Michael Danton

Mike Danton
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Mike Danton's hockey career

Profile: Mike Danton
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Since Michael was 15 years old, Michael has never said a word that came out of his own mind.He's just a tape recording.
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Michael Danton's father

More quotes RECENT STORIESDanton's lawyers want location of trial moved Mike Danton's lawyers are seeking to have the St. Louis Blues forward's trial held outside the St. Louis area. Mike Danton to remain in jail A federal judge denied bail for St. Louis Blues forward Mike Danton, ordering him to remain in jail until his trial begins. Prosecutor slams Mike Danton A U.S. federal prosecutor argued Mike Danton was "too cowardly" to kill his agent himself.
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Mike Danton claims he was emotionally and physically abused during his childhood by his parents. Danton plotted for months to kill agent: prosecutorsDanton plotted to kill his agent David Frost on three separate occasions over six months.
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Danton had just scored the first playoff goal of his young NHL career.The 23-year-old from Brampton, Ont, was on top of the world.

Just a few days later Danton's world would fall apart.

On April 16th, two days after the Blues were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, police in California arrested Danton, accusing of him of plotting to commit a murder.

What followed was a whirlwind of unbridled speculation about Danton, his upbringing, his friends and the people running his hockey career.
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In the middle is Danton, who waits for the court to decide his fate.

THE LATESTOn May 21, a federal judge denied bail for St. Louis Blues forward Mike Danton, ordering him to remain in jail until his trial begins.
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More details into Danton's alleged murder-for-hire plot emerged during nearly four hours of testimony.
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Johnson, Danton's roommate on road trips, told the FBI agent that Danton and Frost would talk by telephone or text-message each other constantly each day, Jiminez said.
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What is Mike Danton accused of doing?A criminal complaint filed in a federal court in Illinois alleges Danton and a woman, 19-year-old Katie Wolfmeyer, attempted to hire a man to kill an unnamed acquaintance, who Danton had earlier quarrelled with.A criminal complaint filed in a federal court in Illinois alleges Danton and a woman, 19-year-old Katie Wolfmeyer, attempted to hire a man to kill an unnamed acquaintance, who Danton had earlier quarrelled with.
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That argument, according to the police, involved "promiscuity and use of alcohol" by Danton, who "begged the acquaintance not to go to [Blues general manager Larry Pleau] ... and ruin his career."
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The exact nature of Wolfmeyer's relationship with Danton is unclear.Most reports suggest the two are just friends and not romantically linked.Federal authorities say Wolfmeyer confessed to putting Danton in touch with a man who was willing to carry out the murder-for-hire plot, someone authorities have described as a "co-operating witness" for the FBI.
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According to federal prosecutors, Danton was plotting to kill his long-time agent, and confidant, David Frost.
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On at least three occasions over the last six months, say police, Danton tried to hire a hitman to murder Frost.
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Frost has denied Danton wanted him killed and said the truth will come out in court.
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According to the FBI, Danton said he set up the plot because he feared for his life.

Danton, say authorities, told Wolfmeyer that he needed to hire a hitman to kill some mysterious man who was coming from Canada to murder him over a financial debt.

"The only way that I'm going to be able to sleep tonight is knowing that the guy trying to kill me is done himself," Danton is quoted as saying in the criminal complaint."I'm pretty much begging.

"I wouldn't resort to this if it wasn't a matter of life and death."

Police say there is no evidence that a hitman was after Danton.

Frost says the hitman was the product of Danton's deluded mind, adding Danton wasn't thinking straight because he was depressed and on pain medication and sleeping pills.Frost described Danton as a "good kid" who needs immediate psychiatric help.
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Other rumoured targets have included Danton's estranged father Steven Jefferson, or his brother Tom Jerfferson.
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Initial reports claimed that Danton was trying to kill his gay lover.Is that true?It remains to be seen.The idea that Danton was trying to murder his gay lover came not from the facts, but from an interpretation, or misinterpretation, of statements made in the criminal complaint.

The court document describes a recorded phone call between Danton and the target of the alleged plot.

"The acquaintance called Danton and asked Danton why he wanted to have him killed," it states."Danton broke down and sobbed.Danton explained that he felt backed into a corner and also felt that the acquaintance was going to leave him.Danton did not want to allow the acquaintance to leave him, therefore decided to have him murdered."

That statement suggests a strong emotional connection between Danton and the acquaintance.What is not certain is the nature of the relationship between the two men.

Initially, many news outlets were reporting the alleged murder plot was a lover's spat gone bad.

But most of the people close to Danton deny that he's gay.

And in recent weeks, the media's conventional wisdom has changed.
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His link to Danton is just as enigmatic.
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Jefferson introduced his son to Frost about 12 years ago, when Mike was 11 years old.
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"[Danton] was like a lemming," Edena Phillips told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Phillips, who billeted Danton - then 16 -- at her house while he played for the Ontario Hockey Association's Quinte Hawks, also said "his parents didn't seem to have any say in his life whatsoever ...It was all David Frost."

Eventually, Danton cut his parents out of his life all together.
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"He stole Michael from us and now he's taken Michael's mind from him," Jefferson told the Globe and Mail.
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"Since Michael was 15 years old, Michael has never said a word that came out of his own mind.He's just a tape recording.
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Why doesn't Danton want a relationship with his parents?In recent years, Danton has gone to great lengths to distance himself from his parents.In 2002, he officially changed his last name from Jefferson to Danton.The name came from a colleague he met at a hockey camp.

The Jeffersons haven't seen Danton in nearly four years.Danton claims the estrangement is a result of his "very troublesome" upbringing.

In a statement issued weeks after his arrest, Danton said as a child his parents subjected him "constant physical and emotional abuse."

Danton says he was raised in squalid conditions without many of the basic necessities.
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"I cannot tell you how badly [Danton] wanted to get away from his past.
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What does David Frost say when asked to explain his unusual relationship with Danton?
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One of the more curious twists in the Danton story is the current state of Frost's relationship with Danton.

Frost is his client's chief public voice, orchestrator of media interviews and access to Danton, and been his most prominent defender.
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What is next for Mike Danton?Danton is currently being held in a jail in Illinois.His trial scheduled to begin on July 20, 2004.