Update: Athletic director Alison Cone announced Thursday that Di Loreto will not attend Cal Poly.
An incoming Cal Poly men’s basketball player who was arrested after his alleged involvement in a Wisconsin bank robbery on Aug. 16 is still being considered as a possible member of the team, according to his attorney.
Anthony Di Loreto of Minnetonka, Minn. was just weeks away from beginning his college career when he was arrested along with an alleged 16-year-old accomplice after their reported involvement in the robbery of Bremer Bank in Danbury, Wis.
Di Loreto, who allegedly waited outside the bank and was meant to be the getaway driver, was charged with being a party to the robbery of a financial institution and possessing a sawed-off shotgun.
He will likely enter a plea of not guilty at his initial appearance in Wisconsin’s Burnett County Circuit Court on Sept. 12, Di Loreto’s attorney Eric Nelson said Wednesday.
Nelson said that despite his client’s legal issues, Cal Poly head coach Kevin Bromley is still committed to Di Loreto, who, according to the criminal complaint filed Aug. 18 in Burnett County, admitted to Minnetonka authorities that “he and (the minor) had made plans the previous night to rob the Bremer bank.”
According to the complaint, Di Loreto also told authorities he hid the shotgun in the trees at a Minnetonka park.
“My conversations with coach Bromley are that he wants this not to ruin Anthony’s life,” Nelson said. “He thinks that Anthony has a bright future and that hopefully, the Cal Poly Mustangs will be a part of that future.”
Nelson added that the final decision would ultimately come down to school officials such as provost Bill Durgin and athletic director Alison Cone.
“The situation with his scholarship and his ability to play basketball are still being looked at,” Cone said Wednesday when asked of the 18-year-old’s status. “We’re still trying to make a determination.”
While his scholarship and basketball eligibility would seem in question, Cone stressed that his ability to attend Cal Poly as a student is not up in the air.
“He is eligible to attend Cal Poly as there is no basis under Title V or California education code that precludes him from enrolling in classes,” Cone said.
Nelson hopes that Cal Poly administrators are able to look at Di Loreto’s overall character and not what he calls an isolated incident.
“Coach Bromley was impressed with Anthony’s character,” Nelson said. “And we hope this is viewed as youthful indiscretion, not as an act of a hardened criminal.”
Cone said that coaches have a different perspective on the players they recruit than school administrators, which is part of the reason that the school’s administration has final say in athletic eligibility.
“Coaches get an attachment to players, and develop a different kind of relationship with players,” Cone said. “That’s why universities set policies that allow decisions to be made at a higher level.”
While Cone will play a big part in the final decision on Di Loreto’s future, she stressed that depending on the documentation followed, the provost will probably have a say in the process.
“It kind of depends on what document or policy the decision is based on,” Cone said. “We have a lot of athletic policies that prescribe the provost make a decision in consultation with the athletic director. We are still doing some research.”