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Boots Faces More Legal Problems
by Alanah McGinley on 06/03/08 at 08:19 PM ET
Comments (6)
From Allan Maki at the Globe & Mail,
The latest development is a second lawsuit filed against [Boots] Del Biaggio. It alleges further acts of fraud to secure a $4-million loan. The suit has been launched by the Heritage Bank, which was founded by Del Biaggio’s father.
Both suits were filed after Del Biaggio, 40, said he was unable to repay the loans. Since then, the businessman has dropped out of sight and cannot be reached by telephone. [...]
Del Biaggio’s plight has caught the NHL’s attention, even though league officials have declined any direct comment. One NHL club official wondered what effect Del Biaggio’s difficulties will have on the Predators: Did Del Biaggio make good on his roughly $60-million investment in the team and will his legal woes have any bearing on the Predators’ long-term credibility as they try to gain sponsors and sell season tickets?
The Predators have insisted Del Biaggio’s problems have no bearing on the club. However, should Del Biaggio declare bankruptcy, his personal finances would become a matter of record and include his dealings with the Predators.
Update 10:00am ET: John Glennon at the Tennessean with the fallout in Nashville,
Targeted by three multi-million dollar lawsuits over the past few days, Predators minority owner William “Boots” Del Biaggio III may soon see his role with the hockey club coming to an end as well.
Sources familiar with the team and the National Hockey League said that all interested parties are helping Del Biaggio divest himself of any interest in the club.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Nashville Predators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: William+Del+Biaggio+III,
Comments
This looks like the beginning of the end for the preds.
Hamilton, here we come!
Posted by w2j2 on 06/04/08 at 06:20 AM ET
What about Kansas City?
For some reason, I thought the NHL had some kind of process for “due diligence” in evaluating any potential new owners. Does he just have a silver tongue, or was the league so desperate to get someone in who wouldn’t immediately try to move the team north of the border that they ignored all the red flags?
I’m not an expert by any means, but I find it hard to believe that this many lawsuits could have grounds that no one in the league had noticed before.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 06/04/08 at 07:12 AM ET
“I thought the NHL had some kind of process for “due diligence” in evaluating any potential new owners.”
They do—at first they were concerned at the idea of taking money from some guy who goes by the name “Boots”. But then they had a meeting and someone pointed out that at least his other moniker wasn’t “Cement”. This was considered a very positive thing, and they promptly accepted the dude’s cash. 
(On a more serious note, here’s the link to info on the 3rd lawsuit that ‘what was he thinking’ notes in the first comment. Plus I’ll add an update to the actual post in a moment about fallout in Nashville…)
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 06/04/08 at 09:00 AM ET
Yes, because a minority investor is going belly-up, the Preds are now on to Ontario. Fantastic logic.
Posted by PredNeck from Hicktown on 06/04/08 at 11:54 AM ET
Yes, because a minority investor is going belly-up, the Preds are now on to Ontario. Fantastic logic.
I don’t think they’ll leave - but I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes it more difficult to attract new corporate supposrt. Depending on the business, a company might be at the very least wary of associating itself with an enterprise in legal difficulty. It would depend on how much of a pr hit they anticipated, I suppose.
They do—at first they were concerned at the idea of taking money from some guy who goes by the name “Boots”. But then they had a meeting and someone pointed out that at least his other moniker wasn’t “Cement”. This was considered a very positive thing, and they promptly accepted the dude’s cash.
That must be the problem. I would have pointed out that his nickname is a common name for a pet cat, and what cat can be trusted with money?
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 06/04/08 at 12:24 PM ET
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a third bank has now filed a lawsuit that claims 10 million defruaded by him and his wife to buy THE PREDATORS!!
Posted by what was he thinking from san jose on 06/03/08 at 09:54 PM ET