Team Turmoil Strikes Again May 27, 1999

by Jack Corcoran
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

After a season full of disappointments on and off the ice, the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks aren't finding any relief in the off-season.

And money is again at issue.

This time Joe Sloboda, who resigned as general manager late in the season as rumors circulated that he was going to be fired, is suing the team for failing to pay off a credit card in his name that he said was used exclusively to make team-related purchases.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in county court, claims the Tiger Sharks have not reimbursed Sloboda for charges on or about Jan. 13 through March 3.

Sloboda's lawyer, Stacy Strolla of West Palm Beach, said the bill is about $12,000 and that the Tiger Sharks were the only ones who benefited from the purchases.

"The card was used exclusively for the team," Strolla said. "I am in possession of all the statements, and it was clearly used for the team. I am going to be able to show that for the last year the Tiger Sharks had been paying this card each and every month."

Sloboda, who resigned March 2, said he thought the team would reimburse him for the final bill as usual. That was until Tim Mouser, the director of hockey operations for the Elmore Sports Group, told him he would have to wait his turn, Sloboda said.

"I was told `get in line with the rest of the creditors and we'll get to it when we get to it,' " Sloboda said. "And I thought that was pretty unfair. This is just one of the reasons I left. I don't agree with the way that they want to do business."

Mouser and other team officials would not comment on the law suit, another in a long line of off-season blemishes for the Tiger Sharks.

With questions surrounding the possible sale of the team, a $30,000 fine from the East Coast Hockey League for salary-cap violations and even an alleged murder-for-hire scheme targeting co-owner Dave Elmore, the summer has provided little refuge for the Tiger Sharks, who missed the playoffs for the second straight season and fell to 21st in the league in attendance.

And money is tight.

The Tiger Sharks are believed to owe between $300,000 and $400,000 to creditors around town.

Strolla said she sent a letter to Mouser on April 29, hoping to avoid any civil action against the team, but did not get a response.

"We gave the Tiger Sharks the chance to do right and to clear this debt," Stroll said. "And they have refused to do so for whatever reasons."

Strolla said the evidence is clear.

"They were using Joe Sloboda's credit card to purchase hockey equipment, hotel rooms and all other incidental matters dealing with hockey," Strolla said.

Sloboda said his card was routinely used by other members of the Tiger Sharks organization, including the coaching staff.

According to the suit, the Tiger Sharks have refused to pay the credit-card balance and Sloboda has been "forced to make payments."

"It was a corporate card that we used well over a year," Sloboda said. "Every month it was used for team business."

Origianally posted at 1:59 a.m. EDT, Thursday, May 27, 1999