Ex-Blues owner gets probation in federal case

ST. LOUIS

Friday, 03 October 2008 17:11:24

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Former St. Louis Blues owner Michael Shanahan Sr. has been ordered to pay nearly $8 million in restitution and serve three years of probation for backdating stock options.

The former chief executive officer of Engineered Support Systems was sentenced Friday in federal court in St. Louis. He pleaded guilty in July to one felony count of falsifying records of a publicly traded company.

Federal regulators say Shanahan and other company officials, including his son, backdated stock options from 1996 to 2002 to enrich executives and board members.

Shanahan did not admit orchestrating the scheme but in his plea agreement said he knowingly signed stock option award letters with a false date. He agreed to pay back $7.8 million.