As winter turns to spring, a young man's fancy turns to. . .murder. To Mike Danton, 23, a professional hockey player, that made sense. You see, he had a jones — drugs. And, his behavior was rather bizarre sometimes. His agent, David Frost, was aware of both problems. Therefore, to Danton, anyway, the man needed to be killed.
The spring cleaning plan from hell came to a just conclusion in an Illinois court this week.
The New York Times has the story.
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — Former St. Louis Blues player Mike Danton admitted Friday that he tried to hire a hit man, almost certainly bringing his NHL career to an end.Danton pleaded guilty to a federal murder-for-hire conspiracy charge and faces seven to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 22.
The plot unraveled when the would-be hit man turned out to be a police informant.
With an accomplice, an equally vacuous young woman, Danton tried to hire a hit man, a dispatcher employed by the police department. The man turned informant. It wasn't long before Danton was giving up a stick and skates for an orange jumpsuit.
I am not ready to enter fuddy-duddyhood by writing a lengthy lamentation about the shortcomings of young people. However, over the last two or three years, I have noticed a seeming decline in intelligent behavior by youths I come into contact with both on and off line. Last week, I explained to a young woman that cash can be used to pay most bills. She was under the impression that only credit cards and checks were acceptable. A few weeks ago, I helped an elderly woman up from the sidewalk after she had been knocked down by a large Labrador a fellow in his early twenties was walking. Fortunately, the entrance to a hospital was only three blocks away. While the fragile oldster leaned on my arm and limped to the emergency room, the young man cursed her as as a "clumsy old bitch" and departed with his dog. Here in the blogosphere, I regularly observe behavior notable both for its stupidity and dishonesty, often by people in the next generation. The ripping off of material from Big Media and attaching of one's name to it, tying to create the impression of authorship, is an example. Apparently, other people are not supposed to realize the young bloggers doing this haven't written a damn thing. But, we do.
Article comments
1 - Kevin
David Frost is a highly controversial figure in the minor hockey world in Ontario. While I don't condone any of Danton's behavior, Frost is about as far from sainthood as a man can get. Danton's real "king size mistake" was getting involved with the man in the first place.
2 - Finkleman
I don't disagree with much of what you wrote but the NY Times article really doesn't give a good overall picture of all the aspects of the Danton case.
The agent has been part of Danton's life since the hockey player was 14 years-old. Total manipulation is the picture that has emerged in most accounts of their relationship. He turned Danton against his family, even convincing him to change his surname.
The agent is notorious in Canadian minor hockey circles having been banned from at least one league for his tactics which include turning young players into vicious animals willing to attack and assault other players to win (sure hockey is violent but apparently he has gone over the top).
It's easy to blame drugs but I think this story is much more involved and twisted than that explanation. Numerous stories have indicated that Danton is in fact gay and the agent had been threatening to out him for some time so as to retain control over him.
3 - Mike Kole
As a San Jose Sharks fan, I was shocked when this story broke, one day after the Sharks-Blues series concluded. Something seemed very amiss because it was alleged that Danton had hired a hitman in response to an individual threatening to expose Danton as one involved with alcohol and promiscuity.
I've been around hockey for a long time, and the smart-ass in me immediately said, 'I don't know... aren't those pre-requisites?'
Danton, whose original surname was Jefferson, strikes me as a very sad case, yet instructive: Success, wealth, and fame do not remove one's inner demons.
4 - Mac Diva
I did do my reading about the situation in the American press. I don't know the Canadian scuttlebutt or the back story. However, I find it hard to believe that having a bad agent justifies hiring a hit man, under any circumstances. Had one myself. Waited him out. He's still alive. . .and cheating people. That's life.
5 - Chris
Simple,
He took Mike's kid brother to a party with his friends, drugged him, stripped him, held a gun to his head, raped him and photographed all of it.
Wouldn't you want to kill a man who did that to your brother?