EWING, N.J. (AP) - Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet financed a nationwide sports gambling ring in which about a half dozen current NHL players placed bets, authorities said Tuesday.
Tocchet, a former NHL star, was served with a criminal complaint Monday and was expected to travel from his Arizona home to answer charges of promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy, state police Col. Rick Fuentes said.
Fuentes said an investigation into the New Jersey-based ring discovered the processing of more than 1,000 wagers, exceeding $1.7 million, on professional and college sports, mostly football and basketball. He declined to identify the NHL players who made wagers, but said none bet on hockey.
Authorities said Tocchet and state police Trooper James J. Harney were partners in the operation, with the ex-NHL forward providing the financing.
"Tocchet received illegal sports bets from wagers and funneled money back to New Jersey," Fuentes said.
Messages left with the Coyotes were not immediately returned. The Coyotes were home Tuesday night against Chicago.
Tocchet, one of three associate coaches on the Coyotes' staff, took over the head coaching duties for 10 days in December while Wayne Gretzky was away to be with his dying mother.
The 41-year-old Tocchet played 18 years with six teams, including three seasons with the Coyotes from 1997-00. He spent most of his career with the Philadelphia Flyers, from 1984-92 and again in 2001-02. He is one of only two players in NHL history to collect 400 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes during his career.
Harney, 40, was arrested Monday and has been suspended from the force. The eight-year police veteran was charged in an arrest warrant with official misconduct, promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy. Another man accused of taking bets is James A. Ulmer, 40, who was charged with promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy.
Both men were free after posting 10 percent of their bail. Harney had $100,000 bail; Ulmer had $50,000 bail. The two men were expected to be arraigned in state Superior Court in Burlington County within two weeks.
The state police investigation into the ring started in October 2005 after authorities received a tip on Harney's sports wagering activities from his New Jersey home, and taking phone calls during his patrol job based out of the agency's Moorestown station, Fuentes said.
"We used another trooper acting in an undercover capacity to place a bet with Harney," Fuentes said. Once Harney took the bait, the investigation was under way, he said.
Over the course of the investigation, state police found wagers placed by about half a dozen current NHL players and from someone Fuentes described as a "movie celebrity," all of whom have been interviewed as part of the investigation. Fuentes did not disclose their names, saying the investigation was ongoing.
Fuentes said the hockey players bet on football and basketball games, not hockey.
The gambling ring had a connection with organized crime in Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, Fuentes said.
He said charges against more individuals were possible.
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Coyotes' Tocchet accused in gambling bust
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