New Fort Lauderdale Documents: Sun-Sentinel Swimming Writer Offered Alex Pussieldi Help in Preventing 2004 Assault Report From Getting ‘Out of Hand’

New Fort Lauderdale Documents: Coach Alex Pussieldi Had Been Legal Guardian of the Mexican Swimmer in the 2004 Assault Incident
March 21, 2014
Sharon Robb, Sun-Sentinel Swimming Writer Who Covered Up For Alex Pussieldi, Is a Member of Three Florida Sports Halls of Fame
March 23, 2014

by Irvin Muchnick and Tim Joyce

 

The swimming beat reporter for Fort Lauderdale’s Sun-Sentinel newspaper – also an inductee of the International Swimming Hall off Fame – gave Alex Pussieldi advice and an offer to help him keep the situation surrounding a police report of his 2004 alleged physical assault of a Mexican swimmer from getting “out of hand,” according to new public records released to Concussion Inc. by the Fort Lauderdale city attorney’s office.

The information about reporter Sharon Robb, who is now retired, is the most specific and compelling evidence yet that major media were complicit in the cover-up of heinous misconduct by Pussieldi, who would remain a coach in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County through last year. Though Pussieldi now works for Brazilian TV and as the Brazil correspondent for Swimming World magazine, the Broward County government real estate site shows that he still has a house in Fort Lauderdale and the house is not listed for sale.

Robb was inducted into the media wing of the swimming Hall of Fame in 2000. The Hall of Fame is located in the same Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex where the 2004 altercation between Pussieldi and his swimmer took place.

Yesterday we reported that the new city document release revealed the swimmer told police that Pussieldi had been his legal guardian from 2000 to 2002. Future reports here will focus on the likelihood that redacted portions of the documents released to us would further reveal detailed and unrefuted allegations that Pussieldi secretly videotaped boy swimmer-tenants in states of undress in the bathroom of the house where he rented them rooms, and also kept videos of his own sex with underage boys.

Earlier reports here, prior to the new document release, questioned the knowledge of Pussieldi’s activities by other area employers and contractees – including St. Thomas Aquinas High School , Pine Crest School , and Nova Southeastern University .

At http://muchnick.net/robbpussieldi.pdf, we uploaded a viewable facsimile of a February 17, 2004, email exchange between Pussieldi and the Sun-Sentinel’s Robb. It is not clear how the printout of this exchange came to become a record in the files of the Fort Lauderdale police or some other local government agency.

Here is the full text of Robb’s email:

 

Hi Alex,

I think since you have a week off, it would be a good idea to go down to the police station, the records department and buy a copy of the police incident report….

The Case No. is 04-018791, unless you have a fax number, I can fax to you….

It’s good to have a copy just for your files in case this gets out of hand….keep in touch and call me when you are reinstated so I can write another story saying you are back coaching…

sharon

 

Previously, Concussion Inc. had made attempts to reach Robb for general information about her memories of the Pussieldi scenario when she was on staff for the Sun-Sentinel. She never responded. Last night we emailed again with specific questions about her 2004 email to Pussieldi.

As this story was being published, we had received no response from Robb or from current Sun-Sentinel sports editor Greg Lee or Broward metro editor Dana Banker. We are sending this article to those three, as well as to Sun-Sentinel editor Howard Saltz and publisher Howard Greenberg. Florida’s third-largest newspaper, the Sun-Sentinel is owned by the Tribune Company. We will publish any response.

 

Complete links to Concussion Inc.’s Pussieldi investigation are at https://concussioninc.net/?p=8652.

Comments are closed.

Concussion Inc. - Author Irvin Muchnick