Ice Arena. Galante, his hair buzzed to the scalp, a neatly trimmed goatee rimming his mouth, stands off to the side, his iPhone pressed to his ear. The Galantes told Trashers who were suspendedinvariably for fightingto watch the games from the 102 seats. No way. "You got us a guy with one eye? For this he was banned for life from the UHL. Like Danbury, once the producer of many of the world's hats. Im still a Devils fan, A.J. A.J. Though he started with no contacts in the sport, often relying on Google to find the main phone numbers of other teams, A.J. "YOU'D HAVE BLUE-COLLAR GUYS NEXT TO WEALTHY REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS. Absolutely, because they want expansion fees or to brag theyve entered some new market, whether its wise or not. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Iceland | They happily agreed. Some of the UHL's East Coast teams were either moving to other leagues or folding. Yet three Trashers earned more than $100,000 apiece. Rupp had played two seasons in the NHL and had even scored the decisive goal for the Devils in the 2003 Stanley Cup finals. Young Blood, Goon, they were all there. He made some contacts, hung out in gyms in the Northeast, met some promoters and trainers, and so far he has represented three fighters. After one desultory performance, he entered the dressing room carting a basket of tennis balls. DEL | acted decisively. Before and after games downtown Danbury was hopping. Player after player came by the house to show support. For Komets fans, there are fun nuggets, namely an interview with former Fort Wayne player David-Alexandre Beauregard, who, despite the way he was portrayed in the film, only played 14 regular-season games for the Trashers (in their second season) along with 18 playoff games. The Trashers' marquee player was Brent Gretzky, Wayne's kid brother. I kind of walked away from it, but since the documentary was filmed two years ago, Im firing up for hockey again. The UHLs salary cap at the time was $250,000. Galante remembers it well. says wistfully.
Same for Mike Rupp. showed off the aggressively down-market style the Trashers brought to the UHL. DeLuca ended up resigning from office because of the scandal. The players were aware that their owner was, well, connected. That spring, when A.J. But now, in the fall of '04, with his league in the throes of a lockout, Rupp had agreed to play for a minor league club in Danbury, Conn. His agent had said a team honcho would meet him at the Westchester County (N.Y.) Airport. And how is this kid running a hockey team?". I suspended him.
Dissatisfied with the response he got from police, DeLuca went to Galante. Then Jimmy went about being the Jerry Jones of the UHL. Were they doing it anywhere near to the extent Danbury was? If a kid gives us a rough time at the gym, Ill tell him, Get the goalie equipment on, and we all fire the balls at him, A.J. I loved talking with the guys about stuff like the enforcers code, A.J. picks his words with great care when discussing what he calls "the legal issues" of the last few years. said of Beauregard. A.J. ", Jimmy expects to be released this summer. When father and son get together, they talk family, business, the future. Even though Ice Hockey is already very exciting, some people want Readmore, Copyright 2022 European Ice Hockey Online AB &, Sports betting can make any sport more exciting. So why was he being greeted by this kid sporting a nascent goatee, earrings and an Allen Iverson jersey? In the first period Wagner instigated a fight, and an all-out brawl broke out. Danburys inaugural team, 2004-05, had players such as Bruce Richardson, Brent Gretzky and Mario Larocque, each who had or would go on to have Fort Wayne ties, and no rational person could think anything other than what was happening when it came to building the roster loads of cash, off the books. ", The Galantes put the rowdiest boosters behind the opposing bench. It was a special experience, my best in minor league hockey. Thirty-two other individuals, including Matty the Horse, were charged as part of the investigation. "Right from day one, they've said they wanted to be the bad boys of hockey, the most hated team, the Evil Empire," Marc Potvin, coach of the Adirondack Frostbite, one of the Trashers' rivals, disapprovingly told the Toronto Star in February 2005. The game is so different now faster, more skill.. said. "Listen," he said, "my dad is coming home for dinner at 7:30, and if I don't have a goal scorer by then, I'm in big trouble." You'd look across the ice, and they had eight to 10 heavyweights looking for a fight. And Galante had the money. Wingfield challenged a Kalamazoo player, Josh Elzinga, to a fight. made connections over the summer with agents, scouts and middlemen who could deliver that goalie from Manitoba or that playmaker from Quebec. "Especially for a guy with one eye. And the Trashers logo, harkening to Galantes waste-management business, is still amazing. On Dec. 3, 2005, Kalamazoo visited Danbury. I have to win a title in something. It sounds like something a third-rate Hollywood producer might conjure up. He graduated from Manhattanville with a business management degree in 2008 and bought into a New York City company that sells heating oil and diesel fuel. France |
"A.J.
Soon Jimmy was renting buses to take fans to big road games. Thank you." After the game Wingfield told a local reporter, "It felt great to get back at Elzinga but I would have liked to have seen him leaving the ice on a stretcher or in a body bag.". Stirling avoided jail time after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud. (The indictment alleged that the Trashers' player payroll was in excess of $750,000, but the team reported that it hadn't gone over the UHL salary cap of $275,000.) There was an FBI wiretap at the time, in which he was not-so-subtly threatening Brosal. "He can score unbelievable," A.J. When Jimmy returned from work, his son greeted him with the big news. Croatia | "After games you'd have these blue-collar guys next to wealthy real estate developers. Yes. Before the Galantes, the blue-collar town north of the Big Apple didnt even have a rink. "It comes right from the top.". "I loved every player," Jimmy asserts. To circumvent the cap, Galante regularly doled out cash bonuses, gave some players exorbitant living allowances and gave others checks for housing after their allowances had already been paid. According to authorities, DeLuca said yes and provided Colella's address. The Galantes would cut corners. And that wasn't all. I didnt feel anything, then I realized I was injured. During a 1994 junior hockey game he was on a breakaway when he caught a high stick under his visor. But he would become something of a hockey Crash Davis: He would play through 2013, retiring at 37. Hockey needs a new demographic. The Danbury Trashers earned respect with their fists as often as their sticks. Wagner had once set a West Coast Hockey League single-season record with 503 penalty minutes. did his homework," says former Trashers center Drew Omicioli, "putting in research and hard work to build the team.". Not sure what records they were getting at because the Danbury arena was tiny compared to, say, Memorial Coliseum. In their inaugural season, they didnt win their division and lost in the second round of the playoffs. You did right by him and were loyal, and he would do anything for you. ", Roseanne Galante, reasonably, asked her husband and son if they had any idea what they were doing. But he went off the ice on a stretcher. A later indictment alleged that in 1992, Galante and associates conspired to set fire to a truck from a rival carting firm and kidnap a driver at gunpoint. Its truly unreal whats been going on.