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Bernie Fine now faces civil suit from Zach Tomaselli (video)

spt-111208-tomaselli

Mike Miller

Authorities won’t pursue two sexual molestation charges on former Syracuse assistant Bernie Fine because of the State of New York’s statute of limitations on those accusations. But he’ll face at least one civil suit.

News from the AP:

The attorney for a Maine man who claims former Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine molested him on a team trip to Pittsburgh in 2002 said he filed a lawsuit Thursday to rebut comments by Fine’s attorneys and a prosecutor that the man isn’t credible.

The lawyer, Jeffrey Anderson, said he would have preferred to sue the 65-year-old ex-coach after federal prosecutors in New York finish their investigation.

Two former ballboys have accused Fine of molesting them in the 1980s and Anderson’s 23-year-old client, Zachary Tomaselli, contends the same thing happened to him inside a Pittsburgh hotel room on Jan. 21, 2002. Tomaselli, who was 13 at the time, said Fine allegedly arranged the trip for the boy to watch Syracuse play the University of Pittsburgh.

Fine, who was fired, has denied the men’s allegations. His attorney, Karl Sleight, did not respond Thursday to e-mails and calls for comment on the lawsuit.


More details can be found here. Tomaselli’s full statement is below.

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