A third person has stepped forward and accused Bernie Fine, associate head coach of men’s basketball, of sexual molestation. The accusations prompted the hours-long search of Fine’s home Friday. 

Zach Tomaselli, 23, of Lewiston, Maine, told Syracuse police he was molested by Fine in a hotel the night before SU played an away game against Pittsburgh in 2002, according to an article published in The Post-Standard on Sunday. Tomaselli, who was 13 years old at the time and lived 78 miles north of Syracuse, said nobody witnessed the alleged abuse and he has no physical evidence of the abuse happening.

Tomaselli — who faces sexual assault charges against a 14-year-old boy in Maine – told The Post-Standard he was interviewed by Syracuse police detectives Raul Santana and Clark Farry for more than four hours Wednesday afternoon in Albany. Tomaselli described Fine’s home, in detail, in his affidavit to police, alleging that Fine invited him to his residence in DeWitt, following a second SU game in 2003.

Rose Ryan, Tomaselli’s friend, said she accompanied Tomaselli to the Marriott hotel room in Albany, where the pair met with police, according to the article. Ryan signed a statement over to Syracuse police, stating Tomaselli told her of the alleged sexual abuse in 2002. There was no answer when The Daily Orange called a phone number listed for Ryan.

Tomaselli’s statement was used as proof of possible crimes when federal prosecutors applied for a search warrant to Fine’s home, according to the article.

In the article, Tomaselli said he spoke with Bobby Davis, Fine’s first accuser, several times in brief phone interviews after ESPN broke the story, citing that Mike Lang, a second alleged sexual abuse victim, as corroborating Davis’ claims.

In April, Zach Tomaselli was arrested by Lewiston police on charges of gross sexual assault, tampering with a victim, two counts of unlawful sexual contact, five counts of visual sexual aggression against a child and unlawful sexual touching, according to the article. Tomaselli was accused of having sexual contact with a 14-year-old male camp attendee, where he acted as a counselor. Tomaselli pleaded not guilty.

Fred Tomaselli said in a phone interview Sunday that he never met Fine or allowed his son to attend the Pittsburgh game in 2002. Fred Tomaselli said his son was a victim of abuse by a neighbor when he was growing up in Texas, but the Tomasellis didn’t find out about the abuse until after they moved to Maine.

Instead of seeking help, Fred Tomaselli said his son became a predator, and ‘master liar and manipulator.’

‘He has nothing to lose,’ Fred Tomaselli said of his son. ‘He’s still bitter.’

Aside from a 30-minute conversation last year, Fred Tomaselli said he and Zach have not spoken in years, as Zach tends to get ‘abusive’ during conversations.

In The Post-Standard article, Zach Tomaselli said he first crossed paths with Fine toward the end of 2001, when he attended an autograph session on campus.

Fine invited Tomaselli to the Pittsburgh game on Jan. 22, 2002, where, following a team dinner, Fine took Tomaselli to the hotel room, where Fine watched a pornographic movie and ‘fondled Tomaselli’s penis in bed,’ Zach Tomaselli said in the article.

On Feb. 1, 2003, Fine arranged for Zach Tomaselli and his father to attend a Syracuse-Pittsburgh game in the Carrier Dome. Following the game, the father and son bumped into Fine, who then invited the two to a party at Fine’s home, Zach Tomaselli said. Zach Tomaselli said his father was not able to attend, but allowed Zach Tomaselli, who was 14 years old at the time, to stay over.

Zach Tomaselli said he never spoke to Fine after the associate head coach dropped him off the next morning at Hancock Air Base, where Fred Tomaselli worked.

dbtruong@syr.edu

Published on November 26, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Debbie: dbtruong@syr.edu | @debbietruong