Arrest made in Crosby jersey caper
Montreal police arrested a man Wednesday afternoon and charged him with stealing Sidney Crosby's Team Canada hockey sweater.
Details are sketchy, other than the accused being a 48-year-old Air Canada employee.
"We confirm that the investigation is over," said police spokesman Steve Morissette. "The property will be given back to its owner."
Crosby wore the sweater during Canada's 6-1 win over Russia in the gold-medal final at the world junior hockey championships, played Jan. 4 at Grand Forks, N.D.
"It's possible the sweater was stolen while Mr. Crosby was in transit at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport in Dorval," explained Const. Laurent Gingras. "And for the moment, we're continuing our investigation."
The sweater in question was supposedly recovered Monday by Canada Post employee Jean-Marc Saucier in Lachute, Que., nearly 60 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
"It was obviously his sweater," revealed Saucier, who found it in a mailbox, bagged in plastic and accompanied by a newspaper clipping.
"It had Crosby in big letters. And on the other side were all the logos and everything."
The clipping included a telephone number for Hockey Canada, which Saucier contacted before authorities retrieved the sweater.
"I'm just happy to find it," Saucier said. "I knew it was Sidney Crosby's.
"I was quite upset that he had lost it. That kid's going to be really happy."
Hockey Canada provided police with details that distinguish authentic team sweaters from retail versions available in stores.
"I'm happy," Crosby told ATV News.
"But until I see it, I'll be pretty nervous. They said it smells pretty bad, so that's a good sign."
Crosby, 17, was reduced to tears upon learning his cherished sweater was missing.
"It's tough," he said, noting that he put the sweater in his hockey bag before boarding the team bus for Winnipeg and a plane flight to Mont-Joli, Que., where he rejoined the QMJHL Rimouski Oceanic.
Crosby's plane had a brief stopover at Montreal's Trudeau Airport before reaching Mont-Joli, where he noticed the sweater was missing.
Air Canada immediately launched an internal investigation.
"It is disappointing to learn that one of our employees has been charged in this matter," said Isabelle Arthur, a spokeswoman for the airline, which embraces a "zero-tolerance theft policy."
Calling the theft an isolated incident," she stated: "The most important thing is that the jersey was found and returned as a result of the combined and ongoing efforts of the airline, Hockey Canada, Aeroports de Montreal and the Montreal police."
Each player wore two sweaters in the tournament.
They were permitted to keep the red ones, while the white ones, used in two games, are being auctioned off for charity.
Crosby's white sweater, worn in victories over Finland and Sweden, had received a bid of $20,000 before Hockey Canada removed it from the online auction.
Backup goaltender Rejean Beauchemin is still missing the puck he kept a puck from his lone start of the tournament, a 9-0 win over Germany.
The Winnipeg native noticed the puck was missing from his bag before boarding a flight at Winnipeg Airport.
with files from CP Online