Montreal Canadiens Andrei, left, and Sergei Kostitsyn were cleared of illegal activity on Friday. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)Montreal police fully cleared Canadiens players Sergei and Andrei Kostitsyn on Friday of any illegal activity after they were linked to a man busted in a sting operation last February.
A police spokesman told Le Journal de Montreal that 5,000 phone calls made by Pasquale Mangiola, who is facing several charges after the bust, were replayed to see if he had any incriminating conversations with the Kostitsyns.
About 2,000 of those calls involved the Kostitsyns, but there was no evidence in the conversations of criminal activity or sports betting. A few calls also involved Habs defenceman Roman Hamrlik, but again there was no evidence of any wrongdoing.
Mangiola worked as a sales representative for a sports equipment manufacturer. He's charged with drug trafficking, conspiracy and possession of a firearm in connection with cocaine transactions.
