Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Viola accused in August assault
No charges filed by police after incident
Florida Panthers owner Vincent Viola, nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to become secretary of the Army, was accused in August of punching a concessions worker at a highend racehorse auction in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., according to a police report obtained by the New York Times.
The report said the concessions worker had a “swollen bloody lip” and claimed Viola, 61, had punched him in the face. Police officers did not witness the incident, according to the New York Times, and charges were not filed.
Viola told police the man had pushed his wife as she tried to enter a restricted area to get water for a woman who had fainted, according to the report. The concessions worker told officers that he did not push Viola’s wife.
“Mr. Viola will always stand up and defend his wife, and in this case there was a simple disagreement with the matter being dropped and no charges were filed,” David White, a spokesman for Trump’s transition team said in a statement Wednesday. “Mr. Viola notified the Transition Team of the disagreement early on in the proc-
ess and we consider this matter closed.”
The Panthers declined to comment.
Viola’s position in the Trump administration is not a cabinet-level position, but like cabinet secretaries, it requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate. If confirmed in his new job, Viola will oversee the Army and report to the secretary of defense.
A date for Viola’s confirmation hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Trump’s transition team told the Sun Sentinel via email that they don’t “expect this incident to have a bearing on Viola’s hearing.”
Viola, who spends most of his time in New York and recently purchased a house for $2.5 million in Saratoga Springs, according to The Saratogian, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1977 and later graduated from the U.S. Army Airborne, Infantry and Ranger Schools. He served in the 101st Airborne Division and has repeatedly said his time in the military has shaped all facets of his civilian life.
The former chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange and founder of Virtu Financial Inc. bought the Panthers and the BB&T Center in September 2013 for about $250 million. Should he be confirmed, the Viola family will retain ownership of the Panthers and, pending National Hockey League approval, Viola has named minority owner Doug Cifu to take his place as chairman and governor of Sunrise Sports and Entertainment. Cifu has been serving as vice chairman and alternate governor.
Since Viola brought the team it has enjoyed an NHL-best 25-point improvement (66 to 91) in the 2014-15 season and then a franchise-best 103-point season last year, which included a team-record 47 victories and their second playoff appearance since 2000.
Viola has been the financial impetus behind the team’s record payroll that included more than $200 million invested in free agents over the summer, as well as tying up the team’s young core of skilled players such as Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Huberdeau, Reilly Smith and Aleksander Barkov to long-term deals.
Still hot
When Panthers general manager and interim coach
Tom Rowe says in his postgame press conference that the highlight of the night was his video coordinator calling for challenges that would eventually overturn two goals by the Calgary Flames, it can’t be very reassuring.
Even with the help of modern technology and two quick goals by All-Star center Vincent Trocheck, it was the Panthers flaming out in a moribund 5-2 loss to Calgary late Tuesday night.
As a reward for another flat effort the Panthers get the upstart Edmonton Oilers late Wednesday, a fast, young team that Florida was expecting to be before injuries ravaged its top line. It will be their first-ever look at second-year phenom Connor McDavid. He was injured when the two teams met last season.
Tuesday’s loss ended the Panthers’ four-game road winning streak and it hurt in the standings as the two teams ahead of them, Toronto and Ottawa, both won.
“That was the highlight of the night. [Video coordinator] Tommy Cruz calling both challenges,” Rowe said. “It gave us a chance. We got a little spark there, but we just didn’t capitalize. It’s been a tough schedule. I didn’t think we had the legs. When you don’t have the legs other things happen. We got to be ready [for the Oilers].
“We just didn’t play a good game. Nothing really worked. We played pretty good in the first period and after that they dominated us, deserved the two points.”
Florida got off to a good start as a torrid Trocheck sandwiched two rooftop goals between a soft backhand tally from former Panther Kris Versteeg for a 2-1 lead after one. After scoring twice on their first three shots against Chad Johnson, the Panthers were blanked the rest of the way.
It would behoove someone other than Trocheck to score once in a while, as he’s riding a five-game point streak in which he has five goals and nine points.
“I thought we came out strong in the first and then we let up,” said Trocheck, who led the Panthers with 31 points and 16 goals, including eight in his past 11 games heading into Wednesday’s game. “It seems to be a theme lately; every time we get up, we back off and get on our heels a little bit and then they start taking it to us.” Panthers goalie Roberto
Luongo gave up four goals (28 shots) for his second consecutive game and third time in his past four starts. ... Jared McCann set up both of Trocheck’s goals for his first career multiple-assist game and second multiple-point outing . ... Panthers forward Greg McKegg returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing four games with an upper-body injury, and he centered the fourth line between Shawn
Thornton and Paul Thompson.