syracuse basketball: ShortFormBlog

15:19 • 1 year ago

One of the three men who accused Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine of child molestation claims he made his story up.

A Maine man says he lied when he accused former Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine of molesting him.

Zachary Tomaselli of Lewiston said Friday that he fabricated the allegations and took pride in his ability to convince people his claims were true. He told The Associated Press he’s a “habitual liar and sociopath” who lacks feelings for others.

Two other men made accusations against Fine but prosecutors say too much time had passed to consider charges related to their allegations. Federal prosecutors examining Tomaselli’s claim did not comment. A district attorney said in December that evidence undercut Tomaselli’s credibility.

Tomaselli is about to head to prison after getting convicted of molesting a boy himself. The allegations came out as a result of the case. (ht @BreakingNews)

16:03 • 1 year ago

Tags: bernie fine syracuse syracuse basketball sexual molestation child sexual abuse 11 • Permalink

Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine says that the allegations against him are "patently false," claims they'll be "discredited."

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine says allegations that he molested two former ball boys for years are “patently false.”

In a statement released by one of his attorneys Friday, Fine says these allegations have been thoroughly investigated multiple times and that he has fully cooperated with past inquiries.

Fine says: “Sadly, we live in an allegation-based society and an internet age where in a matter of minutes one’s lifelong reputation can be severely damaged. I am confident that, as in the past, a review of these allegations will be discredited and restore my reputation.”

Keep in mind that there are some differences between this case and Jerry Sandusky’s case, where there was an alleged cover-up. Syracuse did, in fact, fully investigate the claims when they learned about them in 2005, but didn’t make any changes at the time because they couldn’t be proven. The claims are coming to a head again because a second alleged victim came forward on ESPN last night. EDIT: Slightly corrected the story, which changed since last night. Thanks The Only Plfrmat.