These 24 N.J. coaches are banned from their sports after accusations of sex abuse, drug dealing and more – NJ.com

Every day, thousands of children and teenagers across the state spend hours a day training with coaches in highly-competitive sports, including gymnastics, figure skating, swimming and wrestling.

The training sessions can be invaluable for young athletes trying to excel at their sports. But, the coaching often takes place one-on-one or on road trips to competitions, out of the sight of parents.

Until recently, parents and young athletes had no reliable way of checking what coaches had been banned from their sports after allegations of sexual abuse, drug offenses or other crimes.

The U.S. Center for SafeSport, the organization created in 2017 to protect young athletes in U.S. Olympic sports, has been compiling an online list of coaches banned by various national organizations. Some sports have banned coaches for years but the information wasn’t always made public.

Earlier this year, Great Coach, a privately-run website about coaching and youth sports, produced its own list bringing together lists of banned coaches from SafeSport, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the governing bodies for various sports.

“We encourage youth-serving organizations and parents across the country to take a look at that list because we know they could be going out and coaching in other communities,” said Katie Hanna, SafeSport’s director of education and outreach.

The U.S. Olympic movements and other sports organizations have been under increasing pressure from Congress and parents to be more transparent about allegations involving coaches in the wake of the conviction of USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who sexually abused young athletes for years despite numerous allegations of misconduct.

The lists released by SafeSport and Great Coach include about 1,000 people nationwide, though the lists are not complete and more sports are being added.

The current list includes at least 24 coaches with ties to New Jersey who have been banned or suspended from gymnastics, figure skating, equestrian, hockey, diving, swimming, wrestling, bowling, track and field, boxing, volleyball and taekwondo. Here’s what we know about them:

Adam Savignano – Gymnastics

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by USA Gymnastics (2017)

Reason: Criminal case/ sexual misconduct

What happened: Savignano was banned from coaching by USA Gymnastics in March 2017. Court records show he previously pleaded guilty to criminal sexual contact in 2001 in Morris County after he was accused of fondling four young women between the ages of 15 and 20 after a two-month police investigation. At the time, he owned Diamond Gymnastics in East Hanover.

Andrew Lavrik- Figure Skating (Hackensack)

Ruling: “Ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2019)

Reason: Criminal case/ sexual misconduct

What happened: Lavrik, of Hackensack, was charged in January with sexual contact with a child and endangering the welfare of a child, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said. Edgewater police launched an investigation after getting a tip in December that the figure skating coach had inappropriately touched a child the previous month. Lavrik, an instructor who had worked at Ice House in Hackensack for more than seven years, was banned from coaching the day after he was charged.

Barry Lobel- Equestrian (Bedminster)

Ruling: “Interim measure- suspension” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2019)

Reason: Allegations of misconduct

What happened: Lobel, an equestrian trainer known for helping riders win at regional and national shows, is accused of sexually abusing several female equestrians he trained in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they were between 14 and 17 years old. Several women detailed their alleged abuse to NJ Advance Media in an investigation published in March. Lobel was given an interim suspension from official equestrian activities by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, though the organization would not provide any details about its investigation or why he was suspended. Lobel, now 73, has not been charged with a crime.

Boris Ponce De Leon- Gymnastics (Randolph)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2018)

Reason: Criminal case/ sexual misconduct (subject to appeal/ not yet final)

What happened: Ponce de Leon, who previously worked at a gym in Florida, was arrested in 2015 for allegedly walking around his West Palm Beach apartment complex naked while masturbating. The Florida facility where he was working as a gymnastics instructor fired him after the incident, according to a report in the local paper. It is unclear where Ponce de Leon was working in New Jersey.

Brian Gallagher- Hockey (Westwood)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2018)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: Gallagher, of Phillipsburg, was arrested last year during an internet child pornography investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit. He was accused of using the internet to view and attempt to distribute files with nude and sexually explicit images of children, police said. He previously lived in Westwood.

Candace Gottlieb- Diving (Cherry Hill)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by USA Diving (2018)

Reason: Criminal case

What happened: Gottlieb, a longtime diving coach at The College of New Jersey, was arrested last year with her son after police said they were running a large-scale drug dealing operation. The mother and son from Cherry Hill were charged with possessing and conspiring to distribute fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and marijuana. Gottlieb pleaded guilty in a plea deal in November to conspiring to distribute drugs. She was previously affiliated with Blue Dolphin Diving and the South Jersey Diving Club and is a former vice president of junior diving for United States Diving.

Emily Feeney- Swimming (Leonardo)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by USA Swimming (2019)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving minor (subject to appeal/ not yet final)

What happened: Feeney, a former swim coach and counselor at Malvern Prep in Chester County, Pa., pleaded guilty in 2016 to pressuring a 16-year-old male student to have sex with her by offering to get him into Harvard. She was sentenced to five years’ probation and forced to register as a sex offender, according to local news reports.

Erik Lazenby- Gymnastics (Lanoka Harbor)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2018)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: No details found.

George Laquino, Jr.- Bowling (Piscataway)

Ruling: “Suspended from all contact with minors” by U.S. Bowling Congress (2007)

Reason: Criminal case/ sexual misconduct

What happened: Laquino, then 48, was arrested in 2007 and charged with with sexually assaulting three teenage girls over a five-year period in Phillipsburg, according to news reports at the time. The incidents involved 13-, 14- and 15-year-old girls. Laquino pleaded guilty the following year. He was active in several local bowling associations.

Gilvantroi Fernandez – Gymnastics (Egg Harbor Township)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2018)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: Fernandez, then 31, was arrested in 2014 at his home in Atlantic City after the Atlantic City Prosecutor’s Office said he downloaded images of children being sexually exploited or abused. At the time, Fernandez had previously worked as a guest coach at Bright Stars Academy in Egg Harbor Township, where he was known as “Coach Troi,” the Press of Atlantic City reported.

James Nafus- Hockey (Peapack)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by USA Hockey (2003)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: Nafus, who taught at the Far Hills Country Day School and coached the school’s ice hockey team, was arrested in 2003 and charged with endangering the welfare of a child after law enforcement officials say child pornography was found on his laptop computer after he brought it to the school for repair. Nafus, of Chester, pleaded guilty the following year, was sentenced to probation and his teaching license was revoked, according to state records.

Jason Fennes- Track/Field (Bloomfield)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2018)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: Fennes, of Bloomfield, pleaded guilty in 2017 to sexual assault charges after he was accused of molesting four female students and having sex with a teenage girl he met while working as an assistant track coach. Fennes, then 42, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Fennes coached track at Montville High School and Butler High School and taught at several schools, including William Mason Elementary School in Montville, where he was accused of molesting four first grade girls and Cedar Hill Prep School in Franklin Township, where he was accused of sexually assaulting another girl.

Jemel Balkman- Track/Field (Camden)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2018)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: Balkman, 40, of West Berlin, a former coach in the Berlin Amateur Athletic Union, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact for groping a 15-year-old boy he coached in 2016, according to court records. He pleaded guilty and is serving a four-year prison term. The judge also barred Balkman from ever coaching children again. The same year, he was charged with indecent assault in Pennsylvania and was sentenced in August to three to 23 months in jail, according to court records.

Jimmie L. Baxley Jr. – Boxing (Jersey City)

Ruling: “Ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2019)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: Jimmie L. Baxley Jr., 51, the owner of Heavy Hitters Boxing Gym, was charged in January with sexually abusing three girls between 10 and 20 years ago, according to court records reported on by the Jersey Journal. The youngest girl was under 13 at the time and the oldest was 16 or 17, court records show. He has denied the charges. Baxley previously served 7 1/2 years after pleading guilty to manslaughter in a 1987 killing.

Joel Staiman- Swimming (Cherry Hill)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2018)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: Staiman, 52, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child after a 12-year-old girl told police that in the summer of 2017 Staiman lifted her shorts to try to expose “part of her body” and, on a later date, smacked her buttocks over her clothes, court records show. Police said he denied the charges. He was accepted into pre-trial intervention in January of 2018. The charges will be dismissed at the end of a three-year period if he abides by the conditions set by the court, records show. It’s not clear where Staiman coached swimming.

John Schwerzler- Swimming (Mullica Hill)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by USA Swimming (2004)

Reason: Sexual misconduct

What happened: Schwerzler was a 29-year-old coach of the Gloucester County Swim Team at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology in 1998 when he started a sexual relationship with a swimmer who was 13, according to a lawsuit she filed and criminal court documents. He was charged in 2004, according to the lawsuit. Schwerzler was later charged with official misconduct for depositing checks into his own account that were written to the school. He pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual contact and official misconduct and was sentenced to four years in prison in 2007, court records show. The lawsuit settled in 2009.

Joseph Catrambone- Gymnastics (Deptford)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2017)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: In 2017, two gymnasts, both under 13, came forward with allegations that Catrambone, now 31, had touched them inappropriately while coaching them at Atlantic Coast Gymnastics in Williamstown. He pleaded guilty to a single count of endangering the welfare of a child, but his attorney said at the time that he denied the sexual assault. Catrambone was sentenced to a year in jail. After his release, he was arrested again in 2018 in a child luring sting. He is now serving a five-year prison term in that case, in which authorities said he tried to arrange a meeting with a 15-year-old boy online who turned out to be an undercover cop.

Justin Maska- Hockey (National Park)

Ruling: “Ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2018)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: Justin C. Maska, 24, of National Park, worked as a counselor at a skating camp and coached youth hockey before he was arrested in August of 2018. A 12-year-old camper at Deptford Skating Center Summer Day Camp reported that Maska had messaged her online, asking for a photo of her in underwear and listing sexual things he wanted to do to her, according to court documents. A second set of charges were filed against Maska in November alleging he sent a 13-year-old girl explicit sexual messages and photos, according to court records. The cases were merged and he pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child in February. He will be sentenced in May.

Pete Nguyen- Volleyball (Edison)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2018)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: Nyguen, 51, coached volleyball at Millburn High School and at Impact Volleyball Club in Rahway before he was arrested Feb. 12, 2018. Police said in court documents that Nguyen twice took a 14-year-old girl from Impact Volleyball Club to his home, gave her alcohol and inappropriately touched her. He pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child in August and is currently serving a year-long sentence in the Middlesex County jail.

Richard Perry- Taekwondo (Belleville)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by USA Taekwondo (2017)

Reason: Sexual misconduct

What happened: Perry, 47, of Jefferson Township, owned Master Perry’s World Class Martial Arts in Belleville until his arrest in 2016. But he had been charged with sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl more than five years earlier in 2011. In that case, the sexual assault charges were replaced by a single disorderly conduct charge and a fine as part of a plea deal, court records show. In October 2016, Perry was charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old in Jefferson Township. Two months later, while he was still in jail, he was charged in a previous incident in Belleville where he touched a 13-year-old’s intimate areas over her clothes, authorities said. He pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct in the Essex County case and was sentenced to 364 days in jail and four years probation. The Morris County case is still ongoing and Perry remains in jail.

Ronald Charles- Gymnastics (Freehold)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2018)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: Ronald Charles, 54, was the owner of Galaxy Gymnastics in Freehold in 2015 when he was charged with possession of child pornography. Police learned he had tried to send child pornography online, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. While his case was active, he was arrested again for posting threats against law enforcement on Twitter, prosecutors said. Court records show he pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography and was sentenced in March to 180 days in jail and two years probation. He was released from the Monmouth County jail last week, records show.

Scott Bicking- Hockey (Mantua)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by USA Hockey (2013)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: Bicking, 52, was the former co-owner of the Pro Shop at Hollydell Ice Arena in Washington Township and Pond Ice Arena in Newark, Delaware. In 2013, four boys between the ages of 11 and 14 told police that he inappropriately touched them at the arena in Delaware. In 2015, he pleaded no contest to charges of unlawful sexual contact and attempted unlawful sexual contact and was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison, according to court records. Bicking, who remains in prison in Delaware, was then charged in 2018 with aggravated sexual contact after another allegation he molested a boy at the New Jersey pro shop in 2013. That case is ongoing.

Steven Peltier- Swimming (East Windsor)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by USA Swimming (2001)

Reason: Sexual misconduct

What happened: It’s not clear what prompted USA Swimming to ban Peltier, now 71, from the sport in 2001. However, since then he has twice been convicted of endangering the welfare of a child. In 2010, Peltier was arrested not long after he told his wife and a counselor that he had inappropriately touched a 9-year-old girl, according to court records. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years probation, records show. In 2017, the same girl reported to a counselor and then police that Peltier had touched her breasts, according to another criminal complaint. He again pleaded guilty and was given a five-year suspended sentence in November 2018, court records show.

Thomas Waddell- Gymnastics (Egg Harbor Township)

Ruling: “Permanently ineligible” by U.S. Center for SafeSport (2018)

Reason: Criminal case/ involving a minor

What happened: Waddell, 56, of Ridgewood was arrested in 2016 after a woman wrote a letter to New Jersey State Police claiming he had sexually assaulted her numerous times from 1989 to 1992 when she was younger than 13, according to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office. The alleged assaults occurred at private homes and former gyms where Waddell trained the girl in Cranford and Mays Landing, authorities said. Waddell denies the charges and the case is ongoing. In 2017, his attorney told NJ Advance Media that police investigated the allegations in 1996 and declined to press charges.

Where does this information come from?

The names of those suspended by their sports come from the governing bodies of the sports and the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the organization that oversees investigations of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and other allegations in Olympic sports.

However, the organizations only provide basic information, including the coach’s name, when they were suspended or banned and a reason for the penalty. The additional information about what happened came from news reports, court records, lawsuits and other documents gathered by NJ Advance Media.

In most cases, SafeSport and the sports governing associations declined to provide additional details.

Will more names be added to the list?

Hanna, SafeSport’s director of education and outreach, said the current list took countless hours to create and is still a work in progress. In addition to listing names of people SafeSport has sanctioned itself, the organization also collected records from all 50 governing bodies of coaches or athletes who had been sanctioned by their sports going back years.

“That’s a continuous process where we’re still receiving reports of a historical nature from these national governing bodies,” she said.

In addition, more current and past athletes are coming forward with allegations about coaches or other athletes. SafeSport said it has received 2,711 reports in the two years since its launch in March of 2017. Of those, 441 people have been sanctioned.

“What we have seen in the last few years … is so many courageous survivors coming forward as that environment of safety and support and believing survivors has been put in place around the country,” Hanna said.

What’s the difference between “ineligible” and “permanently ineligible”?

Coaches are usually declared “ineligible” when they are facing pending criminal charges involving child abuse or sexual misconduct, SafeSport officials said. They are declared “permanently ineligible” when there is a criminal conviction or a full investigation by SafeSport.

Is this a complete list of all coaches accused of wrongdoing in New Jersey?

No, the list only includes coaches working in Olympic sports overseen by national governing bodies. Other coaches accused of sexual abuse and other crimes while working in football, softball, baseball and other sports are not on the list.

In other cases, coaches in Olympic sports may have been accused of crimes, but were never banned by SafeSport or their sports’ governing bodies because the allegations were never reported to the organizations.

Can these coaches work in other sports?

The SafeSport bans only involve coaches working in Olympic sports. They could work in other sports or jobs involving children. So, in theory, a gymnastics coach banned by SafeSport could coach a football team. However, the coach would likely have difficulty passing the background checks many organizations and schools require for adults working with kids.

How do you report allegations of misconduct by a coach?

SafeSport has an online directory of ways to report misconduct or concerns about a coach. They include contacting local police, the governing bodies of various sports or filing a report with SafeSport. Reports to SafeSport can be anonymous.

SafeSport accepts third-party reports and can launch its own investigation based on news reports of criminal charges against a coach. But the organization doesn’t necessarily know of every arrest, so Hanna said people are encouraged to let SafeSport know about any charges against coaches or athletes that violated SafeSport’s code of conduct.

“If people have knowledge of that, we want people to report that in to us,” Hanna said.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips

Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.