NHL Danton admits role in plot to kill agent

Atlanta's Dany Heatley is indicted in a vehicular homicide.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. -- Former St. Louis Blues player Mike Danton admitted Friday that he sought to have his agent killed as part of a plot that unraveled when the would-be hit man turned out to be a police informant.
Danton pleaded guilty to a federal murder-for-hire conspiracy charge and could face seven to 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines when he is sentenced Oct. 22.
"Obviously, this is what I think is a good result," prosecutor Stephen Clark said. "I think it's a fair deal."
Danton, 23, was to have been tried in September with co-defendant Katie Wolfmeyer, 19.
He and Wolfmeyer, a college student from a St. Louis suburb, faced identical conspiracy charges, with Wolfmeyer accused of trying to hire the would-be killer of Danton's agent, David Frost.
Frost unharmed
The would-be killer -- identified by the government for the first time in court Friday as Justin Jones, a Columbia, Ill., police dispatcher -- eventually went to police, and Frost was unharmed. The prosecutor told the Friday judge that Danton had promised to pay Jones $10,000 to kill Frost and make it appear like a botched burglary.
Investigators have said Danton was worried that Frost would go to the Blues with information that could damage his career. Frost has said he urged Danton to get help for his use of painkillers and sleeping pills and his erratic behavior.
Wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, Danton hung his head occasionally when U.S. District Judge William Stiehl outlined the case against him. He replied to the judge's questions with a "yes" or "no" before declaring, "I plead guilty."
Danton has been jailed since his arrest April 16 in San Jose, Calif., a day after the San Jose Sharks eliminated the Blues from the playoffs.
Heatley indicted
ATLANTA -- Atlanta Thrashers star Dany Heatley has been indicted on vehicular homicide and five other charges in the 2003 wreck that claimed the life of a teammate.
Police estimated that Heatley was driving his black Ferrari convertible between 60 and 90 mph on a curved road in a residential area when it ran into a brick pillar and iron fence on Sept. 29, 2003.
Dan Snyder, 25, died after several days in a coma, and Heatley broke his jaw and tore two ligaments in his knee. He returned to play with the team in January.
"All of us have driven too fast at one time or another, but this case involves extreme speed," county prosecutor Paul Howard said Friday in announcing the indictment.
Heatley, the MVP of the 2003 National Hockey League All-Star game, was in Canada on Friday preparing for the upcoming season, the team said. He was not immediately available for comment.