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As the years passed, the Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves more than $100 million in debt. The once-celebrated franchise was now mired in shame, and speculation grew that the entire operation might have been a money-laundering venture under Okubo’s shadowy leadership.
In 1998, the situation peaked, and Art Williams purchased the team for $100 million. Takashi Okubo, the enigmatic owner, vanished as swiftly as he had appeared, leaving no lingering traces behind.
The Legacy of Mystery
To this day, questions about Okubo's true identity and intentions remain unanswered. Whether he was genuinely a gangster, a billionaire uninterested in hockey, or if the entire episode was part of some larger criminal enterprise, we may never know.