Federal Officials Detain Fetisov Temporarily in Agent Dispute

Viacheslav Fetisov, a defenseman for the New Jersey Devils, was detained by U.S. marshals for several hours Friday as part of a $1-million dispute with his former agent.

Fetisov was taken into custody by order of a federal judge, who released him later in the evening after a court hearing.

The dispute involves a 1989 agreement Fetisov signed with Mark Malkovich, a classical music promoter who signed Fetisov and other Soviet hockey players to agent contracts as the Soviet sports agency began to loosen its grip on athletes. Arguing that Fetisov would flee the country at season’s end to avoid paying a commission, Malkovich asked U.S. District Judge Dickinson Debevoise to detain the player until a $150,000 bond was posted.

Debevoise agreed, saying Fetisov’s attorneys had not replied to repeated requests for information and legal documents from Malkovich. But the judge reversed the detention order and required bond after attorney Alexander Berkovich argued that Fetisov’s substantial U.S. investments and the crumbling Russian economy would keep the defenseman in the United States.

Malkovich has asked for more than $1 million from Fetisov to compensate for unpaid commission and lost endorsements.