He's now 53, but he recalls illegally swimming in the river and bicycling its banks as a 10-year-old boy with other youths -- until they discovered how filthy the water was, he said.

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You can see this (and his talent for humorous caricature) in his large painting of skinny-dipping children swimming in the East River, "Forty-two Kids" (1907).

WSJ: Review: Escape to New York | George Bellows at the Royal Academy in London

The investigators didn't include a response from Winnick, who founded the company, but by the time that the June 5, 2000, memo was written, Winnick was already well upstream--and swimming not in a river but in the pool of his mansion in Southern California.

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If teens are swimming in a natural body of water like a lake or river, they should use the rule "feet first, first time" to prevent spinal injuries.

CNN: Water safety expert: 'Drowning doesn't just happen'