Below are backgrounds and links to the investigative journalism work I’ve done at The Journal News/lohud.com, in descending chronological order.
Local public schools facing referee shortage (January-May 2017)
As part of a team that included Journal News colleagues Frank Scandale and Nancy Haggerty, and Poughkeepsie Journal colleagues Stephen Haynes and Mike Benischek, we dug into the shortage of referees that has hit the area and the reasons behind it.
This investigation took first place for “Best Sports Story” in the annual New York State Associated Press Association News Contest and placed eighth overall in the “Projects” category at the Associated Press Sports Editors Contest.
05.16.17 Abuse, pay driving referees away in public high schools
05.16.17 Refs say a culture of abuse has to change
05.24.17 Podcast: Why high school refs are bailing
Scarsdale exodus: Four coaches out within weeks (August 2016)
After breaking the story to editors, I teammed with colleagues Vin Mercogliano and Mike Dougherty to report on the dismissal of three Scarsdale High School coaches and the resignation of a fourth. The original story and follow-up were the fifth- and seventh-most popular stories, respectively, in our department for the year.
08.05.16 Four varsity coaches out at Scarsdale
08.09.16 Exclusive: Former Scarsdale coaches speak out after firings
Kristi Dini fired after program’s best season (April-December 2016)
A combination of breaking news, column writing, and investigative reporting, this is my work from the ongoing investigation into why Kristi Dini was fired — with no explanation — after the team’s best season in program history.
04.26.16 Kristi Dini out as Somers girls basketball head coach
05.01.16 Column: Something stinks in Somers
06.28.16 Marc Hattem replaces ousted Dini
12.05.16 Dini ‘happy’ in fresh start at alma mater
Woodlands player illegally played out of district (April-July 2015)
Working on an anonymous tip, Lee Higgins and I revealed that a star eighth-grader on the Woodlands girls basketball team in Westchester County, N.Y. actually lived in Rockland County, N.Y. and was playing for the team illegally.
04.04.15 Rockland hoops player removed from Woodlands
07.13.15 Woodlands girls basketball coach resigns months after investigation
Westchester Community College transcript scandal
(October-November 2014)
The work of my colleague Lee Higgins and I placed ninth among all outlets at the 2014 Associated Press Sports Editors contest for investigative work, and placed first in our circulation bracket.
Below are links to stories that I wrote, co-wrote, or contributed to:
10.25.14 NCAA scholarships yanked, WCC coach fired in transcript probe
10.30.14 Former WCC star Keith Thomas ineligible, St. John’s says
10.31.14 WCC basketball transcript fraud prompts broad Concordia investigation
11.02.14 WCC transcript scandal rocks once ‘squeaky clean’ college
Rodney Headley sex scandal (March-September 2014)
Peekskill girls basketball coach Rodney Headley Jr., who led the team to a state championship in 2011, did not attend the team’s state regional semifinal game. My investigation, along with Lee Higgins, revealed why.
03.11.14 Peekskill coach Rodney Headley reassigned
09.17.14 Peekskill coach resigned after student alleged sex act
09.18.14 Rodney Headley Jr. out as CCNY women’s basketball coach
Waitress in tip tale ‘lies about everything,’ former co-workers, friends say (Nov. 2013)
Dayna Morales, a waitress from Stony Point, N.Y., said she was denied a tip because she was gay and produced a receipt that read, “I do not agree with your lifestyle and how you live your life.” I tracked down and spoke to former co-workers and friends of Morales, who said she had a history of lying.
11.27.13 Waitress in tip tale ‘lies about everything,’ former co-workers, friends say
Mike Zacchio 