The New York Rangers' rap sheet looks like this: March 30
1994, pled guilty to raping a 15-year-old girl at a party in
Massachusetts. Superior Court Judge Cortland Matters called the
crime "brutal" but did not sentence Tibbets to jail. Instead, he was
given a suspended sentence of three to five years and four years of
probation; On April 27 1994, Tibbets was given a suspended sentence
of six months, 18 months probation and was fined $625 on charges of
assault and battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct and
intimidating a witness; Tibbets was arraigned again July 12 1995 in
Massachusetts District Court for assault and battery with a dangerous
weapon (a BB gun). He was found guilty and sentenced to 2 1/2 years
in prison.......
TIBBETS, BILLY
Billy Tibbetts, a forward who was out of hockey for more than three years before
signing with the Pittsburgh Penguins, served 2 1/2 years in prison and has a
lengthy criminal record in Massachusetts. Tibbetts pleaded guilty March 30,
1994, to raping a 15-year-old girl at an outdoor drinking party in Scituate,
Mass. He was 17 at the time. Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Cortland Matters
called the crime "brutal" but did not sentence Tibbetts to jail.
Instead, he was given a suspended sentence of 3 to 5 years and four years of
probation. On April 27, 1994, he was given a suspended sentence of six months,
18 months probation and was fined $625 on charges of assault and battery on a
police officer, disorderly conduct and intimidating a witness. Tibbetts was
arraigned again July 12, 1995, in Hingham (Mass.) District Court for assault and
battery with a dangerous weapon, a BB gun. He was found guilty and sentenced to
2 1/2 years in prison. He also was found to have violated his parole. According
to the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, he was paroled Oct. 29, 1999.
Tibbetts has played one full season since 1994, yet Patrick said several NHL
teams wanted to sign him after he was paroled last year.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news/ap/20000813/ap-penguins-tibbetts.html
1/01
Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Billy Tibbetts was suspended four games without
pay by the NHL on Monday for sucker punching Atlanta Thrashers left wing Darcy
Hordichuk while he was on the bench. The incident occurred in the third period
of Saturday's game and came after Tibbetts received 17 penalty minutes for a
second-period fight with Denny Lambert. With 5:47 remaining, Tibbetts threw a
punch, catching a startled Hordichuk squarely in the face. Tibbetts received a
match penalty for attempt to injure but expressed regret afterwards. That did
not smooth things with league officials, however. "Any involvement between
players on the ice and players off the ice is not acceptable," said Colin
Campbell, NHL senior vice president and director of hockey operations. Based on
his $400,000 salary, Tibbetts will forfeit $8,556.15.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news/20010129/suspend.html
1/01
The parole of Pittsburgh Penguins forward Billy Tibbetts won't be revoked for
punching an opponent, but future aggressive behavior could send him back to
jail. The Massachusetts Board of Parole said Tibbetts was being ``sanctioned,''
and given a formal warning for punching Atlanta Thrashers forward Darcy
Hordichuk while he was sitting on his bench Jan. 27. ``He was in violation of
the rules,'' said parole board spokesman Jim McCarthy. ``Any further
irresponsible behavior could result in revocation.'' If parole officials had
revoked Tibbetts' parole, he could have been ordered to serve the remainder of a
3- to 5-year sentence on a Massachusetts sexual assault conviction. Tibbetts was
paroled in 1999, after serving 37 months in jail. The NHL issued a four-game
suspension for the action, which he has served. Tibbetts appeared before a state
parole board officer Feb. 9. Tibbetts is being supervised by the Pennsylvania
Board of Probation and Parole board under an interstate compact, but
Massachusetts officials have the final say over whether his parole could be
revoked. Tibbetts on Wednesday served a one-game suspension without pay for
kneeing Colorado Avalanche forward Dan Hinote in Colorado's 5-1 win over the
Penguins on Monday.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news/ap/20010223/ap-penguins-tibbettsparole