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Blades' Cornacchia gets 1 year in prison for fight on plane
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“Several times requested more alcohol ... slapped male flight attendant with open hand ... put in plastic restraints ... exposed genitals in an apparent attempt to urinate ... head-butted the assisting passenger ... captain requested emergency approach to Dallas-Fort Worth airport.”
As prosecuting attorney Jefferey Michelland read aloud the details of what then- Florida Everblades hockey player David Cornacchia did on a flight from Toronto to Dallas on Dec. 27, 2007, each word seemed to strike a blow in the former defenseman’s chance at leaving Monday’s sentencing hearing at the federal courthouse in Fort Myers as a free man.
As he listened to the ugly words, Cornacchia, who already had pleaded guilty to interfering with a flight crew, repeatedly wiped his mouth and looked up to the ceiling, as though he was seeking divine intervention.
An hour later, two U.S. marshals were leading Cornacchia away through a side door, his hands clasped behind his back in handcuffs, his once-powerful body now hunched over and defeated.
“I don’t think anyone could listen to or read that (report) without being horrified,” U.S. District Judge John Steele said, just before sentencing the 27-year-old Cornacchia to one year and one day in federal prison, with supervised release for three years, including substance abuse and anger management programs, plus a $4,000 fine.
The sentencing was based largely on Steele’s decision to uphold the prosecution’s opinion that Cornacchia’s recommended sentencing guidelines be changed from six months or less in prison to 18-24 months.
It was for this reason that Michelland spent nearly 30 minutes delineating the criminal report from Dec. 27, in order to establish that Cornacchia’s behavior was “reckless” and endangered the aircraft at-large.
“To me, the most telling fact is that the captain requested an emergency landing into the Dallas-Fort Worth airport,” Steele said, in agreeing that the level of sentencing guidelines for the crime should be elevated.
From that moment on, it seemed inevitable that the ‘07-’08 Blades’ leading scorer among defensemen not only wouldn’t be playing hockey next season, but instead would be headed to jail.
Both he and his mother, who was in attendance from Toronto, addressed the court.
“At no time during that flight did I mean to hurt anybody ... I harmed mostly myself, obviously,” Cornacchia said. “I haven’t been drinkin’ for seven months here, and I just want to move on with my life and try to keep playing hockey.”
Cornacchia has spent the past 11 winters playing professional or major-junior hockey.
Blades fans at Germain Arena this past season often stood up to cheer his many fights, nine of which are documented on hockeyfights.com.
A quick YouTube search brings up five Cornacchia hockey fight videos, with a total of 18,887 page views.
Cornacchia’s status as a professional athlete bought him free rounds of golf, free dinners, attention from women, adoring fans — even here in Southwest Florida.
On Monday at the federal courthouse, all the fans, all the noise, all the perks were gone. It was just Cornacchia, his attorney, Michael Hornung, his mother, and his former Blades captain, Ernie Hartlieb.
In his past seven years as a pro hockey player, he’d spent plenty of days like the one he spent prior to the airplane incident on Dec. 27, 2007. He woke up early to take a flight from home in Toronto to meet up with his team for a hockey game in Texas, just two days after Christmas.
He said he took one Ambien pill, a prescription narcotic sleeping aid, the night before at about 3 a.m. Cornacchia was accustomed to taking Ambien to help him sleep. He had trouble sleeping partly due to his “profession,” Hornung said.
It’s not uncommon for athletes to use Ambien regularly, especially on teams like the Blades, where sleeping on long bus trips is a necessity.
Cornacchia also consumed four alcoholic beverages before his flight. He thought that drinking would help pass the time, just as it did on those long bus trips, just as it did in those long, blank hours between practices and games in a land far from home.
Maybe it was that particular combination of Ambien and alcohol that caused Cornacchia to act the way Steele described as “horrifying” on Dec. 27, 2007.
Maybe it was simply, as Hornung said, an isolated incident.
Maybe it was the wake-up call Cornacchia needed to deal with what he acknowledged was an alcohol problem.
Or maybe it was just another day in the life of a professional athlete, a day that went horribly wrong on an airplane.
In two and a half months, a whole new Everblades team will take the ice at Germain Arena. Some will know Cornacchia’s story, some may not. Some may choose to take Ambien to help themselves through those long road trips. Some may mix it with large amounts of alcohol.
Night after night, they’ll take the ice, the fans will cheer, and they will spend five minutes in the penalty box if they head-butt an opponent.
Meanwhile, in a U.S. federal prison as close to his family in Toronto as he can get, Cornacchia will sit in his cell, day after day, his hockey gear in storage, the taunts of nearby inmates the only cheers he hears.
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Dumb jock. Serves him right.
#1 Posted by Sanity on July 28, 2008 at 3:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"head butted someone amid the fracas". I don't know what that entails but its gotta hurt
#2 Posted by trehuger on July 28, 2008 at 3:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Not sure what purpose jail is gonna serve, he'd of been much better off being forced to clean up the litter on our roadways, parks etc... for a year. It would be much more useful and I'm sure in the Florida sun for one year outside, he'd of learned his lesson.
#3 Posted by theabyss on July 28, 2008 at 3:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Serves him right..... If that was anyone else (non pro player), they would get the same thing. Jail time seems appropriate....
#4 Posted by Philly on July 28, 2008 at 3:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
#5 Posted by runawayjim on July 28, 2008 at 3:56 p.m.
Does this mean Hornung will need to reduce his hourly fee?
#6 Posted by ZhuZhu on July 28, 2008 at 4:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
this guy is hardly a pro
#7 Posted by alphadog1 on July 28, 2008 at 4:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe he'll expose himself to his cell mates...they might like it.
#8 Posted by Native on July 28, 2008 at 4:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bubba is going to have a new squezze!!!!!!
#9 Posted by wsdnaples1 on July 28, 2008 at 5:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Airlines should mate up with pharmaceuticals and give everyone boarding a subcutaneous injection that would render all passengers unconscious for the duration of the flight--be it an hour or 12 hours. The typical passenger arrangement could be at least tripled and save lots of frustration as well as money.
I hate flying--ever since Mr. Reagan fired all the air-traffic controllers.
#10 Posted by dwyerj1 on July 28, 2008 at 5:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Big man! Gonna be a little man now reaching for the soap!
#11 Posted by techie on July 28, 2008 at 5:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So which NHL team will pick this thug up after his sentence? My bet is on the Mighty Ducks, they are in need of a thug...
#12 Posted by anon on July 28, 2008 at 5:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
PamelaA: Agree with a lot of your post. Still working on "subcutaneous" though. What's the beef with Reagan and PATCO ?
#13 Posted by cousinjed on July 28, 2008 at 5:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What they didn't say is this ice jockey will spend his year in a Federal Prison since his crime is a Federal Crime. As far as Ex Prez Regan, he fired all the PATCO controlers that went on strike, hired new ones, and the system kept on going. I flew as a pilot during those times, and not much changed. PATCO shot them selves in the foot with that strike, just like a lot a airlines that had ALPA representing pilots did later on. ALPA, the most expensive magazine subscription I've ever had.
#14 Posted by cit10driver on July 28, 2008 at 6:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
RELAX
The terrorists have won when you can't take water, or shampoo, or sunscreen on a plane. Or when you have to remove your 91 year old grandmothers shoes, or your infants shoes to go through security (where of course the shoe bins have advertising, for shoes), or you get a year in jail for being a drunken idiot on a plane. If this happened on the street, or on a mall or in a bar, he would have received a small fine and 30 days probation. But throw wings into the mix and inflate it.
#15 Posted by kneejerk on July 28, 2008 at 6:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yea, right.
There will be an appeal and then, he will walk.
Mark my word.
#16 Posted by Opinionated on July 28, 2008 at 6:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
cit10driver: I had the pleasure of arriving at JFK fom abroad during the strike. Gridlock. Was a USAF air traffic controller at the time. Made it to Miami eventually.
#17 Posted by cousinjed on July 28, 2008 at 6:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh and to preempt: yeah, I know malls don't fall from the sky, but evidently the be-afraid-the-sky is-falling-pills that VP Cheney has been passing out seem to have been swallowed by a lot of people.
And everyones piling on this "jock" seems to be some sort of juvenile actio from people who evidently had pencil protectors and no dates in high school.
#18 Posted by kneejerk on July 28, 2008 at 6:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Not me knee...
#19 Posted by Opinionated on July 28, 2008 at 6:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Good deal... i know this guy and this isnt the first time he has been in some trouble like that, it just finally caught up with him.
#20 Posted by firefightermedic27 on July 28, 2008 at 7:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Put yourself on the plane this jerk was flying.... Would you want to be next to that jerk? What if you were hit? What if it was your wife or daughter? What if the pilot, in an attempt to make an emergency landing, had something go wrong? Why let epople get away with stupid behavior? In a bar, lock him up for the night and let him sleep it off. On a plane, far more catastrophic things can happen.... The guy had anger and alcohol problems...Keep him in jail to dry out. Trust me, if he walked, he'd be back drinking with his hockey buddies in no time..... He could have gotten up to 20 years...he should consider himself lucky.
#21 Posted by Philly on July 28, 2008 at 7:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
He is going to be someones girlfriend for a whole year. Enjoy!
#22 Posted by sancho on July 28, 2008 at 9:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
But wait there's more...I think he was at a Collier County Elementary School to read to children with his other team mates shortly after this happened....in the classrooms with children.
When I ASKED WHY THE HECK THEY WERE ASKED TO READ this ACROSS AMERICA EVENT....I was told, because they are cute.
Wait til his roomie in jail thinks he's REAL CUTE, too.
#23 Posted by beetlejuice on July 28, 2008 at 10:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What if you were hit? What if it was your wife or daughter? What if the pilot, in an attempt to make an emergency landing, had something go wrong?
What if elves and fairies came to my house and gave me gold bricks. What if ....
#24 Posted by kneejerk on July 28, 2008 at 11:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
WOW you guys seem to know David quite well. It seems every one of you have the answers.
I recognize Philly's name on here. Other than him and myself I doubt any of you have seen him at as many games as us or after the games hanging out shooting pool ect. ect. ect.
Easy for people to judge others, expecially when they no nothing about the person...
#25 Posted by BUSSYFAN on July 28, 2008 at 11:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bussyfan..Know nothing about a person?? Did you read what he did?? he should have gotten more time in jail
#26 Posted by sunburnt on July 28, 2008 at 11:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bussyfan I'm a BIG FAN of him reading to kids at a local Collier County Elementary School.
If he spells the way you spell, he probably couldn't read a word of the book he was assigned to anyway.
English lesson of DUH DAY:
It would be etc. etc. etc.
Everyone is one word the last time I checked.
Especially is ESPECIALLY spelled wrong in your post.
I really don't want to "no" (TEE HEE) anything more about him, and I DON'T WANT HIM AROUND CHILDREN IN COLLIER COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS during Read Across America Day.
He'll be reading to his new-found friends in jail.
#27 Posted by beetlejuice on July 29, 2008 at 12:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Kneejerk....I'm glad nothing unfortunate has happened to you, your family or friends. Wait until something does... Then you'll change your mind.
BUSSYFAN: hello..... Can't wait for the season....
#28 Posted by Philly on July 29, 2008 at 6:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Angela B: It's not surprising you are advocating an excuse for this guy. Blaming his profession? Just because he fights on an ice rink doesn't give him the right to be a jerk on a plane. What's next? Ultimate fighters being allowed to punch people on planes because their profession is violent? Keep sucking up to MFH.... You should have written the article on the countless other professional hockey players who go through the same "rigors" of travel that corny went through and managed not to upset the plane. Another article providing excuses rather than placing blame where it lies. Sorry hockey life was so tough for corny previously. I'll bet you today he was wishing for that life again. And maybe every fan that goes to any sporting event should think twice about rooting for a player. In your mind, rooting for a player on their field, rink, etc.... equates to supporting and agreeing with that person's personal behavior. What a joke. Great reporting....... I'd expect nothing more from this "rag" of a newspaper.
#29 Posted by Philly on July 29, 2008 at 7:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
#16 kneejerk is right on.
The next plane attack (if there is one) will come from someone on the ground.
After all the 91-year-old grandmothers have had their shoes checked for bombs, it'll be a guy in the back of a truck near the airport with a shoulder-fired RPG who'll down a 747 after take off.
Much easier, in my opinion, than trying to get something on the plane. Those RPGs are all over. One can buy one for $1200 in Miami from the Russian mob.
#30 Posted by ecoterror on July 29, 2008 at 7:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The fact that this man over the years was "cheered on by fans for his many fights on the ice", must play into the psychology of why he would conduct himself in this way on an airplane. It's almost as if his bad behavior was rewarded and therefore encouraged him to act that way more frequently.
#31 Posted by reasonableguy on July 29, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
good god you people are quick to judge someone you dont know!!! I did not see one mention of the medical emergency that was the cause of the requested priority landing. If memory serves me right that was happening before David had his meltdown. do I think he should go unpunished no, but a year in jail...just not sure what purpose it will serve if any. There are lots of people who do the same kind of things on a plane and it never makes the news I wonder what federal presion they are all in???
I think it had more to do with his carrer choice then upseting the folks on that plane.
#32 Posted by SDW on July 29, 2008 at 9:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Bad Boy, Bad Boy ... whatcha gonna do...in prison.
#33 Posted by babbas on July 29, 2008 at 9:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Funny the article didnt comment on any argument made by Mr. Hornung in response the Governments request for an enhanced penalty. Could it be that there was none?
#34 Posted by SandnSurf on July 29, 2008 at 9:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
the fighting allowed in hockey, punished with, "go to the penalty box for 2 minutes you bad boy", is not tolerated in football, basketball, baseball, so why in hockey?...I've always found this aspect of the sport repulsive, horid role modeling, and catering to the blood lust of the inbred in the crowd...hockey helped mold this now felon...in this case I feel the punishment fits the crime..I'm sure all who were on the flight were traumatized by this neanderthal's actions...
#35 Posted by prometheus on July 29, 2008 at 10:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This guy gives ice hockey a bad rap! Hockey is a great sport with the likes of Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe. Great players with coolness off the ice.
Ban this guy from hockey for life....
#36 Posted by dooley on July 29, 2008 at 10:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If any of you ever played hockey, it was the people without skating and stick handling skills that had to be the bad boys. Ted Lindsay was the exception.
#37 Posted by ChiDem on July 29, 2008 at 11:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Prometheus: Hockey is a great sport. Hockey didn't make Corny do what he did. It's not a hockey problem ...it's a person problem. If not mistaken, baseball has brawls, football has fights, basketball has brawls.... even the women were just fighting. It happens.... The overwhelming majority of hockey players are all law abiding citizens. Guess you think kick-boxing, Mixed martial arts, boxing, ultimate fighting, etc....should all be banned as well. Everyone should take up checkers....
#38 Posted by Philly on July 29, 2008 at 12:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The "Boys" in prison are going to love having him as a bunk mate. Maybe after a year of lots of loving he will not be a donkey when he gets out. By the way whoever picks him up from prison, make sure you bring a small innertube for him to sit on. He will need it!! What goes around comes around! Nice "Pillar" of the community!
#39 Posted by wsdnaples1 on July 29, 2008 at 2:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Gator: I hear you.....but it isn't encouraged. It is just allowed to happen. The leagues would love fighting to go away. I grew up in Philly...so I know about the Broad Street Bullies....
#40 Posted by Philly on July 29, 2008 at 3:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
In a word, wow! i'm w/bussy and sdw...If you knew this guy you would know this was a one-time BIG eff-up by Cornacchia. At least that is the impression i had of this whole mess and i saw dave after every home game (and then some) last season. The minute he got home after this happened he stopped drinking and tried make up for it any way he could think of. Did he deserve a year? i dunno, i've never seen the tape. It does seem a bit harsh seeing as how no one was hurt...As for the brawls-he has had some classics!
RR
http://wordofmouthbyryanryles.blogspo...
#41 Posted by wordofmouth on July 29, 2008 at 3:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Silly Philly tricks are for kids!
If you think the "leagues" want the fighting to go away, then you've been drinking the same stuff as the above violent airplane loser thug.
The fighting makes the game of hockey fun to watch. Otherwise, there's really nothing for Beetle to look forward to. It's a low scoring game, too.
Boooooooooooooring hockey game .....
*YAWN*******YAWN******ZZZZZZzzzzzzzz*****
Fight? FIGHT?! Didjya say FIGHT??????
YEY!!!!!!!! GO BLADES KICK HIS $%^#$%$#^$ LET'S GO BLADES!
Darn it, I spilled my beer, and dropped my pretzel while encouraging the brawl.
It's an all out stick whippin!
GO BLADES!
Even the mascots fight!
If a hockey player isn't missing teeth, he's looked at as a newbie....who is too whimpy to fight.
#42 Posted by beetlejuice on July 29, 2008 at 5:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sorry beetle....I don't watch hockey for the fights.
#43 Posted by Philly on July 30, 2008 at 12:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This (naughty word) got exactly what he deserves. He will now find a whole new meaning to the phrase
"in the five-hole"...Hockey fights have nothing to do with this type of criminal behaviour on an
airplane that interferes with others' rights.
- Augusta Lynx Fan
#44 Posted by hockeymann1 on July 31, 2008 at 12:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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