The Many Lies and Evasions to the Court, in a Sexual Abuse Case Against USA Swimming, of Accused Alex Pussieldi Enabler and Global Lord of the Rings Dale Neuburger
December 17, 2024FULL SERIES SO FAR:
“Alex Pussieldi Update: Decade After Ouster in Florida, Peeping Tom and Multinational Trafficker Coach Remains a Powerful Figure in Brazilian Swimming,” October 27, https://concussioninc.net/?p=15882
“SwimSwam.com, Sport News Site, Adores ‘Journalist’ Alex Pussieldi — All-Time International Coaching Abuser, Now in His Third Act in Brazil,” October 29, https://concussioninc.net/?p=15895
“Alex Pussieldi — Swimming Coach Driven out of Florida after Allegations of Trafficking and Sexual Abuse — Announces a Tour of Clinics in Brazil, Sponsored by Speedo,” November 29, https://concussioninc.net/?p=15974
“Speedo Disavows Sponsorship of Alex Pussieldi’s Brazilian Swimming Clinics, Says Endorsement Made ‘Without Authorization’,” November 29, https://concussioninc.net/?p=15990
“The Questions USA Swimming Must Answer about Exiled Abuser Coach Alex Pussieldi — Now a Sport Powerbroker Back in Brazil,” November 30, https://concussioninc.net/?p=15994
“In the Matter of Alex Pussieldi’s Status in Brazil, There’s Precedent for Sanctioning a National Swimming Federation,” December 9, https://concussioninc.net/?p=16001
“Swimming Lord of the Rings Dale Neuburger — Key Figure in the Transcontinental Alex Pussieldi Cover-Up,” December 12, https://concussioninc.net/?p=16017
“The Many Lies and Evasions to the Court, in a Sexual Abuse Case Against USA Swimming, of Accused Alex Pussieldi Enabler and Global Lord of the Rings Dale Neuburger,” December 17, https://concussioninc.net/?p=16035
by Irvin Muchnick
Alex Pussieldi purportedly resigned as head swimming coach at Fort Lauderdale’s St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 2004, following the report of his beating up one of his swimmers on the Fort Lauderdale Swim Team, a Mexican national whom Pussieldi had housed and according to the swimmer, peeped on via a hidden bathroom video camera..
But did Pusssieldi entirely leave St. Thomas Aquinas? Versions of his published curriculum vitae have claimed that he continued as “co-head coach” at the school for several years beyond 2004.
During Concussion Inc.’s coverage in 2014, the Archdiocese of Miami said Pussieldi “worked at St. Thomas Aquinas High School from 2000 to 2004,” after which he left because “he didn’t wish to continue coaching at the High School level.” Pussieldi’s successor as head coach, Martin Grady, later emailed me to complain about the coverage; Grady said Pussieldi won six consecutive state championships and “was never in trouble.”
By my count, 2000 through 2004 would cover five years and make six consecutive championships impossible. However, the archdiocese could have intended to say 1999 through 2004.
Earlier this year Fort Lauderdale’s Sun Sentinel newspaper, in an article about St. Thomas Aquinas’s new head swimming coach, Duffy Dillon, ran down the legacy of the school’s swimming program and its well-known coaches. The story had no mention of Pussieldi. (Back in 2004, the Sun Sentinel‘ swimming writer, Sharon Robb, not only didn’t publish the full details of the assault-and-battery incident on the pool deck of the International Swimming Hall of Fame deck; Robb also emailed Pussieldi with real-time advice on how to ride out the scandal and land new jobs. Dillon, for his part, is a former Pussieldi colleague on the staff at the Fort Lauderdale Swim Team who was highly critical of the atmosphere fostered there by its late owner and head coach, Jack Nelson.)
This month I have emailed the principal at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Denise Aloma, multiple times seeking clarity on Pussieldi’s timeline with the school and specifically asking if he remained associated with the swimming program past 2004. Aloma has not responded. I followed up with queries to the executive assistant to Archbishop Thomas Wenski, leader of the Archdiocese of Miami; there has been no response from there, either.
