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The then-President of the United States, Donald Trump, granted a pardon to Tim Leiweke on Wednesday, a matter of months following the Justice Department’s indictment of the former leader of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
The indictment against Leiweke centered around allegations of orchestrating a scheme to manipulate the bidding for an arena’s construction at a state university located in Austin, Texas.
While Leiweke entered a plea of not guilty, he subsequently was the recipient of what Trump termed “a full and conditional pardon” in an official statement. Details regarding the rationale behind the president’s reversal of the case were notably absent.
Leiweke potentially faced a maximum sentence of ten years of incarceration and a monetary penalty of $1 million USD.
He resigned from his position as CEO of Oak View Group, a company specializing in sports and real estate that he co-founded, in the aftermath of the indictment.
Leiweke’s tenure as the head of MLSE spanned from 2013 to 2015, after which he transitioned to OVG. This entity manages a collection of venues throughout North America, inclusive of Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, London, Ont.’s Canada Life Place, and Hamilton’s newly renovated TD Coliseum.
