CLEVELAND – An Ohio man who became infamous in the 1990s for his fraudulent attempt to buy the National Hockey League's New York Islanders is scheduled to go on trial Monday outside of Cleveland on theft and forgery charges.
John Spano got nearly six years in federal prison for his Islanders con and just over four years for a second scheme in 2006 that involved a financing company he'd formed.
He now faces one count of theft and 44 counts of forgery in Lake County, about 30 miles east of Cleveland, for allegedly stealing from a company that provides laundry services to health care facilities.
Spano's notoriety has been resurrected in recent years by the release of a documentary called "Big Shot" that chronicles his meteoric rise and fall as the purported owner of the storied hockey franchise.
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