Former SU basketball assistant coach Bernie Fine will not be charged after accusations of child-molestation [10] were raised last year, federal prosecuters said on Nov. 9.
According to the Post-Standard [11], prosecuters decided to end the criminal investigation after researching thousands of documents and numerous witnesses. On Nov. 17 of last year, Bobby Davis [12] and his step-brother Mike Lang [13], former SU ball boys, accused Fine of sexually abusing them when they were with the team. Ten days later, Fine was fired as assistant coach, which put an end to his 35-year tenure alongside Jim Boeheim.
Fine has denied all allegations.
"The nature and seriousness of these allegations, which involved conduct typically committed in private with individuals who are reluctant to come forward, warranted a thorough federal investigation," United States Attorney Richard Hartunian said.
The prosecuters did not comment on whether they believed the accusations were true, but only that there as insufficient evidence to continue the investigation and convict fine of any wrongdoing.
When The Post-Standard first began investigations into the Davis' allegations in 2002, Lang denied being abused by Fine. Two other accusers, Zach Tomaselli and Floyd Van Hooser, came forward after the initial accusations saying that they were also molested by Fine. Tomaselli and Van Hooser eventually admitted that they lied.
Fine has since been hired as a basketball consultant for Israeli club Maccabi Haifa.
