Apr 28, 2006 — The board of the Lake Placid-based U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation voted Tuesday to accept a temporary takeover by the U.S. Olympic Committee. The move follows a turbulent winter. The federation was hit hard by sexual harassment allegations against former skeleton coach Tim Nardiello, who lives in Lake Placid, and the drug-related suspension of men's skeleton racer Zach Lund for a banned substance in a hair-restoration product he was using. USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel told the Associated Press that this was "a significant step" adding, "We want to see a governance and managerial structure that better serves the sport." This marks only the second time the USOC has been pushed to the drastic step of essentially taking over a sport's governing body. The other time was with the U.S. Taekwondo Union in 2004. Brian Mann spoke yesterday with the federation's interim executive director Terry Kent.