“In what may be the final nail in his bid for a 2011 MLS franchise, Eugene Melnyk, owner of the Ottawa Senators and founder of Biovail Corp. has agreed to pay a civil fine of $1,000,001 in a case brought against the drugmaker over their accounting practices. ”

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“Last March, the U.S. securities regulator forced Biovail to pay a $10 million fine after a probe into their accounting practices found fraudulent practices.

The latest agreement includes “no admission or conclusions about culpability in this matter at all,” a Melnyk spokesman said.

Melnyk is still facing criminal charges stemming from the event.

To put the soccer spin on it — it’s not as though the MLS is the most transparent of organizations, but one would have to think that the league is not looking to attract this kind of negative attention.

Regardless of all the other obvious shortcomings with the Ottawa bid (lack of stadium, terrible location, the history of failed sports franchises), an owner facing possible jail time won’t exactly instill confidence in his fellow brethren as a future investor.”

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