As Demands Multiply For Wielgus Resignation, Prosecution, Congress – Let’s See What USA Swimming Does About Alex Pussieldi and Dustin Perry

by Irvin Muchnick

Even as Chuck Wielgus has been blocked from the Hall of Fame and as a second petition by abuse victims is asking for Congressional intervention, and for prosecution of Wielgus and others responsible for cover-up and perjury, USA Swimming’s list of banned coaches continues to swell. If anything, the expansion of the list will be accelerated as Wielgus and his henchpeople, such as safe sport director Susan Woessner, search for the next easiest cases on which to take a stand and prove that they mean business.

With that said, just what is the current status of international human trafficker Alex Pussieldi and of Dustin Perry, the poor man’s Pussieldi? Concussion Inc. blew open the decade-plus abuse files on both, which also include very recent allegations that either weren’t confronted at all by USA Swimming or were given the tortoise treatment.

We have reported that Woessner recently told a Pussieldi complainant that “we are committed to trying to right that wrong” on Pussieldi, whatever that means.

Last week’s South Florida New Times cover story, entirely about the investigation of Tim Joyce and myself into the nomadic, unprosecuted, and inadequately probed abuses of Pussieldi, led to the doorstep of the Fort Lauderdale-based Hall of Fame and dovetailed with the stories of the rescission of the Wielgus induction, and his lame, late “apology” to sexual molestation victims on his 17-year watch as CEO.

Yet so far as we know, Pussieldi remains the “Brazilian correspondent” for Swimming World magazine, though he seems not to have contributed any news from that Olympics-besotted nation since January.

And Pussieldi remains most recently characterized – at the time of his “retirement” from coaching nearly a year ago – as “the great Alex Pussieldi” at Swim.Swam.com. That outlet, ordinarily somewhat more aggressive than Swimming World in acknowledging sexual abuse scandals, appears not to have gotten around yet to the Wielgus mea culpa or to the second public petition by victims appealing to the feds.

Meanwhile, we have heard nothing to contradict our report earlier this week that the case to ban Dustin Perry was made by swimming at an emergency hearing of the National Board of Review (with no help from Perry victims, who are justifiably suspicious of the good faith and motives of a process now thoroughly exposed as an arm of USA Swimming public relations and liability control). The smart money is on a snap announcement soon of Perry’s excommunication – perhaps even soon enough to make him No. 103 on the banned list.

Don’t forget to read and support the new petition of “Victims of USA Swimming Coaching Sexual Abuse,” http://www.change.org/petitions/senate-committee-on-commerce-science-and-transportation-ask-congress-to-protect-athletes-from-sexual-abuse-the-way-students-are-protected-2?recruiter=103722725&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition.

Concussion Inc. is reconfiguring the omnibus links to our dozens of articles on these and related controversies. When the new links are ready, we’ll post them in an update at the bottom of this piece, as well as in their own dedicated posts. Readers also can always use the search engine of this site for such popular terms as “Wielgus,” “Woessner,” “Pussieldi,” “Perry” – and let us not forget Dale Neuburger, the lying, conflict-of-interest-crazed, insurance-scam mastermind in his years on the USA Swimming board, including a term as president. We hope all of you, and all the prosecutors and congresspeople in Washington, will be watching for our new story on Neuburger in the near future.