Peter Pocklington, former Oilers owner, wins appeal of probation breach conviction

Former Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington has avoided a six-month prison sentence after a court of appeal in California reversed a lower court ruling related to a probation breach.

In a news release, Pocklington's lawyer, Becky James, said the recent ruling, "vindicates Mr. Pocklington, whose probation was improperly extended even though both the probation officer and the FBI acknowledged there was no probable cause to find a violation."

In September 2013, a judge in Riverside, east of Los Angeles, sentenced Pocklington to six months in prison followed by a further six months of house arrest for breaching his probation on a perjury conviction related to a bankruptcy fraud case.

The court heard evidence that Pocklington, over a 19-month period, failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars of "consulting" fees paid to a company controlled by his wife, Eva. The money came from gold mine, stock promotion companies owned by Pocklington.

The businessman appealed the ruling. On Thursday, a three-member appeals panel ruled the lower court had failed to abide by requirements which prohibit the extension of probation, after the term of probation has expired, unless a warrant or summons is issued before the original probation has ended. No warrant or summons was issued in the Pocklington case until after his probation had expired.

No probation violation

Pocklington's probation office had requested an extension, but the appeals court did not consider it the equivalent of a warrant because the probation office has no authority to issue warrants.

The appeals panel noted the probation office initially said Pocklington had not violated his probation. But under "prodding" by the district court and an FBI review, the office said it "did not see any obvious violations of Mr. Pocklington's probation."

The probation office subsequently asked the court to extend Pocklington's probation. It wanted more time to obtain more information that might show "possible" probation violations.

The appeals court took a dim view of this chronology of events, noting that "the probation office was crystal clear about the absence of anything resembling probable cause" to extend Pocklington's probation.

Pocklington, who now lives in Palm Springs, Calif., made no comment in the release other than to praise his lawyer.

"She knew I had been wronged," he said. "She was determined to win, and she did."

Stock promotion scheme

Pocklington filed for bankruptcy in 2008, declaring just $2,900 in assets against more than $19 million in liabilities. He narrowly avoided being jailed in October 2010 after he pleaded guilty to lying to the court about his assets and income.

Instead, a judge sentenced him to house arrest and two years' probation. But the probation was extended after evidence surfaced he had been involved in a gold mining, stock promotion scheme in Arizona.

In May 2013, the Arizona Corporation Commission, the equivalent of a provincial security commission in Canada, ordered Pocklington and an associate to pay more than $5 million US to settle a securities fraud case. The money, however, has not been repaid and the commission has joined Pocklington's long list of creditors.

Some of Pocklington's creditors, including the Alberta government, have been pursuing him for years. Pocklington owes the province more than $13 million from an unpaid 1988 loan to his Edmonton meatpacking business.

Pocklington came to be known as "Peter Puck" when he bought part ownership of the Edmonton Oilers in 1976. Under his ownership, the Oilers won five Stanley Cups in the 1980s.

He created enemies among thousands of Oilers fans when he traded superstar Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles in 1988. He sold the team in 1998 and moved to California four years later.