For Plantation Coach and Ex-Alex Pussieldi Colleague at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Mum’s the Word
March 28, 2014Fort Lauderdale Police: We Were Not Involved in Child Porn and Minor Solicitation Bust of Pine Crest Swim Coach and Alex Pussieldi Colleague Roberto Caragol
March 31, 2014
by Irvin Muchnick
Martin Grady, who says he has been head boys’ swim coach at Fort Lauderdale’s St. Thomas Aquinas High School since 2005, is upset by our Alex Pussieldi coverage. This morning Grady emailed us, in part:
“Coach Alex Pusssieildi won 6 consecutive FHSAA Syae swimming -diving tiltes from 1998-2003. He was never in trouble. [sic]”
We responded by asking Grady to clarify Pussieldi’s titles and tenure at St. Thomas Aquinas. According to Pussieldi’s own bio (which Concussion Inc. readers can view at http://muchnick.net/pussieldibio.pdf), he was head coach, 2001-05, and co-head coach, 2005-07. These dates do not square with Grady’s – and that doesn’t even get into the dubious assertion that Pussieldi “was never in trouble.
We also asked Grady about Pussieldi’s 2004 leave of absence from St. Thomas Aquinas, which was reported in media accounts of his resignation that year from the Fort Lauderdale Swim Team following the police investigation of his physical altercation on deck with one of his swimmers. (The swimmer would explain that the background was earlier Peeping Tom videotapes by Pussieldi, who had been the swimmer’s legal guardian and landlord.)
Our message back to Grady was copied to the St. Thomas Aquinas supervising principal, Monsignor Vincent Kelly, and principal, Tina Jones. Neither principal has responded to our multiple previous emails and faxes.
On March 6, the Archdiocese of Miami said Pussieldi “worked at St. ThomasAquinasHigh School from 2000 to 2004,” after which he left because “he didn’t wish to continue coaching at the High School level.” On this obviously conflicting and inadequate statement, we are persisting with Archbishop Thomas Wenski and his PR staff.