Former
Christ the King basketball coach
Bob Oliva pleaded guilty to sexual abuse charges in a
Massachusetts courtroom Monday, concluding a stunning fall from grace for one of the most celebrated figures in
New York City hoops history.
The legendary coach, who was indicted by a Boston grand jury last year on two counts of rape of a child and faced two life sentences, acknowledged that he abused 14-year-old Jimmy Carlino during a trip to Boston in 1976.
Oliva will not serve any prison time. The plea agreement he reached with
Suffolk County (Mass.)
District Attorney Daniel F. Conley places Oliva on probation for five years and requires him to register as a sex offender and provide a sample of his DNA to the Massachusetts database. He is also required to undergo sex offender treatment, give up coaching and teaching, and have no unsupervised contact with minors.
“I now realize I lost my childhood to Bob Oliva,” said victim Jimmy Carlino, who was overcome with emotion several times as he read an impact statement during the hearing before Suffolk Superior Court Judge Carol Ball. “I have come to the conclusion that this child predator altered the course of my life.
“You are a sick, disgusting person and a poor excuse for a human being who took advantage of his position and power in life,” added Carlino, now 49.
READ THE FULL VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT (.pdf)
Carlino’s attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, announced immediately after the hearing that he had filed a $20 million lawsuit against Oliva, Christ the King Regional High School, the Diocese of Brooklyn, the Catholic Youth Organization and other Catholic institutions on Friday in New York State Supreme in Queens.
The suit alleges Oliva abused Carlino more than 100 times over a four-year period during the 1970s. Most of the abuse took place in New York, Carlino has said, saying Oliva also molested him in Canada, Vermont, Florida and other states.
Christ the King and the other Catholic institutions failed to take steps to properly supervise Oliva or protect children from a sexual predator, the suit claims. Bernard Helldorfer, legal counsel for the Christ the King board of trustees, said he isn’t sure how the school is implicated since the abuse of Carlino took place before Oliva was employed there. The diocese did not return a call for comment.
“Mr. Oliva may be in the Hall of Fame at Christ the King, but he is in the Hall of Shame now,” Garabedian said.
Garabedian said he also represents former Christ the King baseball star Allen Watson, who pitched for both the Mets and the Yankees. Watson said Oliva, 66, showed him pornography, masturbated in front of him and took him to prostitutes when he was a teenager.
“Bob Oliva is a monster,” Watson said. “My heart goes out to all the families and victims of this man. I am ashamed to be a CK alumnus.”
Oliva, who moved from New York to Myrtle Beach, S.C., after resigning as the Royals’ coach in January 2009, will serve his sentence in South Carolina, and was ordered to also comply with that state’s sex offender registration and GPS monitoring laws.
Oliva, 66, looked haggard but showed no emotion as he acknowledged that he had molested Carlino in July 1976, when they traveled to Boston to attend a Yankees-Red Sox doubleheader at Fenway Park. He did not apologize or look at Carlino during the hearing.
Six of Carlino’s friends, including another man who claims he was also abused by Oliva, traveled to Boston to lend their support. The other victim, who requested anonymity, blasted former city councilman and CK board member Tom Ognibene and other school officials who accused Carlino of trying to shake down Oliva when the Daily News first reported on the sexual abuse allegations in the summer of 2008.
“Christ the King made the victims out to be liars,” the man said in a statement read by Suffolk County (Mass.) prosecutor Leora Joseph.
The prosecutor also told the court that Oliva asked a friend to tell investigators that he shared a hotel room with Oliva and Carlino during the 1976 trip. Joseph didn’t identify the man, but The News has previously identified him as Sam Albano, a sports TV producer, who said he didn’t spend the night in the room.
Oliva told The News in 2009 that Albano had concocted the sex abuse allegations with Carlino and others in an attempt to shake him down and destroy his reputation because they were jealous of his success.
“There was no conspiracy,” Albano said. “All I wanted was to get this vile man off the street and away from kids.”
Oliva won 549 games and four CHSAA Class AS intersectional titles during 27 seasons at Christ the King. Scores of his players, including Lamar Odom and Jayson Williams, later played for top Division I programs and NBA teams.
As the Daily News first reported in 2009, Carlino was a 7-year-old aspiring basketball player when he first met Oliva, who ran the youth basketball program at St. Teresa of Avila, a Catholic Church in Queens. Oliva was a longtime friend of Carlino’s parents, who asked him to become Carlino’s godfather.
The two remained friendly until 2008, when Carlino said he sought help for emotional problems that were linked to Oliva’s sexual abuse. Their friendship ruptured .after a mutual acquaintance, Christ the King assistant basketball coach Nicky Sanchez, told Carlino that others had been abused by Oliva, too.
“I came forward when I found out I was not the only one,” Carlino said. “I wanted to make sure he didn’t hurt anyone else.”
Carlino notified Boston authorities of the abuse in 2009. Although most of the abuse took place in New York, it would be difficult for New York officials to prosecute Oliva because of statute of limitation issues. But in Massachusetts, the statute of limitations clock stops ticking when a suspect leaves the state.
Joseph had to clear some substantial hurdles just to bring the 35-year-old case to the grand jury. There were no eyewitnesses and no physical evidence, and records that might have proven that Oliva stayed at the hotel in 1976 were destroyed long ago.
After Judge Ball sentenced Oliva, she embraced Carlino.
“She told me I should be proud and stay strong,” Carlino said. “She said it was one of the greatest impact statements she has ever heard.”
