Ex-NHLer involved in securities dispute

From Hank Daniszewski of the London Free Press:

Robitaille said he joined the Onco board in 2006.

“They wanted me on board to use my name to talk about the business. But I never had time to really be involved.”

Robitaille played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League, mainly with the Los Angeles Kings.

He is now president of business operations for the Kings after retiring from the ice in 2006.

Onco announced last Friday that Robitaille and four other board members had resigned.

There wasn’t a plan to resign simultaneously, Robitaille said.

“I do not know why these other guys left. All the names were thrown into a pool for the announcement.”

Robitaille said he resigned from the board about three weeks ago because he was too busy with business and family.

Robitaille is among 11 people ordered by the Ontario Securities Commission to stop trading in Onco shares.

The OSC issued the order May 9 because Onco failed to file its financial report for 2007.

The company is listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange and the resource-based CNQ exchange.

Onco was established in 2002 to develop and reactivate oil and gas deposits in Southwestern Ontario and Michigan.

The company recently announced it had discovered 1.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves in Chatham-Kent. The company estimates the reserves are potentially worth more than $5 billion.

Robitaille said he has known Onco president Robert Vanier for a couple of years. Robitaille said he had no expertise in the oil and gas business when he joined the Onco board.

Read the entire article here.

Having his name associated with William “Boots” Del Biaggio at this time is probably not what Robitaille wants to hear. Nonetheless, the former 600-goal scorer is clearly innocent until proven guilty and this may be nothing at all. But, don’t you have to wonder how “Boots” and not Balsillie got involved with the NHL? Has anyone ever heard of background checks?