U.S. figure skating champion Nicole Bobek gets probation

32-year-old pleaded guilty to conspiring to distrube crystal meth

1995 U.S. figure skating champion Nicole Bobek was ordered to spend five years on probation for her role in a New Jersey methamphetamine ring.
"Nothing but positive things can come out of this," Bobek said outside the Jersey City courtroom where she was sentenced Monday, according to the Associated Press. "It's been a long 1 1/2 years. I'm looking to get back onto that ice."
Abclocalgo.com reports the 32-year-old pleaded guilty in June to a charge of conspiring to distribute crystal meth. She was among 28 people accused last year of running a network that allegedly distributed $10,000 worth of methamphetamine per week. The alleged leader of the group, Edward Cruz Jr., was sentenced last week to 16 years in prison.
After Bobek won the U.S. figure skating title in 1995, her disappointing 17th-place finish at the 1998 Winter Olympics took a psychological toll on her, according to her lawyer, Sam DeLuca. Bobek had been skating since age 3, forgoing high school and even home schooling for the rigorous, cloistered world of professional training, DeLuca said.
"Here is a girl whose star was shining ... and when the star went out, when the star started fading, she was not prepared," DeLuca told the Associated Press. She then fell into "a sleazy world" of drug addiction and bad influences, he said. According to a report at the Daily Record, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Lisa Ledoux argued for a sentence of a year in jail, saying Bobek was no innocent victim and was not a minor player in the drug ring.
An article on Nj.com reports that Bobek choked up as she spoke of how sorry she was during sentencing in Jersey City today. Bobek told the judge that she was off drugs, holding a job and teaching children at the Special Olympics.
"I believe I can help others. I plan to change my life around and do something with it," she said.
Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan noted he had received letters on Bobek's behalf from former Olympic athletes and rock musicians.
Bobek, accompanied by her mother, applied to serve her probation near the family's Jupiter, Fla., home. She was also ordered to serve 250 hours of community service and pay a $2,500 fine, plus additional court expenses.