No Plea Negotiations or Settlement
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Despite published reports and rumors hinting at a possible plea deal in the rape allegation against South Buffalo hockey star Patrick Kane, this newspaper has learned exclusively that there have been no plea negotiations in the case between the prosecution and the defense. It [plea negotiations] hasn’t happened and it won’t happen,” according to our informed source who also said “there are no civil settlement talks and there won’t be.” The new information would suggest that Kane’s defense is confident in their case despite the allegation reportedly made by a 21-year-old former UB cheerleader who has claimed she was raped by Kane at his Hamburg lakefront home on the morning of Aug. 2 after a night of partying at a downtown Buffalo club. The fact there have been no plea negotiations between District Attorney Frank Sedita and defense attorney Paul Cambria comes as the Chicago-based website SportsMockery.com published a story citing a report in the Buffalo News on Sunday that talked about potential civil agreements in cases like the one involving Kane. That possibility is completely discounted by our source who denies any talks have taken place and said none will. Neither the district attorney nor the defense will comment on what’s going on in the investigation even as there is much speculation about Kane’s future with the Chicago Blackhawks as the start of the NHL season is only three weeks away. Forbes has reported that Kane has lost more than $15 million in endorsement earnings over the last five years “as a result of poor public perception,” and EA Sports has dropped him from the cover of the NHL ’16 video game. Also, Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz was quoted in mid-August as saying that “we’re disappointed but hopeful,” referring to the Kane matter. And there have also been published reports that the team was weighing the possibility of Kane not being with the Blackhawks in the future. In talking about his endorsement window that has been lost, Forbes noted the window closed whether his Kane’s bad behavior is confirmed or only alleged, as in the Buffalo case. Once again, it would seem to be encouraging for Kane that his camp has not engaged in any plea negotiations or civil settlement talks since the reports first surfaced of the alleged incident at his home. It would appear that his camp believes there is no need to negotiate anything in this case and that they are confident in their position.
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