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Support for Duke suspect on LI
Newsday Staff Writer April 19, 2006 It's too soon to say whether Collin Finnerty's life of privilege has been permanently shattered. It is, however, under siege. So are the academic and sports achievements that propelled him from a quiet Garden City cul-de-sac of million-dollar homes to one of Long Island's elite Catholic high schools, and on to the nationally ranked Duke University lacrosse team. "When Collin was here he was a very good player, obviously, and he was a very good student," said Jack Moran, lacrosse coach at Chaminade High School in Mineola, from which Finnerty graduated in 2004. Moran said it is inconceivable that any of his former or current players could have held captive and raped a woman, as Finnerty is accused of doing at an off-campus house party. "He was never in any trouble here. He was a good teammate, a fit-in kind of player," Moran said. He spoke at an impromptu news conference after the Chaminade team practice ended Tuesday afternoon. While his parents, Mary and Kevin J. Finnerty, Tuesday raised the $400,000 bail that kept their son, 19, from incarceration in Durham, N.C., most of their neighbors on Carteret Place, adjacent to the Garden City Golf Club, declined to comment. Finnerty's father is a high-powered Wall Street executive, according to business databases. A former managing director at J.P. Morgan Securities, he is on the board of Newcastle Investment Corp. and previously served on the Bond Market Association's board. In Garden City, one next-door neighbor emerged briefly Tuesday and drew the attention of more than a dozen news camera operators as he tied two yellow ribbons on roadside trees, saying he did so in support of the Finnerty family. He declined to say more. For much of the afternoon, two police cars were parked down the street just in front of the home of another neighbor, soap opera actress Susan Lucci. In midafternoon, a woman drove down the Finnerty driveway in Garden City and retrieved the family's mail. She declined to identify herself, but when she was asked how Collin Finnerty and his family were doing, she said, "Good." At Chaminade, after lacrosse practice, team players exited in a group and declined to comment. But other students said they were shocked by the indictment. "I only met him once and I don't believe it. He seemed like a nice kid," said Matt Aaron, 17, of Manhasset, a Chaminade tennis player. "I heard he was a great guy." In an unrelated case, Finnerty entered no plea and was sentenced to community service after he was charged with assault in Washington, D.C., Nov. 5. Court records show Finnerty and two companions punched a man in his face and body "because he told them to stop calling him gay and derogatory names." Moran, the coach, said he did not see a link between aggressive sports such as lacrosse and off-field misbehavior. "I'm a lacrosse player and I'm not rowdy. I was an altar boy," Moran said, adding, "The kids here know the difference between what's on the field and off." Moran, who also teaches health classes at Chaminade and recalls Finnerty as a "respectful" student, said he had a "great player-coach relationship" with him. He had not spoken to the player or his family since the accusations were made last month. But, he said, "There's nobody I've coached that I think is capable of the allegations." Staff writers Tom Rock, Susana Enriquez and Tami Luhby contributed to this story. Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc. |