“Untold: Crimes and Penalties” is a riveting documentary with a behind the scenes look at the Danbury Trashers, a hockey team in Danbury, CT and their various run-ins with the league and law.
I am a very avid hockey fan and when I found this documentary, I was instantly hooked into the story of the Trashers. It almost felt like a television show plot because of how surreal some of the stories that AJ, James, the players and others involved shared. If you enjoy hockey and crime stories, this will be right up your alley!
The Trashers started in 2004 and were run by general manager AJ Galante, son of James Galante. James Galante was a rich and powerful man known in Danbury for his successful trash collection business that spread across Connecticut and New York.
He has donated money towards local schools and hospitals and was a known figure in his community. But things took a turn for the worse when he was charged and pleaded guilty to tax evasion and spent 12 months and a day in prison.
According to AJ Galante, the time his father spent in prison hit him really hard.It was difficult for the entire family, but he felt like he had to step up and be the man of the house. He started to grow this “bad-boy” attitude.
Kids at school were talking behind his back and putting on a tough front so people knew not to mess with him. AJ recalls that from a young age his father taught him, “You don’t rat on anybody and you always be a stand-up guy.”
An iconic movie for hockey was “The Mighty Ducks.” This sparked AJ’s love for hockey and he started playing in high school. Meanwhile, with his dad incarcerated, James Galante comes home to a whole different son than he left.
James says he was trying to get AJ to play football but to no avail, he chose hockey. When James started going to his hockey games, he was very shocked but impressed with what he saw from his son. “As a matter of fact, I was in awe. I was very, very proud of him.”
The reality was that he was rough in these games. Yes, hockey is an extremely rough sport, but AJ took his appearance very seriously. Fans were booing him while he was playing, throwing him the middle finger, but these actions did not hinder him. It only fueled his antics.
AJ continued to play hockey throughout high school and had dreams of pursuing it after high school. Unfortunately, those dreams were cut short his senior year. AJ collided with another player during a game and he describes it as a “beautiful collision.” He thought he could get up but was unable to so he knew immediately it was a really bad injury.
He had surgery for his leg injuries but was then told he could never play hockey again and was immensely disheartened. Shortly after, his father did the unimaginable.
James Galante purchased a hockey team for Danbury, CT and this is when AJ Galante was named as the president and general manager for the team. AJ recalls the moment he found out the news. He was actually in school when his teachers and classmates were congratulating him on the team when he had no clue what was going on. They brought out the newspaper that reported it and his life was changed forever.
“We want that ‘bad-boy’ image. Hopefully the evil empire of the UHL,” says AJ. He wanted the toughest of them all and skilled players from all levels of the NHL. Some famous players from the team were Brad Wingfield, Mike Rupp, Rumun Ndur and others.
The documentary goes deep into the fights because that is what they were known for; the gritty, aggressive fights the Trashers would get into.
In one game, Brad Wingfield was called by James Galante. Wingfield was told that once the puck is dropped to skate away and drop your gloves. Dropping your gloves and sticks in hockey indicates that you are ready to fight.
Once they started fighting, this just fueled the Trashers team and started a chain reaction of players, the managing team and the fans wanting more fights and more action. And as long as the Trashers players gave the Galantes what they wanted on the ice, they would get everything they wanted off the ice.
Rumun Ndur recalls his time on the ice. “We were family, and Jimmy was the boss. When I got on the ice, he’d give you a look, and I understood.” You do what James Galante wanted you to do and he would repay you handsomely.
James treated the players from expensive dinners to living lakefront in a gated community for their families. Some players had suspicions that there were ties to the mob but they never said anything about it. Players were paid under the table and with checks made out from different companies every time.
Due to their new found popularity, they grabbed the attention of Richard Brosal, former commissioner of the UHL. Brosal worked with the Galante’s before and the constant fighting was a reason for Brosal to get in between them again.
Brosal had suspended a few players due to the aggressiveness on the ice. Some incidents include smashing opponents heads into the ice, slashing their sticks into other’s stomachs and even charging at a coach that was behind the bench.
After this long run of being the bad boys of hockey, their journey was cut after 2006. The team disbanded when James Galante was charged with over 70 counts of racketeering and wire fraud. He served seven years and finished his time in 2014.
AJ wanted nothing to do with the Trashers anymore so he disbanded from the team as general manager and went to different jobs. He has always had a passion for wrestling along with his love for hockey, so he worked as a promoter for wrestlers.
He walked into one of his first matches while the fans were booing him and he had a revelation. “Oh my God, I’m back.”
This documentary gives a special look into the organized crime world as well as the world of hockey. There will probably never be another team that is as legendary or aggressive as the Danbury Trashers.