14 DAY TRIAL // The 1995 US skating champion Nicole Bobek has been arrested following a drug ring bust, and is currently sitting in jail on $200,000 bail. Bobek has been detained and charged with possession and intent to distribute methamphetamine, reportedly playing an important role in the drug ring, the New York Daily News informs citing official statements from authorities.
“Former U.S. figure skating champion Nicole Bobek has been charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Hudson County, New Jersey. Bobek, who won the women’s U.S. figure skating title in 1995, was arrested last week in Florida and brought to New Jersey to appear in Central Judicial Processing Court via videolink Monday from the Hudson County Jail in Kearny, N.Y. The 31-year-old, who has homes in New York and Jupiter, Fla., is accused of being involved in a northern New Jersey drug ring.” the publication says of the arrest.
According to prosecutor Edward DeFazio, the crimes that Bobek is currently being charged with took place in New York, with 20 other individuals being arrested during the same raid. Bobek’s attorney, in his turn, has refused to make any comment to the media regarding the arrest. He has, however, entered a not guilty plea in the case – it is believed a statement from camp Bobek regarding the scandal should be coming any day now.
Nevertheless, this is not the first time that Bobek finds herself in legal trouble. Back in 1994, she was charged with first degree home invasion, after she took the keys to a friend’s house and broke in with the clear intent of stealing money. She was caught in the act, returned the money and said she had been sent there to retrieve it by another member of the household, a statement she retracted at a later hour, when she pled guilty to the charges. She was consequently put on two years’ probation and was asked to choose between fifty hours of community service and thirty days in jail.
Things are more serious this time around, though. If found guilty, the former skating champion could face up to ten years behind bars.