NEW YORK
New York Post
By ZACH BRAZILLER
Family, friends and countless members of the city’s basketball community convened upon the Church of the Intercession in Morningside Heights to remember Ernie Lorch, the multimillionaire corporate attorney and controversial founder and director of powerhouse AAU program Riverside Church, at a memorial service Saturday morning.
Lorch passed away at the age of 80 May 14 at a Yonkers nursing home after batting diabetes and growing dementia, among other health issues. He was remembered on Saturday as a caring man who gave to others, who built Riverside Church from scratch into the nation’s top AAU program, who took inner-city youths around the world for basketball tournament.
“Mr. Ernie Lorch was the greatest man I ever knew because he taught me about life,” said NBA veteran and Riverside player Albert King, who had to hold back tears as he spoke. …
Lorch was also dogged for years by alleged sexual abuse. He turned Riverside Church into arguably the nation’s elite program before allegations of sexual abuse of a former player led to his resignation in 2002.
Lorch was also indicted by a Massachusetts grand jury for allegedly molesting a New York teenager in Amherst more than 30 years ago, but in November a Westchester judge ruled Lorch wasn’t competent to be extradited to stand trial.
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