Coach of Youth Girls Charged with Sex Crime
A longtime Cortlandt youth girls basketball coach was arrested last week by New York State Police for an alleged sex crime with a 10-year-old girl in 2010.
Richard J. DiNizo, 59, was charged with one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree, a Class B felony, after being arrested at his Fowler Ave home Friday at approximately 7 a.m. by police investigators and special agents assigned to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations.
DiNizo, a woodworker and coach of 12 and 13-year-old girls in the Westchester Basketball Association for about 20 years, was arraigned in Cortlandt Town Court and remanded to Westchester County Jail in Valhalla without bail. He is scheduled to return to Cortlandt Town Court on March 22.
If convicted of the alleged crime, DiNizo could face up to 25 years in state prison.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Putnam County District Attorney and Westchester County District Attorney assisted in the investigation. State Police said additional state and federal charges against DiNizo are expected to be filed in the near future.
Police investigators requested any other potential victims of DiNizo or persons with information related to his alleged unlawful activities to contact them at (914) 737-7171.
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