December 8th, 2011
04:49 AM ET

Attorneys: Fine accuser to file civil suit against former coach

awyers for Zachary Tomaselli scheduled a Thursday news conference to announce their intention to file a civil suit against former Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine..

Tomaselli was thrust into the national spotlight this month as the third man to publicly allege that Fine molested him when he was 13.

Tomaselli has said they watched pornography together before Fine fondled him in a hotel room in Pittsburgh, where he'd gone to watch a Syracuse game in 2002.

Tomaselli will attend the news conference "and speak to his abuse," according to a statement from attorneys Jeff Anderson and Alan Perer released late Wednesday.

Authorities say they are investigating the allegations.

The developments came hours after a New York District attorney told reporters he had handed over "exculpatory" records on the team's travel and accommodations to Fine's attorneys. He also handed over information on Tomaselli's school attendance, but declined to say whether he found him credible.

Exculpatory material tends to either indicate the accuser was not telling the truth or is beneficial to the defense, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said.

Fine's attorneys, Donald Martin and Karl Sleight, said earlier Wednesday they looked forward to reviewing material from Fitzpatrick.

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Filed under: Crime • Justice • U.S.
soundoff (7 Responses)
  1. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    A accusation is not proof.
    Some abuse that was witnessed and hidden in a country as guilt-ridden and prone to hysteria about amorous adventure as the USA will inspire many to create false accusations.

    December 8, 2011 at 5:50 am | Report abuse |
  2. banasy©

    @JIF:
    Though I tend to agree with the majority of your post, I don't think an encounter with a grown man and a thirteen-year-old boy can be described as an amorous encounter.

    If we're talking about someone like Herman Cain, well, that's quite a different thing.
    Your post is definitely applicable there...

    December 8, 2011 at 6:49 am | Report abuse |
  3. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    banasy,
    The "adventure" I meant is normal activity that is general in our population, and I stand behind what I said about that and this nation's puritanical mentality.
    I said clearly that there WAS actual, true abuse that was witnessed and hidden.

    December 8, 2011 at 7:07 am | Report abuse |
  4. gung hoe

    Well I agree with both of you banasy and jif

    December 8, 2011 at 8:31 am | Report abuse |
  5. gung hoe

    I hope that they take that fine for everthing he has and morning jif and banasy

    December 8, 2011 at 8:35 am | Report abuse |
  6. banasy©

    @JIF:
    I understood the intent of your post; I, however, was speaking about the poste topic.
    I stand behind what I said, too.

    December 8, 2011 at 12:14 pm | Report abuse |
  7. fernace

    Hey to my blog peeps, JIF, banasy & gung ho, hope alls well w/ y'all! Adults who molest children have some type of mental defect that causes them to think it's a mutual attraction! Mary Kay Letourneau thought she was in love w/a 12 yr old boy! He had a gardenvariety schoolboy crush, like many of us have had & she used that to start a s.e.x.ual affair & get pregnant! What adult in their right mind would have a child with a child? There also seems to be an epidemic of molestation charges against pastors, priests, coaches & teachers! We need serious education of this heinous behavior, geared toward kids, to teach them that no matter what authority the adult has, they do not ever have the right to touch them in a suggestive manner!! Molesters need to be studied to see if MRI of their brains can net a clue for why they prey on kids!! Maybe medication can curb their behavior!!

    December 8, 2011 at 2:34 pm | Report abuse |
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