Pocklington gives up Stanley Cup rings in bankruptcy settlement

EDMONTON -- A tentative deal reached between the Pocklingtons and a U.S. bankruptcy trustee over items seized from the couple’s California home will see them relinquish Andy Warhol prints, Stanley Cup rings and a host of other items, lawyers and creditors said on Thursday.

Bankruptcy trustee Robert Whitmore said Peter Pocklington, his wife Eva and their creditors have agreed on a procedure for divvying up property seized from the couple’s home in 2008.

“There’s a settlement being worked on and that’s about all I can tell you,” said Whitmore. “They’re still going through inventories and things. Nothing has been finalized.”

Peter Pocklington, former owner of the Edmonton Oilers, declared bankruptcy in 2008, citing assets of $2,900 and liabilities of $19.7 million. He was subsequently charged with two counts of bankruptcy fraud for allegedly hiding assets from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and faces trial in California on March 9.

The U.S. attorney alleges Pocklington failed to report two offshore accounts and property he kept in two storage facilities near his residence in Palm Desert, Calif.

The flamboyant former Edmonton entrepreneur declined to comment when contacted on Thursday.

The tentative agreement involves more than 200 items seized from the home in a series of raids in 2008.

David Casselman, a lawyer who represents several creditors including the Alberta government, said Eva Pocklington will be allowed to keep such personal items as coats, purses and jewelry, but the bulk of the seized goods, the Warhol prints and the property later located by the FBI in the storage facilities, will be turned over to the trustee.

The deal doesn’t include Pocklington’s $800,000 home in Indian Wells, Calif., he added.

Casselman said it is difficult to determine how much of the $12 million the Alberta government claims Pocklington owes will be recovered. The debt stems from a $2 million loan made to Pocklington’s meat-packing company Gainers in 1988.