Jeremy Roenick has admitted spending thousands of dollars with an operation that made millions by selling sports betting tips to gamblers, law enforcement officials said.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Roenick's name came up when investigators were gathering evidence against National Sports Consultants, a Fort Myers company with eleven employees that have pleaded guilty to federal gambling charges, falsely claiming to have insider information.
While he was never a target of the investigation, police said the Flyers centre paid the company "somewhere north of $100,000". Investigators found no evidence that Roenick bet on Flyers games.
In an interview with the newspaper on Friday, Roenick admitted doing business with the company and placing bets for years but disputed the amount spent on tips, saying it was closer to $50,000 to $100,000.
"I enjoyed it, but I don't think I had a problem," Roenick told the Inquirer. "I shut it off cold turkey."
Roenick said he stopped laying bets in January after being warned by Flyers' general manager Bobby Clarke but maintained a friendship with one of the handicappers who pleaded guilty, William Gebig.
Less than two months after Gebig was arrested, Roenick, who said he was not aware of the arrest at the time, left tickets to the Flyers Conference final series games for Gebig.
"People get sucked into it," Roenick's agent Neil Abbott said. "Jeremy did something stupid and he won't be involved in this in the future."
Two other handicappers denied Roenick's claim that he quit gambling in January, saying the outspoken forward used the service through the spring.
"We considered him a good player, a real good player," said Daniel T. Biancullo, one of the touts who has pleaded guilty to the federal charges. "The guy liked action, that's it. He enjoyed it, he enjoyed the high. I don't think the guy is guilty of anything except liking to bet on football."
Roenick said he never bet on hockey, and never talked to the Fort Myers handicappers about hockey.
"Never, no way. It never came up. Never once in a conversation," Roenick said. "Never, never, never. I can't stress never enough."