Syracuse assistant's wife taped discussing situation with alleged victim
Getty Images fileSyracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine is on administrative leave.
NBCSports.com news services
updated 3:31 p.m. ET Nov. 27, 2011
The wife of Syracuse associate head coach Bernie Fine said in a taped phone conversation that she worried that her husband had sexually molested a team ball boy, ESPN reported Sunday.
Fine's wife, Laurie, spoke with Bobby Davis, who has accused Bernie Fine of molesting him, ESPN reported.
ESPN played the tape on
"I know everything that went on, you know," Laurie Fine said on the phone call, ESPN reported. "I know everything that went on with him ... Bernie has issues, maybe that he's not aware of, but he has issues."
Laurie Fine also said, "Bernie is also in denial. I think that he did the things he did, but he's somehow through his own mental telepathy has erased them out of his mind," ESPN reported.
Davis gave ESPN the recording, which the network said was legally made Oct. 8, 2002.
Bernie Fine has denied all the charges. He is on administrative leave while Syracuse is investigating the situation.
Also, a third accuser has come forward. Zach Tomaselli, 23, of Lewiston, Maine, said Sunday that he told police that Bernie Fine molested him in 2002 in a Pittsburgh hotel room. He said Fine touched him "multiple" times in that one incident.
The Post-Standard in Syracuse first reported his accusations earlier Sunday.
Tomaselli, who faces sexual assault charges in Maine involving a 14-year-old boy, said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press that he signed an affidavit accusing Fine following a meeting with Syracuse police Wednesday in Albany.
Two former Syracuse ball boys were the first to accuse Fine, who has denied the allegations.
Tomaselli's father maintains his son is lying.
Davis and a second man earlier had accused Bernie Fine of molestation.
Davis, 39, first made the accusations to ESPN, which reported the story Nov. 17. Syracuse police also are investigating the case.The voice on the tape matches that of Laurie Fine, ESPN reported, which said it hired a voice recognition expert.
Laurie Fine and Davis also discussed how Bernie Fine allegedly molested Davis on the tape, ESPN reported.
Laurie Fine also said she wanted to help Davis but felt powerless, ESPN reported.
Authorities involved in a sexual-abuse investigation of Fine carried out a search at his home Friday but declined to comment on what they were looking for.
New York State Police spokesman Jack Keller said troopers were called to assist the U.S. attorney's office at the search. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak said he "can't confirm or deny" an investigation.
"We don't comment on whether or not search warrants are being executed ? we only comment at the time of public events," Pericak said. "I'm not saying there was or wasn't one here. But when you get a search warrant that's sealed, it remains sealed until a court unseals it."
He said the goal is to avoid "a trial in the press."
The Post-Standard newspaper reported that four state troopers stood at the end of the driveway at Fine's home in suburban DeWitt on Friday afternoon. It said at least six police vehicles were parked on the street and officers were looking through a trash can.
Syracuse police spokesman Sgt. Tom Connellan wouldn't comment on any of the activity going on at the house. He referred all questions to Pericak at the U.S. attorney's office in Albany.
Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner has strongly defended the city police department against accusations by Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick that police officials criminally leaked a witness affidavit to embarrass his office.
At a news conference Wednesday, Fitzpatrick accused Syracuse police Chief Frank Fowler and Deputy Chief Sean Broton of leaking the affidavit. At issue is the handling in 2002 of Davis' initial claims that Fine had molested him.
? 2011 NBC Sports.com
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More newsGetty Images fileFine's wife admits abuse concerns
??The wife of Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine said in a taped phone conversation that she worried that her husband had sexually molested a team ball boy, ESPN reported Sunday.
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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45453700/ns/sports-college_basketball/
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