By Michael O'keeffe
New York Daily News
June 5, 2009
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/2009/06/05/2009-06-05_exchrist_the_king_bball_coach_bob_oliva_finds_troubles_travel.html
 |
| CTK Head Coach Bob Oliva is being investigated by Boston authorities amid sexual abuse allegations |
Authorities in Boston are investigating allegations that Bob Oliva, the legendary Christ the King Regional High School boys basketball coach who resigned in January amid allegations of sexual abuse, molested a longtime family friend during a trip to Massachusetts more than 30 years ago.
Boston police quietly initiated the investigation in March, but it has become more active in recent weeks. Sgt. John Donovan of Boston's Crimes Against Children Unit has interviewed more than a dozen people close to Oliva or his alleged victim, Jimmy Carlino, during the past month.
"Obviously the district attorney in Boston and the Boston Police Department have to think there is credibility to Jimmy Carlino's claims," said Sam Albano, a longtime Oliva friend who became estranged from the coach after the abuse allegations became public last year.
Oliva told the Daily News he has not been interviewed by Boston police, but several former Christ the King colleagues have been contacted. "My whole life has been turned upside down over something that never happened," said Oliva, who has denied the allegations.
Carlino told The News earlier this year that Oliva, his coach at the St.Teresa of Avila youth basketball program in Queens, had molested him over the course of several years during the 1970s, when Carlino was a teenager.
Sources told The News that while most of the alleged abuse took place in New York, Carlino has said there was an incident in Boston, too, when Carlino accompanied Oliva to a Yankees-Red Sox doubleheader at Fenway Park in 1976.
It would be difficult for authorities in New York to prosecute Oliva because of statute of limitation issues, but Massachusetts officials wouldn't face such hurdles if they were found evidence that Oliva had abused Carlino: the clock on the statute of limitations there stops ticking when a suspect leaves the state.
Wendy Murphy, a former prosecutor who specializes in sex abuse cases, said the equitable tolling provision of common law evolved because officials felt it was "important that you don't reward somebody for running away."
A law-enforcement official who requested anonymity noted that Massachusetts officials grew aggressive in investigating abuse allegations after Boston became Ground Zero for the Catholic Church sex scandal several years ago. Last year, an upstate New York priest, Father Frank Genevieve, pleaded guilty to abusing boys from his Troy parish in the 1970s during field trips to Massachusetts.
Carlino and his attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, did not return phone calls for comment for this story. Donovan and Delayne Austin, a prosecutor with the Suffolk County (Mass.) District Attorney's office, also declined comment.
Carlino told The News earlier this year that a therapist told him the paralyzing anxiety attacks he had suffered for several years were a product of abuse. In April of 2008, a law firm representing Carlino sent a letter to Oliva outlining the pain the coach had allegedly caused his former friend and asked for $750,000 and Oliva's resignation from Christ the King.
Oliva refused, and Christ the King officials called the letter a shakedown attempt. Oliva took a leave of absence from the Royals last fall, citing heart problems caused by stress and resigned in January.
Another man who requested anonymity told The News earlier this year that Oliva had abused him, too, but he was not interested in suing the coach or pursuing prosecution.
Oliva led Christ the King, a perennial city basketball power, for 27 years. He posted a 549-181 career record and won five city championships. Dozens of his players graduated to Division I programs, and several, including Lakers star Lamar Odom and former Nets center Jayson Williams, played in the NBA.
Thomas Ognibene, the former city councilman who serves on the Queens high school's board of trustees, said Christ the King remains in Oliva's corner. "I don't think this will come to any fruition," Ognibene said.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.