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Owner History - 6 Owner Groups in 34 years
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Charles Wang
Tenure: 2000 to Present (with Sanjay Kumar
2000-04) |
Charles Wang was being worked into the
scenes of the New York Islanders by New York State senator Alfonse
D'Amato, who himself was hired to represent SMG during their public
hearing regarding the Nassau Coliseum. Wang, who is very much into
sports teams - owning them, was originally approached by Bob Gutkowski to
join his group with Charles Koppelman in 1999, but Wang declined.
Wang, a basketball fan at heart just like the Islanders original
owner Roy Boe, is a good friend, and rival, of Cablevision owner
Charles Dolan.
Wang admittedly knew nothing about hockey, but was
interested by D'Amato's pitch of owning a major league sports team
as well as the potential of the surrounding property.
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With rumors
that Howard Milstein was looking to sell the Islanders to the first
bidder, and that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was considering
software billionaire Paul Allen as a prospective owner, Charles Wang
jumped in the bidding along with Sanjay Kumar with money backed by
Long Island software giant Computer Associates, Inc.
(CA). They bought the Islanders for $190 million.
Born in Shanghai, China, in 1944, Wang and his family moved
to New York when he was eight years old. He earned a Bachelor of
Science degree in mathematics from Queens College. Wang would later become the founder
and CEO of Computer Associates in 1976. He also owns the Arena Football
League's New York Dragons, who play in the Nassau Coliseum as well.
A few years after buying the Islanders Wang decided to step down as
CEO of CA and take an advisor role as he prepared for retirement. He
named Kumar as his successor to control daily operation of CA.
Wang is the founder of Renaissance Properties, a
real estate development firm involved in projects across Long
Island, including Old Plainview. His group is also redeveloping
districts within the village of Oyster Bay. He is the master
developer of the Lighthouse project, a $1.5 billion proposal which is his vision for the
renovation of the Coliseum and transformation of the 72 surrounding
acres. His plan includes the building of a practice facility that
will include four rinks as well as condominiums, a health club and a
sports technology center. His original plan, after partnering with Reckson
Associates Realty Corp. in 2006, included a 60 story
tower which he later nixed due to lack of support from Nassau County
politicians.
In 2002 Nassau County Officials considered
condemning the SMG lease and joining the Islanders on a new arena
project, but it never happened. In 2006 Wang was forced to submit
his proposal to a Long Island committee along with three other
groups (which included New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon) as county
lawmakers insisted on a bidding process.
Charles has written several books including Techno
Vision II: Every Executive's Guide to Understanding and Mastering
Technology and the Internet. He's active in charitable causes
through the Charles B. Wang Foundation such as The Smile Train,
Make-A-Wish Foundation and The National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children. He donated over $50 million dollars to the State
University of New York at Stony Brook for the construction of the Charles
B. Wang Center. Wang funded the expansion of the Chinatown
Health Clinic and the clinic has been renamed the Charles
B. Wang Community Health Center. He created Project Hope to help
spread the game of hockey to his homeland in the country of China.
Charles Wang's wife Nancy Lee is the chief
executive officer of Neulion, Inc.,
in Plainview, a company that builds private broadcasting networks
that operate over the Internet. Prior to forming NeuLion, Nancy
established iCan SP, a wholly owned Computer Associates
International subsidiary. Nancy joined CA in 1978.
Wang is known for an often unorthodox style of
leading and he's not a stranger to controversy. In the summer of
2006, he received heat for hiring Neil Smith as the Islanders new
general manager to replace Mike Milbury, who stepped down. 40 days
later, he fired Smith and cited philosophical differences. Wang,
looking to set up a power of "committee," then shocked the
Islanders community by hiring backup goaltender Garth Snow as the
team's new general manager. He's also raised eyebrows across the NHL
instantly for signing Alexei Yashin to a landmark 10 year, $89
million contract in 2001 (later bought out in 2007), and a 15 year
$67.5 million contract for goaltender Rick DiPietro in 2006. He and
Kumar also made the controversial decision to retain Milbury as GM
once they bought the team.
Often hard lined, Wang set forth a team rule
concerning holdouts that if they went unsigned past a certain point
in training camp, they would not be signed for the season. He made
an exception in 2001 with late signees Zdeno Chara and Brad Isbister,
but put his foot down with Sean Bergenheim in 2006. After
buying the Islanders from Howard Milstein, Wang restored
respectability back to the franchise by instituting an annual
payroll averaged around $40 million. Under Milstein's reign, the
team had been forced to pare down to between $15-20 million. After
missing the playoffs from 1995-2001, the Islanders qualified for the
postseason three years in a row from 2002-04.
In early 2009, Wang and Reckson leader Scott
Rechler got the green light from Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi
to proceed with the billion dollar renovation of the aging Nassau
Coliseum and the surrounding land otherwise known as the Lighthouse
Project. Wang is currently in a political battle with the Town of
Heampstead and supervisor Kate Murray, who is up for re-election in
late 2009. Murray has suggested just a renovation of the Coliseum,
which is not considered a viable financial option by
Wang.
As for Kumar, he previously served as president
and COO of CA before taking over for Wang. He shared part ownership
of the Islanders and Dragons with Charles Wang. Kumar was born in
Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1962 and immigrated to the United States with
his family when he was 14.
 In
2006 Computer Associates became the subject of a $400 million
accounting fraud scandal under Kumar's reign. He was subsequently
relieved of his position, any association with the company and in
April of 2006 Kumar pleaded guilty to obstruction of
justice and securities fraud charges at CA. Charles Wang cut all ties with
Kumar and bought him out, taking over full ownership of the
Islanders and Dragons. Kumar was sentenced to 12 years in federal
prison.
"I know that I was wrong and there was no excuse for
my conduct," Kumar told the judge at his sentencing at federal court.
"I do apologize for my mistakes and ask for forgiveness from all
involved." In addition to the 12-year term, he was
fined $8 million. According to the 2004 indictment, Kumar orchestrated a plot
to report more than $2 billion in false revenue between 1999 and 2000. The
indictment also charged that Kumar and other executives instructed
salespeople to complete deals after the quarter had closed.
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Steven Gluckstern & Howard Milstein |
New York Sports Ventures
Howard Milstein, Ed Milstein, Steven
Gluckstern
Tenure: 1998-2000 |
Following the John Spano fiasco, NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman was extremely careful with who he steered
towards the Islanders as potential buyers. At that time the
consensus was whoever took over it couldn't possibly get any worse
than recent history. Well....we soon would find out otherwise.
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Bettman found Howard Milstein, head sibling of a
powerful and rich New York real estate empire, and Steven M.
Gluckstern,
a co-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes. At first glance they seemed like
a stable partnership. The billionaire Milstein had visions of
developing a new arena while Gluckstern brought with him experience
of already being an NHL owner. Together, the two created New York
Sports Ventures and purchased the New York Islanders from John O.
Pickett, Jr. for $195 million. They took over operations of the team
on February 25, 1998.
The deal was held up at the start since Bettman
had to convince SMG, the management group of the Nassau Coliseum, to
agree to the deal. Representatives for SMG, after meeting with New
York Sports Ventures, were opposed to Milstein's apparent interest
in the Islanders was clearly based on a greater interest in the
development rights for the 70-acre Coliseum property.
Milstein and Gluckstern made a lot of promises but
unfortunately none of them ever really came true except for one.
During the 1999-00 season the teams' classic jersey was restored
with a deeper blue. But that was the extent of the good news. From
the beginning Milstein and Gluckstern attempted a power play which
would ultimately backfire and turn the perception of the group into
villains. Individuals were hired into the organization, and got
involved in the hockey operations, who had no right being there,
like team president David Seldon and an executive named Darren
Anderson, who many believed was just a spy for Milstein.
Milstein's plan to turn the Uniondale area into a
small city wasn't excepted well by Nassau County politicians. They
decided not to back him in his quest to oust SMG from the Coliseum
and the surrounding property. Instead the politicians stood behind
SMG which proved to Milstein he was up against a much more powerful
adversary than he had thought. The management group signed a 30 year
lease with Pickett in 1985 which bound them to the Coliseum until
2015. Milstein even went as far as to offer SMG $7 million to buy
out the remaining 17 years of the lease which was turned down.
That's when Milstein got creative. In an effort to
find any kind of loophole to the lease, Milstein found one in the
form of "Hoistgate." During the summer of 1998, an
engineer was attempting to install a new center ice scoreboard. He
noticed a crack in one of the hoist in the ceiling of the Coliseum
that needed to be replaced. Milstein's lawyers immediately filed a
lawsuit against Nassau County and SMG claiming the Coliseum was too
hazardous. He ordered the Islanders out of the Coliseum and into
temporary offices in Manhattan. Milstein even had a website created
called coliseum-coverup.com highlighting problems with the NVMC. (
You can partially view coliseum-coverup.com
here )
Because of the move, the Islanders training camp
lasted a month in Lake Placid, NY when they were originally
scheduled for a one week stay. Politicians were angered by the move
and engineers were brought in to inspect the building. The Coliseum
was deemed safe. Following the incident, NY Sports Ventures was
brought in to meet with SMG to work something out with county
executive Thomas Gulotta serving as mediator.
The two sides reportedly almost reached an
agreement, but at the last minutes Milstein and his man Seldin
decided once again it wasn't enough unless they had complete control
over the Coliseum and the property. Gulotta, angered by the
preceding, called the Islanders owners "pigs at the
trough." A Supreme Court ruling then ordered the Islanders back
into the NVMC in time for the start of the 1998-99 season.
Milstein didn't take not getting his way very
lightly. With no prospect of a new arena in sight and Milstein's
claim that the team was losing too much money the owners announced that
the franchise would now operate on a very strict budget. GM Mike
Milbury got a new deal and holdout sniper Zigmund Palffy received a
five year, $26 million deal, but he would not see the second year of
it. Milstein's interest in the team started to wain as he became
more interested in trying to purchase the NFL's Washington Redskins
for a reported $800 million. Milstein and Gluckstern ordered Milbury
to pare down the payroll and despite once stating he would never
trade Palffy, was forced to deal him off to Los Angeles at the end
of the season.
Entering the 1999-00 season, Milstein began to
distance himself from the Islanders. His brother, Edward Milstein,
took over decision making control of the team. Seldin was replaced
by John Sanders. With the Islanders payroll down to $20 million,
Milbury was ordered to pare it down even more. Reportedly payroll's
of $15, $10, and even $5 million were discussed, but Milbury refused
to go below $15 million. The purge began with the Palffy deal.
Reportedly, he was almost dealt to the New York Rangers which added
even more hatred by the fans directed towards the ownership group.
Bettman nixed the deal because of the large amount of cash ($2.5
million) discussed to go to the Islanders from the Rangers. The
Rangers also walked away from the deal when Howard Milstein
attempted to get Cablevision to rework the Islanders cable deal so
he could gain more immediate profit in exchange for Palffy.
The negative publicity Milstein received from the
New York media played a big factor in the NFL turning down his bid
for the Redskins. As for Gluckstern, he spent most of the 1998-99
season looking for someone to buy Milstein's share of the team once
his interest dissipated. He turned to Charles Koppelman, a recording
industry mogul, to be his money man. Only problem was Koppelman,
like Milstein, was only interested in the property and not the
hockey team. In August of 1999, it was rumored that former MSG
president Bob Gutkowski put in a bid for the team and he vowed that
if he got control he would fire Milbury. But both Koppelman and
Gutkowski backed off once they learned what Milstein learned, that
SMG would not back down or be bought out.
Edward Milstein also had aspirations to buy the
club from his brother. Perhaps Edward Milstein's biggest move was to
nix a proposed deal between the Islanders and Florida Panthers at
the 2000 deadline that would have seen Oleg Kvasha, Mark Parrish and
Ivan Novoseltsev traded to Long Island in exchange for Kenny Jonsson
and Mariusz Czerkawski.
With neither Gluckstern, Ed Milstein or Gutkowski
finding the financial support or backers to purchase the team, the
Islanders were basically back up on the market, which paved the way
for the next savior....Charles Wang.
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The Fraud: John Spano
Tenure: June 9, 2006 to July 18, 2006 (40
days) |
In October of 1996, John O. Pickett, Jr.
thought he found a prospective owner when he agreed to sell the New
York Islanders to a 32 year old Dallas businessman named John Spano.
Two months later, it was revealed that Spano was actually a sham who
almost conned Pickett, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and many
investors.
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Termed as a "Texas Billionare," Spano
turned out to be nothing of the sort. Oddly enough, Bettman steered
Spano in Pickett's direction despite Spano's failure to purchase two
other NHL franchises, the Dallas Stars and the Florida Panthers.
Spano claimed to own a Dallas-based equipment leasing company called
the Bison Group, which headed a conglomerate of 10 subsidiary
companies with more than 6,000 employees worldwide.
Spano went on to claim he owned a vacation home in
the Hamptons on Long Island along with many other extravagant things
like cars and his own jet. But an exhaustive investigation by Long
Island newspaper Newsday revealed Spano was not exactly the person
he portrayed himself to be. Spano did not own a private plane. His
trips were mostly leased or chartered and on the Islanders tab. He
did not own a house in the Hamptons and it was later revealed that
his company the Bison Group held no appreciable assets. The
Islanders later claimed he milked them for over $200,000 for
chartered planes, limousines and hotel stays.
Spano was approved by the NHL Board of Governors
on January 24, 1997. The closing date for the sale was April 7, 1997
and Pickett sold the Islanders to Spano for an agreed upon $165
million ($80 million for the team and $85 million for the cable
deal). Spano reportedly gave Pickett $80 million secured by a loan
from Boston's Fleet Bank. Spano was scheduled to send Pickett
another $16.8 million upon closing which was the first of five agreed
upon annual installments of the $85 million balance of the deal for
the team's lucrative cable television rights. Spano gave Pickett his
word that the check was in the mail.
Two months later Pickett was attempting to contact
Bettman for him to intervene as Spano was coming up with excuses for
not paying up. Reportedly, during the two months Spano told Pickett
to expect a wire for $5 million on June 5th, but instead it was for
$5,000. After another check for $17 million bounced, Spano promised
Pickett of a repayment, but when received it was for $1,700.
Finally in July Bettman stepped in and ordered
Spano to desist from any involvement with the Islanders. Spano ceded
operating control of the Islanders back to Pickett on July 11, 1997.
Pickett was left to negotiate with Fleet Bank a repayment of the $80
million loan which Spano had secured with the Islanders assets.
Spano was formally charged by federal authorities
with bank and wire fraud on July 17, 1997. He turned himself over to
Long Island authorities on July 23rd and made bail on July 28th for
$3 million. Spano was sentenced in April 2000 to 5 years, 11 months
in jail and ordered to pay $11.9 million in restitution, undergo
counseling and serve a 5-year probation on his release.
Only 8 months following his release in 2005, Spano
was back to his old ways. He set up a firm called the Commercial
Financial Group in the Cleveland suburb of Westlake. The Federal
Postal Inspection Service in Cleveland filed a complaint claiming
Spano used the company to scam more than a dozen companies. He
promised to obtain loans for businesses, and then pocketed the fees
they sent him without ever delivering the loans. Spano was
accused of swindling Badger Lighting and Signs in Waukesha, Wis.,
out of $17,000 by collecting a "security deposit" on
$100,000 in metal-bending machinery he agreed to purchase and lease
to their firm.
In January of 2006 Spano was sentenced to another
51 months (over 4 years) in federal prison after pleading guilty to five counts of mail
fraud. He also was ordered to repay $293,000 to the 39 firms he was accused of victimizing around the country in his
latest confidence scheme. The victims will most likely never receive any of the money because Spano
reportedly has no resources and owes millions of dollars in restitution in the Islander case.
The numerous amount of companies scammed by Spano
and all the details are too much to list here. More can be found in
the articles below. The Dallas Observer chronicled Spano's fraudulent history up to
the aftermath of the fiasco involving the Islanders.
View it here: Meltdown
Man.
More on Spano:
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The Gang of Four
Robert Rosenthal, Steven Walsh, Jerry
Grossman, Ralph Palleschi
Tenure: 1992 to 1997 (5 years) |
In 1992 John O. Pickett, Jr. decided from
his Florida home that he was going to sell 10 percent of the
Islanders franchise and hand over the day to day operations of the
club to four local businessmen. Robert Rosenthal, Stephen Walsh,
Ralph Palleschi and Paul R. Greenwood were reportedly longtime
season ticket holders. They took over the team in early August of
1992, but it almost happened under different circumstances. Pickett
was supposedly also in negotiations with Cablevision mogul Charles
Dolan and was willing to surrender 99 percent of the team with the
stipulation that the Gang of Four would run the team under Dolan's
leadership.
Instead the deal between Pickett and Dolan fell
through and the Gang of Four were introduced on August 17th in a
press conference at the Garden City Hotel. The Group was given
control of the Islanders after paying forth to Pickett a $10 million
loan with an understanding that the loan could be converted and
augmented up to a 50-percent ownership stake over 5 years. Shortly
after the deal, the loan was converted into a 10-percent equity
stake in the franchise. A fifth man, Jerome Grossman was installed
as President of the team, replacing Bill Torrey. The man who served
20 years with the Islanders, Torrey as general manager was replaced by his
assistant Don Maloney.
One of the worst moves the management group made
was not off the ice, but making a decision to change the Islanders
look on the ice. Their decision to change the Islanders colors and
logo in 1995 only made the team a complete joke of the NHL. "We never
intended to strip the team of it's tradition," Rosenthal said.
"But we made a mistake. We did not read the signals correctly.
We misunderstood the underlying passion of the fans." And these
were longtime season ticket holders? Thankfully, the old logo was
restored in 1997-98 once New York Sports Ventures took control of the team.
Soon, the original colors (while a different shade) were restored as
well.
The ownership group continued along a bumpy road
that wasn't helped by Maloney's unpopular trading of Pierre Turgeon to
Montreal for disgruntled Kirk Muller. The group approved Maloney's
hiring of Mike Milbury as coach of the Islanders in 1995-96 and
later, following Maloney's dismissal, endorsed Milbury as GM if he
wanted the job.
In October of 1996 the Gang of Four decided they
were a bit in over their heads. Pickett came back into the picture
and looked to sell the team to another prospective owner.
Update: On February 25, 2009 former members
of the Gang of Four Stephen Walsh and Paul Greenwood were arrested on securities fraud charges
for swindling top-flight universities out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University sued the duo's Greenwich, Ct.-based Westridge Capital
Management and WG Trading Investors, demanding the return of $114 million.
The federal government says Greenwood bought horses with the stolen cash, and Walsh paid for a luxury apartment for his ex-wife as part of a divorce settlement.
Charities, universities, pension plans and others had investments of $668 million with WG Trading Investors run by Greenwood and Walsh.
The story, as a result of the downward spiral of the U.S. economy,
became public following the famed Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme in
early 2009 which saw many investors, including former New York
Islanders player Bob Nystrom, lose millions of dollars. Each could face up to 20 years in prison for each fraud charge if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney.
They have been charged with misappropriating more than $550 million
to support lavish lifestyles. If convicted, they will become the
third and fourth former owners of the New York Islanders franchise
to serve time in prison. |
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Here are bios for the Gang of Four:
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Robert Rosenthal
Co-Chairman/CEO
Mr. Rosenthal is Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer and Chairman of the Investment Committee at First
Long Island Investors, Inc. From 1971 until 1983, Mr.
Rosenthal held increasingly responsible positions at Entenmann’s
Inc., eventually becoming Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer. Mr. Rosenthal was Co-chairman and
Co-chief Executive Officer of the New York Islanders Hockey Club,
L.P. from 1992 to 1996.
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Mr. Rosenthal was also a member
of the Board of Directors of W.P. Stewart & Co., Inc. from 1993
through 1998 and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of W.P.
Stewart Asset Management (NA), Inc., a subsidiary of Stewart and
Deputy Managing Director of Stewart from 1998 to 2003. W.P. Stewart
& Co., Ltd. is a global investment advisory business and is a
New York Stock Exchange company which Mr. Rosenthal helped take
public in 2000. He is a member of the Executive Committee
and the Board of Trustees of North Shore Long Island Jewish Health
System, as well as Chairman of its Investment Committee and Senior
Vice Chairman of North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System
Foundation. He is also Co-Chairman of its Cardiology
Leadership Committee. In addition, Mr. Rosenthal serves
as a director of Systemax Inc., a New York Stock Exchange
company,and is a trustee of Hofstra University. Mr. Rosenthal
graduated cum laude from Boston University in 1971 and from Hofstra
University Law School in 1974. Mr. Rosenthal was admitted to the New
York State Bar in 1975. He lives in Old Brookville with wife Jodi,
and has two daughters Julie, Jennifer, a son Gregory and a
step-daughter Lindsay. He is a son of George Rosenthal of Great
Neck, L.I., and the late Udith Rosenthal. His father, now retired,
was a senior partner at G. Rosenthal & Company, a former
accounting firm in Long Island City, Queens.
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Stephen Walsh
Co-Chairman/CEO
Mr. Walsh is a managing partner of Walsh, Greenwood & Co., a
North Hills investment and trading firm. He graduated from the
University of Buffalo and also attended Bernard Baruch Graduate
School of Public and Business Administration. He is a founding
director of the New York Institutional Options Society and has been
a member of the American Stock Exchange Options Advisory Committee.
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Mr. Walsh is also a member of the Executive Committee of Signal
Apparel Co., Inc. in Chattanooga, Tennessee and also serves on the
board of Directors of the Long Island Alzheimer's Foundation and as
Associate Trustee of North Shore University Hospital. He lives in
Port Washington with wife Janet. He has two sons, Michael and Andrew
and a daughter Sarah.
Walsh is currently facing securities fraud charges by the U.S.
Attorney's office for allegedly swindling investors of hundreds of
millions of dollars.
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Ralph Palleschi
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Palleschi is President and Chief Operating
Officer of First Long Island Investors, Inc. Mr. Palleschi began his career with the
international accounting firm of Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co.,
on their audit staff in 1968. During his nine-year
tenure, he held various staff and management positions, including
Manager on the audit staff. He joined Entenmann’s,
Inc., in 1977 as Assistant Controller. During his six
years with Entenmann’s, he held the positions of Assistant
Controller, Corporate Controller, Vice President-Finance and Chief
Financial Officer.
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Mr. Palleschi was Chief Operating
Officer of the New York Islanders Hockey Club, L.P. from
1993–1997. He was President of W. P. Stewart Asset
Management (NA), Inc. from 1998 to 2003. He is a Director
of Astoria Financial Corporation, a New York Stock Exchange company,
Chairman of the National Center for Disability Services, and
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Variety Child Learning Center. Mr.
Palleschi graduated from St. John’s University in 1968 and is a
Certified Public Accountant.
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Paul R. Greenwood
Executive Vice President
Dr. Greenwood is a founder of Walsh, Greenwood
& Co. in 1979 and now serves as Managing Partner in the firm. He
received his BA in Psychology, and his MBA and Ph.D in Finance from
the University of California at Los Angeles. He has had numerous
articles published in professional journals on finance and
investment strategy. Dr. Greenwood is a director and member of the
Executive Committee of Signal Apparel Co., Inc. and a director of
Boca Bancorp, Inc. in Boca Raton, FL. He lives in Westchester with
his wife, Robin. |
Greenwood is currently facing securities fraud charges by the U.S.
Attorney's office for allegedly swindling investors of hundreds of
millions of dollars.
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John O. Pickett, Jr.
Tenure: Minority 1972 - 1978, Majority 1978 -
1998 (20 years) |
John O. Pickett, Jr. was one
of 30 minority investors in the Islanders back to the teams'
inception in 1972. A venture capitalist from Arkansas, Pickett moved
to Long Island in the late 1960's. Even though he was an original
member of the ownership group, he stayed in the background with his
one percent stake.As the Islanders became
more popular and a fashionable commodity on Long Island, Pickett
purchased another one percent stake as a birthday present for his
wife. He did this only months before the State Supreme Court
stripped Roy Boe of his ownership of the New York Islanders in
1978. |
When the
problems of the Islanders franchise became public, Pickett got
involved in assessing the damage with the other investors, lawyers
and GM Bill Torrey. "I could see where it was going to be a lot
of trouble," said Pickett reflecting in later years.
"Frankly I was prepared to write my shares off. I thought I'd
take my losses and walk away."
It was later learned that the Islanders under Boe
had been running a $1 million annual debt and had just $10,000 cash
in the spring of 1978. While analyzing statistics and all the legal
ramifications with Torrey, Pickett developed an appreciation for
Torrey's dedication to the franchise. "I started, I
guess, feeling sorry for him. And at a certain point, it turned into
a challenge."
Pickett and Torrey became even more determined to
make it work when it became clear to them that lawyers for the New
York Rangers, eager to receive the remainder of their
territorial fee, were suggesting the Islanders go into bankruptcy.
Torrey convinced Pickett that this was an effort by the Rangers to
dissolve the Islanders and get their hands on superstar defenseman
Denis Potvin.
So Pickett rallied the partners together and raised the money to
handle immediate operating expenses. He paid $1.8 million to secure
controlling interest and fellow minority owner Nelson Doubleday put
up $465,000. In the end, $4 million was raised. The group also
helped Boe find a buyer for the Nets to relieve the Islanders of
that debt. The NHL helped out by forgiving future interest on the
$9.3 million remaining from the franchise fee.
During the struggle, Meadowlands officials attempted to lure the
Islanders to New Jersey. Once he gained control of the Islanders,
Pickett used that as leverage to convince Nassau County to
restructure the team's lease at the Coliseum. The County agreed to
reduce the rent at the Coliseum in exchange for a 30 year commitment
to Nassau. Pickett also got the County to agree to giving the
Islanders a piece of the advertising revenue from the scoreboard, as
well as giving them 5,000 square feet of office space at the
Coliseum.
100 small creditors were then paid off with cash by the ownership
group. The last thing Pickett needed to address was a lawsuit for $4
million against the Islanders by Cablevision, a growing Long Island
based broadcasting company that is now an industry empire. The
lawsuit was the result of an attempt by Boe to sell the Islanders TV
rights behind Cablevision's backs, and in a breach of contract,
without their consent. As a settlement, Pickett agreed to surrender
to Cablevision the Islanders' broadcasting rights, with no revenue,
for five years. The Islanders made out well with the revised deal in
1982, earning a $13 million annual payout from Cablevision to
broadcast the games for the next 30 years. The cable deal would
become so important to the value of the team that it would later be
worth $100 million, more than the team was worth, in 1997. Pickett
also signed a lease in 1985 with Spectacor
Management Group bounding the Islanders to the
Coliseum until 2015. In accordance with the lease the Islanders
could not play home games anywhere else. It also called for the team
to give as much as two-thirds of revenue, including ticket sales,
advertising, and all of parking to SMG and the county. The agreement
seemed very debilitating to the franchise, but Pickett overvalued
the worth of luxury boxes which the lease allowed him to build and
pocket the revenue himself. With the Coliseum not having enough
luxury suites to make a profit and little room to add more, the
lease became an albatross for the Islanders franchise for many years
to come.
With the Islanders now in financial stability and
a solid core of future hall of famers, the team went on a stretch of
winning four straight Stanley Cup Championships from 1980-83 under
the ownership of John O.Pickett, Jr. Following
the Islanders glory years, Pickett moved to Florida and basically
became an absentee owner. GM Torrey started to dismantle the
Islanders of it's aging stars, which at the same time could have
been construed as the possibility that ownership either couldn't or
didn't want to afford them. Before leaving for Florida, Picket left
the club in the hands of two of his trusted right hand men: Bill
Skehan and Art McCarthy. As the years went
on, the Islanders began to play hardball with some of their players,
particularly rising star Pat LaFontaine. The impasse saw LaFontaine
traded in October of 1991 following a nasty holdout. This incident
was preceded by the unpopular releasing of Bryan Trottier, the
Islanders all time leading scorer. By 1992
Pickett decided to sell 10 percent of the team and control of the
day to day operations to a four man group of local investors that
was in all certainty well intentioned, but very overmatched. But, at
the same time Pickett was in negotiations with Cablevision owner
Charles Dolan, a Long Islander, to purchase the team. Apparently the
two had talked about it for 10 years. According to the rumored
complex deal, Dolan was to take responsibility for the Islanders $32
million debt ($22 million in bank debt and $10 million the Gang of
Four gave Pickett as a loan to operate the franchise). Pickett was
to retain just a one percent interest in the team, that would be run
by the Gang of Four. But the deal between Pickett and Dolan fell
through due to complexity and Dolan went on to form a partnership
that bought Madison Square Garden and eventually the Islanders
rivals, the Rangers. Pickett's deal with the Gang of Four remained
in place. While Pickett remained in Florida
he still raked in some profit as a self imposed minority owner. But
in 1997, when it became clear the Gang of Four couldn't handle daily
operations Pickett took action. He attempted to sell the team to a
Dallas businessman named John Spano for $165 million. Months later
it was revealed that Spano did not have the money he claimed to have
and the fiasco embarrassed Pickett, GM Mike Milbury, NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman and many wealthy investors. In a sense,
Pickett behind the scenes saved the Islanders once again when he
insisted Bettman get involved after Spano continually attempted to
avoid paying Pickett the remainder owed for the team. After
believing he had sold the team to Spano in April of 1997, Pickett
regained operating control of the Islanders in July of 1997. He
named his son Barrett N. Pickett as an Alternate Governor to remain
close to the team while John remained in Florida and continued to look for a new
owner. Bettman steered Pickett in
another direction, this time towards Howard Milstein & Steven
Gluckstern. Pickett sold the Islanders to New York Sports Ventures
for $195 million in February of 1998. |
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Roy L.M. Boe
Tenure: 1972 - 1978 (6 years) |
In 1972 the NHL decided to
expand for the third time in 6 years. As an answer to the rival
World Hockey Associations attempt at putting a team in New York
called the New York Raiders, the NHL quickly accepted an application
by 42 year old Roy Boe to buy their Long Island team. Boe considered
naming his new team after the old Eastern Hockey Leagues Long Island
Ducks, who played in Suffolk County, but eventually he settled on
the New York Islanders in homage to the people on Long Island.Boe
grew up in Brooklyn, the son of Norwegian parents who emigrated to
the United States in their teens. Raised in the predominantly
Scandinavian section of Bay Ridge, Boe later attended Yale
University. At Yale Boe got his first taste of the business world.
He went on to become the owner of a beverage company and prospered
in the garment industry thanks to the marketing of his wife, Deon's,
designing of the wrap-around skirt. His company was called Boe Jests
Clothes.
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With his
modest fortune, Boe decided to get into sports ownership with his
purchase of the Westchester Bulls, a minor league team for the New
York Giants, in 1968. His first decision was to move the team to
Long Island. But he didn't stop there. One year later, Boe bought
the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association from
trucking tycoon Arthur Brown. The Nets were sharing the old Commack
Arena in Suffolk County with the Ducks. With the building in poor
shape, Boe eagerly awaited the building of Nassau Coliseum, which
construction was began in 1971. The Nets were to be it's new tenant
as Boe anticipated a merger of the ABA into the National Basketball
Association.
Boe was eager to add an NHL franchise to his
collection, especially at the Nassau Coliseum. Boe convinced a group
of 19 investors to the cost of $6 million for the Islanders along
with an additional $4 million payment to the New York Rangers as a
"territorial fee." The purchase was made official on
December 30, 1971. The Islanders were born.
Boe was quickly becoming a household name on Long
Island due to the large amounts of cash he was spending on team's
and players. He was even listed by Newsday among it's "50 Most
Influential People on Long Island."
Boe's wife Deon designed the Nets' first uniforms,
and she attempted to design the Islanders in green and black. That
was quickly tossed by the politicians on Long Island who saw Nassau
County's colors of Orange and Blue much more appropriate. Given only
three days, an advertising executive named John Alogna from East
Meadow created the Islanders logo with the NY over a silhouette of
Long Island.
On February 15, 1972 Boe hired his first hockey
man at the request of Nelson Doubleday. Apparently, Doubleday told
Boe that he would sign on as a minority owner if Boe hired Oakland
Seals' chief executive Bill Torrey as the team's first general
manager. Doubleday served as a minority owner for the Seals during
Torrey's tenure.
Roy later acquired the Racquet and Rink in
Farmingdale as a permanent practice facility. The rink was used by
the Islanders as well as for youth hockey. As
good as Roy was for Long Island and the Islanders, he sometimes
meddled in their operations as many owners do. One of Boe's biggest
accomplishments was wooing basketball star Julius "Dr. J"
Erving to play for the Nets. Erving, who grew up himself in
Roosevelt, Long Island, signed a deal with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks,
but left their traning camp to join Boe and the Nets. As
compensation, Boe ordered Torrey to send the Atlanta Flames, who
also joined the NHL in 1972, the 58th overall pick in the 1974 NHL
Draft. Atlanta selected defenseman Pat Ribble who went on to eight
sub-par seasons. The Nets would go on to win
the ABA championship in 1974, but the team wasn't as successful at
the box office as the Islanders were. Soon both teams began to
become a financial strain on Boe who was still struggling to pay the
Islanders inception fees. With the Nets doing so badly, Boe even
began shifting funds from the Islanders over to the Nets which
totaled in the range of $3.6 million. By 1977-78, the combined debt
of the two teams was $43 million. The Islanders struggled to even
pay for hotels and transportation for their players. The
Nets eventually merged into the NBA in 1976-77 and moved to the
brand new Meadowlands Complex in New Jersey. To fund the merger, Boe
sold Erving to the Philadelphia 76'ers for $3 million. Soon,
creditors were after Boe to pay up and one named Thomas J. Thornton,
who had two multi-million dollar lawsuits against Boe, seeked
receivership of the Islanders. Boe took his problems to the State
Supreme Court to protect the Islanders from receivership, since
according to the NHL bylaws that process would dissolve the team. After
the lawsuits mounted to about 13 pending, the State Supreme Court
(Justice Douglas F. Young) removed Boe as managing general partner
of the Islanders. Boe's days as the Islanders owner were over and
the team was in desperate need of some funds fast or their days in
the NHL would be over as well. Thankfully, the Islanders were sold
to minority owner John O. Pickett, Jr. in 1978 and together with Bill
Torrey's help he got the Islanders back to financial stability. As
for Boe, he remained in the business world as well as in the
background of the hockey world. In 1992 he attempted to form a new
professional hockey league that received applications from Chicago,
Dallas and Toronto to name a few, but the league never got off the
ground. In 1994, he bought the AHL's Springfield Indians and moved
them to Worcester, renaming them the Icecats. But as the 90's wore
down Boe sold them to a group in Peoria. In
2000, Boe got involved with the Islanders organization once again
when he bought a new AHL franchise which was to serve as the
Islanders affiliate and was to be based in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The team was to be called the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Boe
eventually would sell once again in 2005. The Sound Tigers were
bought by Charles Wang and the Islanders organization. Boe
was a cancer survivor in which he was diagnosed in 1998. He resided in Fairfield County, CT. Boe's other business adventures
included serving as director of a company called Micronetics Inc. as
well as director of Pentech International, Inc., a company engaged
in the distribution of writing instruments. Boe
past away on June 8, 2009 of heart failure. He was reportedly
diagnosed with lymphoma in 2008. In
addition to his daughter Amanda, who lives in Rowayton, Conn., he is
survived by his second wife, Betty Broderick Boe; two other
daughters, Susan and Kate; two sons, Roy Jr., and former Bridgeport
Sound Tigers executive vice president Todd Boe, of Darien, Conn.;
and six grandchildren. His daughter Jeremy, a former secretary with
the Sound Tigers, died in 2007 at the age of 45. |
islesinfo.com
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Daily Log
