A high-profile criminal case spelled the end of the popular King of the Rock wrestling club in Oak Harbor, but a new, upstanding club has taken its place.

A judge in Island County Superior Court sentenced 34-year-old Jeannette Miracle to 90 days in jail earlier this month. A jury convicted her of first-degree theft for stealing more than $1,500 from the wrestling organization.

Miracle had admitted to investigators that she used the club’s funds to finance her gambling addiction from 2004 to 2006. She told a detective that she spent between $200 to $1,500 per night playing blackjack at casinos with club funds, according to the state’s trial brief.

Also, Miracle admitted to the detective that she used the club’s funds to pay her personal bills and to finance Internet poker playing, the brief states.

Monique Zimmerman was one of the club members who noticed the irregularities in the books. She was disheartened by the revelations of theft, but she has helped create a new club to fill the void.

Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling has many of the same board members as the defunct club, but none of the people were implicated in the theft and the books are in order. Unlike the former club, the new organization — now in its second year — is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, thanks to the voluntary efforts of John Kingma and Associates, Zimmerman said.

Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling is open to all children ages 5 through 18 who want to learn collegiate style amateur wrestling skills taught by experienced and certified coaches. For more information, visit www.leaguelineup.com/kotr or call Martin Martinez at 360-661-5797.

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or call 675-6611.