City of Yonkers settled the case, dating back to the 1980’s, for $800,000
Louis DiRienzo
How Do You Defend Yourself Against a 35-Year Old Accusation?
By Dan Murphy
Last week we reported on a settlement between the City of Yonkers and Patricia Adamchek, a student at Lincoln High School in Yonkers in the 1980’s. Adamchek filed a lawsuit against the city and the Yonkers Public Schools under the NY Child Victims Act, which allows alleged victims to file sex abuse claims with no statute of limitations.
In her suit, Adamchek claimed that she was sexually abused by Louis DiRienzo, a teacher and coach at Lincoln HS during the same time. After our story ran, we were contacted by Andrew Quinn, attorney for Louis DiRienzo. Quinn submitted the following statement on behalf of Louis DiRienzo.
“Coach DiRienzo is not now nor ever has been a party to the plaintiff’s lawsuit, which was filed solely against the Yonkers School District. The allegations leveled by the plaintiff allege behavior which purportedly occurred in 1986. When first made aware of these allegations in approximately 2020, Coach DiRienzo emphatically and unequivocally denied any claim of abuse or misconduct involving this plaintiff or any other student in his decades-long teaching career. He steadfastly denies all the allegations contained in the complaint.
Importantly, Coach DiRienzo was never deposed as a witness in the lawsuit, and played no role in the decision to settle it. The City of Yonkers, undoubtedly concerned with the difficult task of defending against a thirty-five-year-old claim, made the tactical decision to settle. There has been no trial on the facts, and the salacious allegations in the complaint remain only allegations: unproven, untested and categorically denied by Coach DiRienzo”. End of statement-
DiRienzo went onto work in the New Rochelle School District where he was the Varsity Football coach for the State Championship team in 2019. Days before the lawsuit was filed, DiRienzo was suspended from his position as New Rochelle High School Football Head Coach by the New Rochelle Board of Education on November 13, 2019. He resigned later that year.
Adamchek filed a criminal complaint with the Yonkers Police Department on November 19, 2019. But “Due to the nature of the allegations and the amount of time elapsed, any potential criminal charges would not be eligible for prosecution,” stated the YPD.
Some are also asking why did the city settle a lawsuit made against a teacher who has denied the allegations? And for $800,000?
While the City could have moved forward to a trial in this case, the usual explanation from Corporation Counsel on settling cases is that it is in the best interest of the city and the taxpayers to settle, instead of risking an even larger jury award.
The City of Yonkers, and school district across the state, have had to pay out many settlements based on filings as a result of the Child Victims Act. The settlements are found in the City Council agendas. We have been asked to review other settlements and compile the total amount paid out but have yet to do so.
One of our readers wrote, “I read your story on Coach DiRienzo, and I cannot comment on the allegations made against him because I have no evidence or idea if they happened or not. And that is the problem. How do you defend against these decades’ old accusations? Where are the rights of DiRienzo? That is the purpose of the statute of limitations, to avoid having someone accused of wrongdoing from 35 year ago. It’s impossible to remember details, assemble evidence, find witnesses and prove your innocence.”
Noted law professor Alan Dershowitz said, “How do you expect people to remember details of something that happened or didn’t happen?”
One of the sponsors of the Child Victims Act, State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal said, “there haven’t been any examples of false claims being filed.”
Coach DiRienzo now claims that his case is one example of just that.
