UPDATED: Nov. 28, 2011 at 1:04 a.m.

The Syracuse Police Department said it will disclose the records relating to the Bernie Fine investigation to the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office following a weeklong battle that was scheduled to be settled in court Tuesday.

‘As Mayor Stephanie Miner stated the Syracuse Police Department would turn over all reports and documentation of this investigation at the appropriate time,’ the police said in a release sent late Monday afternoon.

District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said Monday the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of the U.S. attorney’s office, is leading the investigation into molestation allegations against former Syracuse University associate men’s basketball coach Fine. SPD will assist in the investigation. Fine was fired Sunday night in the midst of his 36th season.

The U.S. attorney’s office became involved in the investigation about a week ago, said John Duncan, executive assistant U.S. attorney in Syracuse.

‘The Secret Service is involved because they have authority under federal law,’ Duncan said.

It was made public last week that lawyers from the district attorney’s office and the city were due in Supreme Court Justice James Murphy’s court at 2 p.m. Tuesday to determine whether the city would be ordered to provide records from 2002 onward to the district attorney’s office.

Bobby Davis, one of three alleged victims accusing Fine of molestation, spoke to Syracuse police over the phone about the abuse in mid-2002 but was told the statue of limitations expired.

Fitzpatrick said he has been in close contact with the U.S. attorney’s office and discussed the case with them last week.

‘My motivation is to find out if there are any current victims, and I do not want the problem that I have with the chief of police to interfere with that effort,’ Fitzpatrick said. ‘So the U.S. attorney has stepped up, along with the Secret Service, which is fine with me.’

Fitzpatrick said he has maintained almost daily contact with the lawyers representing SU. The university shared information with Fitzpatrick from its investigation conducted in 2005.

‘They have been very cooperative, and I think the chancellor has — under nightmarish conditions — taken very decisive action and shown appropriate leadership,’ he said.

Fitzpatrick said his office will continue to investigate what police knew in 2002. That investigation remains separate from the U.S. attorney’s office, said Fitzpatrick, adding that his office knew nothing of the allegations against Fine in 2002.

A sworn statement from Danielle Roach, Davis’ former girlfriend, claimed that Roach called Fitzpatrick’s office several times in 2002 on behalf of Davis. She left messages with First Chief Assistant District Attorney Rick Trunfio saying a basketball coach at SU molested one of her friends. Roach said the calls went unreturned.

Fitzpatrick said he spoke with Roach about the phone calls, and she told him that she only made two calls to his office, not several. The district attorney’s office was moving from one building to another in 2002, and it remains unclear who Roach left messages with, he said.

‘I believe she called somebody, thinking that she was leaving a message for Rick Trunfio,’ Fitzpatrick said. ‘But Rick Trunfio also keeps detailed logs of all his messages, and we checked and there’s just no message from a Danielle Roach.’

Fitzpatrick said Roach told him she saw Trunfio multiple times after she left the two messages for him. Fitzpatrick said he asked Roach if she ever approached Trunfio about the unreturned phone calls, to which she said, ‘No, I just assumed there was nothing they could do.’

‘In defense of everyone in 2002, it appeared to be an unusual way to report sexual abuse,’ Fitzpatrick said.

But it didn’t take the release of the 2002 tape-recorded telephone conversation between Davis and Fine’s wife, Laurie, to convince Fitzpatrick that Davis’ story was valid.

‘I’ll be honest with you, I made my decision that Bobby Davis was telling the truth long before I listened to that phone call,’ he said. ‘I’ve had the tape of the phone call for several days now, but that was not a determining factor in my judgment — and this is strictly a judgment call — that he was telling the truth.’

jdharr04@syr.edu 

Published on November 27, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Jon: jdharr04@syr.edu