ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604240043
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
The problem
After Express president John Gagnon and general manager Pierre Paiement announced in January they were forming an ECHL expansion franchise in Biloxi, Miss., Express minority owners became concerned that Paiement had a conflict of interest and could not devote his full attention to the Roanoke club. Paiement announced Feb. 19 he had pulled out of the Biloxi deal, but minority owners were suspicious he secretly was involved. Gagnon and Paiement denied allegations that Paiement was working for the Biloxi club.
The coup
On April 19, the five minority owners - Blacksburg lawyer Joe Steffen, Roanoke restaurateur Richard Macher, Galax furniture company executive Mike Stevens, Covington accountant Cassandra Bell and Harrisonburg accountant Richard Yancey - removed Gagnon and Paiement from their positions as officers on the team's board of directors (according to team by-laws, each owner has equal voting power regardless of the number of shares he or she owns). Club sources said they had evidence of Paiement's involvement with the Biloxi club and planned to make it public.
The resolution
On Tuesday, Paiement admitted to his fellow owners that he had been involved with the Biloxi team at an ``inappropriate level'' since announcing his pull-out on Feb.19. Steffen announced that Paiement would continue as general manager, but that Gagnon, who owns 50 percent of the Express' stock, was no longer the club's president.
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines KEYWORDS: HOCKEYby CNB