St. Louis Blues' forward indicted in a murder plot
Mike Danton and a woman were indicted in the plot.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Mike Danton, a forward for the St. Louis Blues, has more serious questions to address after he and a woman were indicted in Illinois on charges that they sought to have an acquaintance of Danton's killed.
The indictment against Danton and Katie Wolfmeyer accused the two of conspiring to arrange a murder for hire and of using a telephone across state lines to arrange it.
An indictment means a federal grand jury made a formal accusation, though both were criminally charged last week.
Tried to hire hit man
Federal authorities said that Danton, with Wolfmeyer's help, tried to hire a hit man for $10,000 to murder an unidentified acquaintance at Danton's suburban St. Louis apartment. Danton and the unidentified acquaintance allegedly argued April 13 over Danton's "promiscuity and use of alcohol," and Danton allegedly feared the acquaintance would talk to Blues management and ruin Danton's career.
Wolfmeyer, 19, apparently was unaware the supposed killer she allegedly was helping hire began secretly working with the FBI.
Ronald Tenpas, the U.S. attorney for Illinois' southern district, asserted that Wolfmeyer, who had a "personal relationship" with Danton, had ample time to reconsider her choice to help in the plot, but did not. He noted that she found someone who said he'd do the killing, and later led the FBI's informer to Danton's apartment building, though the informer told her he'd stopped to get a gun.
Wolfmeyer made her initial appearance Monday in federal court in East St. Louis, Ill., and was freed on $100,000 bond.
Though Wolfmeyer's attorney has said his client had been lied to by Danton, Tenpas said, "I believe that the facts as laid out in the affidavit show this was more than a momentary lapse in judgment."
But puzzles in the case remained unsolved.
Tenpas wouldn't identify the person Danton allegedly wanted dead. He also wasn't clear about when the jailed hockey player would return to the St. Louis area.
Several media outlets in St. Louis, citing unconfirmed sources, maintained that the target was Danton's agent, Dave Frost.
Frost has said repeatedly that's not the case.
"We are not identifying the acquaintance by name," Tenpas said, citing the potential victim's privacy.
He also wouldn't clarify the relationship between Danton and the acquaintance.
"I will simply refer you to the affidavit, which says they had a relationship," he said. "People have many kinds of relationships, personal, familial, business."
Was arrested
Danton, 23, was arrested April 16 in California, a day after the San Jose Sharks eliminated the Blues from the NHL playoffs.
Danton came to the Blues in a June trade from the New Jersey Devils, where he had been twice suspended for disciplinary reasons. This season, Danton -- serving as a fourth-line agitator -- had seven goals, 12 points and 141 penalty minutes -- tied for most on the team.
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