Mar 12, 2009 11:00 pm US/Eastern
I-Team: Cheating The Cheerleaders?
Reporting
Jim Osman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
A South Jersey cheerleading coach is being accused by parents of mishandling thousands of dollars in money meant to support a cheerleading squad.
The controversy has prompted an investigation by local police and left a group of young girls and their mothers heartbroken.
Investigative Reporter Jim Osman examines who they blame for cheating the cheerleaders.
They are a high-spirited group of South Jersey girls who love to jump, clap and roll.
And they had a coach who their mothers trusted.
"By the way she talks, it was like she really cared about the kids," said Karen Grillo, a cheerleader's mom.
The girls are the Jersey Stars who cheered in a now closed gym in the Washington Township Sports Complex.
They were coached by Antoinette Conville.
Conville handled the books for the cheer squad and last year was asked to manage funds for the entire sports complex which also houses batting cages.
"She told us she's not making any money on this gym," said cheer squad mom Christine Mortimer.
But Coach Conville did ask all the cheer moms to pay for competition fees, hair and a make-up artist for the girls.
The mothers estimate the total amounted to $6,000.
"Everytime you turn around it's something different," said Grillo. "It just escalates, everything started unfolding from there."
The mothers say they paid $125 per child for the makeup artist for the entire season.
But none was ever hired even though Conville was given thousands of dollars in competition fees, about $150 per month per child.
The moms we talked with say the check Conville wrote to cover the one major competition bounced and they say the money they gave to the coach is unaccounted for.
"I was just really shocked when I heard about everything," said cheer squad member Cami Mortimer.
And so were all the parents.
"Where is all the money? What is going on here," Helen Richardson recalled asking.
Richardson who has a daughter in the cheer squad was asked in January to come in and examine the books.
"I just started seeing things that were not right," said Richardson.
And she says Coach Conville asked her to make up a bogus spreadsheet of previous expenses to help cover her tracks.
"I didn't feel right about doing that," Richardson explained.
So she went to Sal Puglia, the owner of the sports complex.
"We sat in his office for five and a half hours with all of our proof of everything that was happening," says Richardson. "He almost had a heart attack."
Puglia alleges there were tens of thousands of dollars in other questionable expenses by Conville.
Questionable expenses like using the sports complex's credit and debit card which Puglia says includes thousands of dollars in alleged unauthorized cash withdrawals at ATM's.
He says three withdrawals were at the Deptford Mall on the day before Christmas.
Sources say there are surveillance images of Conville making some of the withdrawals.
We asked Puglia if he is 100 percent sure that Conville stole from him.
"Yes, 110 percent sure," he said. "No doubt in my mind."
Puglia believes the total is about $35,000.
Conville denies all of the allegations.
"A lot of allegations are being made," said Antoinette Conville. "None of them are founded, none of the charges have been pressed. There's no police involved."
But the I-Team has confirmed that the Washington Township Police Department has an open investigation concerning Conville.
And a police complaint has been filed by the owner of the sports complex.
Conville told us the parents and business owner are simply out to get her.
She was asked why would all these people would conspire to get her?
"All I can tell you is it's All-Star cheerleading and it's the most cut throat sport out there," answered Conville.
Conville was escorted from the complex after they found alleged fraud.
But she says she decided to leave on her own.
Conville now acknowledges the police investigation. She calls the cheer moms disgruntled.
In a lengthy email we received she specifically denied their version of events and says she will prove all of the allegations against her are false.
The owner of the sports complex has filed a complaint with Washington Township Police.
Puglia told us he has presented the department with financial records and has given a statement to police.
By law the police department can not speak about an open investigation.
Because of the controversy with the finances the girls had to stop cheering and competing for a bit but they are now back to tumbling and jumping.
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