Mike Danton pleads guilty to murder for hire.
EAST ST. LOUIS, Illinois (AP) -- A former professional hockey player admitted Friday that he sought to have his agent killed as part of a plot that unraveled when the would-be hit man turned out to be a police informant.
Former St. Louis Blues player Mike Danton pleaded guilty to a federal murder-for-hire conspiracy charge and could face seven to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced October 22.
Danton was to have been tried in September with co-defendant Katie Wolfmeyer, and was scheduled for a pretrial hearing next week.
Danton, 23, and Wolfmeyer, a 19-year-old college student from a St. Louis suburb, faced identical conspiracy charges, with Wolfmeyer accused of trying to hire the would-be killer of Danton's agent, David Frost.
The would-be killer eventually went to police, and Frost was unharmed.
Danton has been jailed since his arrest April 16 in San Jose, California, a day after the San Jose Sharks eliminated the Blues from the playoffs.
Wolfmeyer has pleaded innocent and is to be tried in September.
Federal prosecutors have agreed to let Danton serve his possible prison time in his native Canada. U.S. District Judge William Stiehl told Danton that the agreement may bar him from re-entering the United States.
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