James Harney, the New Jersey State Trooper charged along with ex-NHL player and assistant coach Rick Tocchet with running a gambling ring, resigned from the State Police yesterday.
Harney's resignation came one day before a scheduled court appearance later today. Harney's lawyer, Craig Mitnick, wouldn't say why his client would be in court today, but he did publish Harney's resignation letter on his firm's Web site.
In the letter, Harney apologizes for his actions, though he doesn't specify what he might be apologizing for. I could quote from the letter at length, but I think the following passage tells us all we need to know about what's coming next:
I will continue to accept responsibility for my actions and will continue to be absolutely forthright. The disgrace which I have placed upon the Division, myself and my family will remain with me forever.
The lawyer for the third defendant in the case, Edwin Jacobs, confirmed in an interview with the Newark Star-Ledger what many had already been openly speculating:
"All counsel in this case have been in a dialogue with the Attorney General's Office many times," Jacobs said. "I know that Harney and his lawyer have been in discussions with the attorney general almost since the outset. It certainly appears to me that Harney has reached a cooperative agreement. But you'd have to talk to Harney's lawyer about that."Jacobs, who declined to say whether Ulmer has accepted a deal with authorities, told ESPN.com, "Harney has been cooperating and negotiating almost since the outset."
Click here for the ESPN.com story, which included this interesting tidbit:
Authorities placed liens on two houses owned by Harney. Among the assets seized from the trooper's residence were Rolex watches valued at more than $250,000 and nine plasma televisions, two of which were located in a bathroom.
Things don't look good for Tocchet, do they? In the end, his involvement has been an incredible stroke of luck for authorities in New Jersey. Had Tocchet's role in this affair been played by someone without his public profile and connection to the NHL, the spotlight would have been exclusively trained on the New Jersey State Police.
Instead, what would have been a one-day story in New Jersey gets the name "Operation Slap Shot", and the State Police get to publicly deflect all the attention onto Tocchet, Wayne Gretzky and his wife.
