Report: Arrests made in connection with overdose death of Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard
Multiple arrests have reportedly been made in connection with the death of former New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard, who died of a drug and alcohol overdose on May 13, 2011. Boogaard was 32 years old.
As first reported by Duke Castiglione, a sports reporter for Fox 5 news in New York, the DEA's New York drug enforcement task force has arrested two men: Jordan Hart - the son of former Islanders defender Gerry Hart, and a former AHL and ECHL player in the Islanders system - in addition to Oscar Johnson, a Utah-based physicians assistant.
Castiglione is reporting that Johnson is accused of "writing Percocet prescriptions for Jordan Hart on nearly a monthly basis for two years, totaling nearly 3,000 pills."
Fox 5 is also reporting that Hart was supplying Boogaard with the painkillers that caused his death, and is facing 20+ years in jail if convicted. He was arrested on Tuesday:
Jordan Hart arrested in connection w/fmr #NYRangers Derek Boogaard overdose death @MyFoxNY #nhl pic.twitter.com/4YiyYgLc1l
— Duke Castiglione (@DukeCastiglione) September 9, 2014
The New York Times has more details:
The indictment charges that Jordan Hart, 31, received the pills through prescriptions from Oscar Johnson, part of the medical staff for the minor league Utah Grizzlies, where Hart played from 2007 to 2009. Johnson prescribed Hart nearly 3,000 pills of Percocet from 2009 to 2011, the indictment says, though Hart was no longer with the team and was living in New York. [...]
Johnson, 59, of Salt Lake City, is charged with 26 counts of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute the drug, as well as a charge of making false statements to an officer of the Drug Enforcement Administration who was investigating the case.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting that Johnson is also in federal custody.
Known as a super heavyweight enforcer during his playing days, Boogaard racked up 589 penalty minutes during his six NHL seasons. He was posthumously found to be suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E.
Derek's brother Aaron Boogaard was charged with supplying his brother with Oxycodone shortly after his brother's death, but those charges were later dismissed.
Boogaard's family sued the NHL in 2013 alleging wrongful death.