Back in February, the Montreal media, and by extension, everybody else in the hockey world, was awaiting a bombshell of a story that was sure to not only rock the very foundation the Montreal Canadiens franchise stood on, but also forever tarnish the legacy of the NHL's most storied team in its centennial season. In other words: this was going to be huge.I remember having 14 browsers open, furiously clicking the refresh button waiting to see something scandalous, only to be severely disappointed.
As it turns out, a couple of players, Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn specifically, had some connections to Pasquale Mangiola, a gangster that had been busted in a sting operation. Mangiola allegedly had access to the brothers' credit cards and bank statements, while also setting them up with houses and cars when they arrived in Montreal. Somebody you want your players to be involved with? Absolutely not. Something that would forever tear down the reputation of your franchise and bring former players to tears at the very thought of it? Certainly possible, I guess, but doubtful.
Worry not, Habs fans, because according to multiple reports coming out on Friday, Montreal police have cleared the Kostitsyn's of any wrongdoing in the case.
From TSN:
Montreal police fully cleared Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn of any illegal activity after the Canadiens players were linked to a man who was arrested in a sting operation in February. A police spokesman told Le Journal de Montreal that 5,000 phone calls made by Pasquale Mangiola were replayed to see if he had any incriminating conversations with the brothers. According to Le Journal, roughly 2,000 of those calls involved the Kostitsyns, but there was no evidence of criminal activity or sports betting. There was also no evidence of any wrongdoing with Canadiens defenceman Roman Hamrlik, who was also associated with Mangiola.Now they (Sergei, anyway) can get back to important things ... like trying to fight Mikhail Grabovski.
