Skater Tonya Harding and her ex-husband, who had a stormy three-year marriage, are in a war of accusations over each other’s roles in the alleged plot to injure rival skater Nancy Kerrigan, law enforcement officials in Portland, Ore., said. Jeff Gillooly is trying to cut a deal with authorities by implicating Harding in the alleged conspiracy, officials familiar with the case said. It is unclear what evidence he has offered.
“Gillooly has told investigators that he could serve her up on a silver platter,” said one person familiar with the investigation. A spokeswoman for Gillooly’s attorney denied that negotiations for a plea bargain were under way.
“At this point, there’s nothing going on,” Ellen Daniels, spokeswoman for attorney Ron Hoevet, said Monday. If Gillooly turns on Harding, he will be the second accused conspirator to tie Harding to the attack or the cover-up. Harding has told investigators that Gillooly asked her to lie and stick to a cover story if she were questioned about telephone calls from their home to a Boston area rink where Kerrigan practiced.
“They’re finger-pointing at each other,” said the investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation. “It’s all finger-pointing back and forth.” Calls to Harding’s attorneys were not returned immediately.
After nearly three weeks, the investigation has led to four arrests and scrutiny of what role, if any, Harding played. Norman Frink, chief deputy district attorney for Multnomah County in Oregon, declined to comment on the sources’ statements.
Some investigators say they believe there might be evidence to charge Harding but are concerned it is not strong enough to support a conviction. A person can be arrested if there is “probable cause” to believe he or she is involved in a crime. But courts require evidence “beyond a reasonable doubt,” a much higher standard, for a conviction.
So far, Harding’s bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt, is the only one to implicate Harding publicly. In published interviews, he has said that Harding urged the plotters on when the alleged scheme seemed stalled. But, the two other men charged in the conspiracy, Shane Stant and Derrick Smith, have not linked Harding to the plot. Smith has been “non-committal,” the official said, while Stant’s statements would indicate that Harding was unaware of the plot, at least in its early stages.
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Stant allegedly clubbed Kerrigan Jan. 6 after a practice session at Cobo Arena after trying unsuccessfully to reach her in the Boston area. He told officials that Gillooly seemingly wanted to keep Harding in the dark.
Before Christmas, Stant and Smith drove from Arizona to Portland for a meeting with Gillooly at the home of Eckardt’s parents. Stant told investigators that Gillooly was anxious to finish the meeting as quickly as possible so Harding wouldn’t “think something was up.”
Officials have said with Stant’s raising doubts about Harding’s participation and Smith’s keeping quiet, only Eckardt and Gillooly are left to implicate her. The wisdom of building a case with international implications on just their word-Eckardt with a reputation as a braggart and Gillooly appearing ready to sell out his ex-wife-would be questionable at best, authorities say. Harding told investigators Gillooly asked her to use a cover story to explain calls to Kerrigan’s practice rink. According to court documents, calls were made from the Gillooly-Harding home telephone. It is unknown who placed them.