Penn State Sandusky scandal: AD arrested, Paterno, Spanier fired; coverup charged #7

StellarsJay said:

Lawyer Courtnay is claiming not to have known anything in 1998-9 0r 2002:

“I was never made aware of the alleged incidents of sexual misconduct regarding Sandusky until I read about them in the AG’s presentment,” Courtney said. When pressed, however, he said he became aware in 2009 that a report of possible misconduct by Sandusky with a boy had been made to Clinton County authorities and was being investigated.

http://www.centredaily.com/2011/11/17/2989371/courtney-denies-knowledge-of-acts.html

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He spent his first news conference talking about the past and the two men who had dominated the school until the very moment they had been forced aside not 48 hours earlier, Graham Spanier and Joe Paterno.

He filmed a YouTube video talking directly to the camera, hostage-like, in a clipped monotone about one of the saddest weeks in the history of Penn State.

When he has appeared since — in halftime commercials, email blasts, town hall meetings with students and faculty — he has offered few new specifics or rhetorical flair. Instead, he repeats the same themes: The terrible nature of the allegations against Jerry Sandusky, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz. Tragedy. Support for alleged victims. Commitment to transparency. Core values. Five promises. Moving forward.

For the moment, those talking points have been his whole message. But how much longer can that work?
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Concerned Papa said:

I suppose anything's possible, but I've got a problem in buying into the notion of an abundance of ignorance on the part of these TSM board members and officials.

Take this Judge for example.

In a place no bigger than his circuit or area, do you really think it's likely or even logical that more than one child rape investigation of the public figurehead of an organization he is a board member of would escape his awareness? Do you really think he doesn't have a friend in LE, CPS or the SA's office who wouldn't make him aware of what was being looked into for his own reputation's sake?

How about TSM's CEO, Dr. Jack Raykovitz? According to the grand jury report, he knew about the investigations into this freak's actions. Are you really suggesting that he wouldn't and didn't make any of the other board members aware of the issue? Do you think he at least told his wife, the longest term employee in the organization?

Last, but certainly not least, we have Attorney Wendall Courtney who was aware of the whole enchilada regarding TSM's public figurehead. He's supposed to have come on board as their counsel and not made the board aware of these investigations? Aside from the basic moral obligations at play, I'm of the opinion that there were certain fiduciary responsibilities on his part in making the organization aware of what had been/was being investigated. How likely or logical is it that an attorney would have been so committed to protecting Sandusky that he would have placed himself in such a position of not telling ANYONE?

The FACTS that have been coming out have shown us that aside from MANY VICTIMS and their families, janitors, coaches, high school principals, and teachers knew about this freak. Members of LE, District Attorneys, State Attorneys, and even a Gubernatorial candidate knew about this freak.

Yet somehow, these wealthy captains of industry, jurists, and intellectual scholars who made up TSM's board of directors and trustees were supposed to have been in blissful ignorance of what this animal was doing to the children of The Second Mile? I'll even give them the benefit of the doubt that possibly they believed in "the greater good" of the organization or something of that sort, but there's no way I can believe the Judge Lunsford's of this mess who are singing loud and strong that “Not one thing was said to us, Not a damn thing.’’

I can't buy it.

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Rlaub44 said:

I don't know. To me, it's easier to believe that Raykovitz kept all of his knowledge to himself than to suggest all of the board members are lying.

Having served on a board for a local social service agency, I knew nothing about the day-to-day operations, nor would I have been aware of any rumors or scuttlebutt.

Judge Lunsford was a respected jurist in the area - would he really have been so committed to protecting Sandusky or the Second Mile that he would have placed himself in such a position? Again, in my opinion, it is more likely that Sandusky's actions weren't widely shared with the board members, even if only out of concern that one rogue member might have taken action.

There may have been an inner circle with whom information was shared, but I doubt it was known among the rank-and-file. Most of them just weren't invested enough to have purposefully looked the other way.

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Concerned Papa said:

I suppose anything's possible, but I've got a problem in buying into the notion of an abundance of ignorance on the part of these TSM board members and officials.

Take this Judge for example.

In a place no bigger than his circuit or area, do you really think it's likely or even logical that more than one child rape investigation of the public figurehead of an organization he is a board member of would escape his awareness? Do you really think he doesn't have a friend in LE, CPS or the SA's office who wouldn't make him aware of what was being looked into for his own reputation's sake?

How about TSM's CEO, Dr. Jack Raykovitz? According to the grand jury report, he knew about the investigations into this freak's actions. Are you really suggesting that he wouldn't and didn't make any of the other board members aware of the issue? Do you think he at least told his wife, the longest term employee in the organization?

Last, but certainly not least, we have Attorney Wendall Courtney who was aware of the whole enchilada regarding TSM's public figurehead. He's supposed to have come on board as their counsel and not made the board aware of these investigations? Aside from the basic moral obligations at play, I'm of the opinion that there were certain fiduciary responsibilities on his part in making the organization aware of what had been/was being investigated. How likely or logical is it that an attorney would have been so committed to protecting Sandusky that he would have placed himself in such a position of not telling ANYONE?

The FACTS that have been coming out have shown us that aside from MANY VICTIMS and their families, janitors, coaches, high school principals, and teachers knew about this freak. Members of LE, District Attorneys, State Attorneys, and even a Gubernatorial candidate knew about this freak.

Yet somehow, these wealthy captains of industry, jurists, and intellectual scholars who made up TSM's board of directors and trustees were supposed to have been in blissful ignorance of what this animal was doing to the children of The Second Mile? I'll even give them the benefit of the doubt that possibly they believed in "the greater good" of the organization or something of that sort, but there's no way I can believe the Judge Lunsford's of this mess who are singing loud and strong that “Not one thing was said to us, Not a damn thing.’’

I can't buy it.

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Rlaub44 said:

You pretty much named the small, inner circle I referred to. What would Raykovitz gain by sharing the warnings he received from Curley, as well as any other knowledge he may have had, with the full board? If you want to keep things secret, and effect the cover-up people are suggesting, you have to be extremely sure of the people you include.

I don't know Judge Lunsford, but if you were the CEO of the Second Mile, and you learned that very bad acts were being perpetrated by the charity's founder and public face, would you be likely to tell a retired judge?

I know you feel strongly about this Papa, but I just don't think it is very likely. We will probably never know for certain exactly who knew what, but we already have plenty of people that we can be sure were in a position to do something, but didn't.

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StellarsJay said:

Good article on Second Mile insurer's fight not to pay Sandusky's bills:

"But at the same time, it is incorrect and downright specious for Federal to argue that Sandusky's actions were not committed in his capacity as an official at Second Mile. Yes, none of the alleged crimes actually took place at Second Mile, but it was because of his stewardship of the program that Sanduksy had access to the youngsters against whom he is alleged to have committed these heinous crimes. And Sandusky met all eight alleged victims mentioned in the grand jury report at Second Mile."http://www.realclearsports.com/arti...mpt_to_disown_sandusky_is_specious_97543.html

BTW, is Amendola implying that if Dorothy did need a lawyer she shouldn't have the same one as Jerry?

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Rlaub44 said:

You pretty much named the small, inner circle I referred to. What would Raykovitz gain by sharing the warnings he received from Curley, as well as any other knowledge he may have had, with the full board? If you want to keep things secret, and effect the cover-up people are suggesting, you have to be extremely sure of the people you include.

I don't know Judge Lunsford, but if you were the CEO of the Second Mile, and you learned that very bad acts were being perpetrated by the charity's founder and public face, would you be likely to tell a retired judge?

I know you feel strongly about this Papa, but I just don't think it is very likely. We will probably never know for certain exactly who knew what, but we already have plenty of people that we can be sure were in a position to do something, but didn't.

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Reader said:

From your link this is interesting:

For Federal to try to avoid association with an alleged child molester is entirely understandable. It's not as if the company had known all along about the Sandusky rumors and was just now starting to flee the scene.

But if Sandusky's "secret" was whispered about in the cloistered community, as some say it was, could Federal have possibly known about it?

More to the point, this case shows that there must be a heightened degree of due diligence with insurance companies. As soon as rumblings of problems with Sandusky emerged at Penn State, especially when he was let go so quickly by the school, everyone involved with Second Mile should have been paying greater attention.

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Quiche said:

Imo, no one associated with TSM or Penn State wanted to know anything about Sandusky abusing children-- each and every time there was a whiff of impropriety, they collectively, and intentionally, buried their heads in the sand as to avoid the fall of the house of cards we've witness in this past month. The only real question I have is was there a conspiracy to bury the facts???? That insurance company should sit down and shut up before they're sued for everything they have going, if you ask me.

Ultimately, we're talking about Penn State, JoePa, and all the revenue/business that entails for the entire region. Sandusky, though a bit player, had them ALL by the b*lls... He got to do what he desired right under their noses, out in the open, in front of them, in well lit public spaces. He flaunted it, lived within reach of a schoolyard, pulled kids from public schools for his own gratification, all the rules were broken. Routinely. He, himself, was untouchable! Audacious as the devil himself.

Until Mike McQueary needed to clear his conscience-- or maybe, he was making a grab for the ring, who knows. (but with JoePa's sudden health decline, I wonder if Mike knew that time was short for Paterno no matter what).

In short, that entire region wished this away-- that's why he got away with it for so long. MOO

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Quiche said:

Imo, no one associated with TSM or Penn State wanted to know anything about Sandusky abusing children-- each and every time there was a whiff of impropriety, they collectively, and intentionally, buried their heads in the sand as to avoid the fall of the house of cards we've witness in this past month. The only real question I have is was there a conspiracy to bury the facts???? That insurance company should sit down and shut up before they're sued for everything they have going, if you ask me.

Ultimately, we're talking about Penn State, JoePa, and all the revenue/business that entails for the entire region. Sandusky, though a bit player, had them ALL by the b*lls... He got to do what he desired right under their noses, out in the open, in front of them, in well lit public spaces. He flaunted it, lived within reach of a schoolyard, pulled kids from public schools for his own gratification, all the rules were broken. Routinely. He, himself, was untouchable! Audacious as the devil himself.

Until Mike McQueary needed to clear his conscience-- or maybe, he was making a grab for the ring, who knows. (but with JoePa's sudden health decline, I wonder if Mike knew that time was short for Paterno no matter what).

In short, that entire region wished this away-- that's why he got away with it for so long. MOO

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StellarsJay said:

Quiche sums up:
"Sandusky, though a bit player, had them ALL by the b*lls... He got to do what he desired right under their noses, out in the open, in front of them, in well lit public spaces. He flaunted it, lived within reach of a schoolyard, pulled kids from public schools for his own gratification, all the rules were broken. Routinely. He, himself, was untouchable! Audacious as the devil himself."

Home confinement (with Dottie) must be making him crazier- a big TV interview would break the monotony. Any bets on how long before he is caught breaching his GPS boundaries or blowing up in some other instinctive way?

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Concerned Papa said:

I tend to agree with what you are saying and, frankly, it leaves me dumbfounded. How did this freak have them by the b*lls? Your descriptive term of "bit player" certainly sums up all that I can see about him, so what was his drawing card that caused people not to see or care about what he was flaunting right in their faces? His nonprofit TSM certainly wasn't an income center for a 4.6 BILLION dollar per year University, but something made an awful lot of people stick their heads deep in the sand. I can readily believe the TSM officials fearing a loss of revenue, but what in the hell was the big concern for Spainer, Schultz, Curley, and Paterno? Were they really just sweating some kind of rah, rah, go team go, we are Penn State BS because they had presented this chump as a larger than life defensive guru? I hate to break it to em, but I could go into a few NCAA record books and find any number of defensive coaches whose team statistics made ole Jer's defenses pale in comparison. The complete apathy for this animal's victims is something I've grasped at understanding since he was exposed.

I wish I could ask these captains of industry and intellectual scholars who are now claiming they didn't know or notice a thing, one question. What if it wasn't little boys that tripped this freak's trigger, but instead it was five dollar crack ho's. Would they have noticed him parading that kind of lil darlin to team functions, parties, and the like? Wonder if the missus would still be proclaiming his innocence and her outrage at the besmirching of his hallowed character if he had drug a steady string of crack ho's down to her basement over the past couple of decades?

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Quiche said:

Imo, no one associated with TSM or Penn State wanted to know anything about Sandusky abusing children-- each and every time there was a whiff of impropriety, they collectively, and intentionally, buried their heads in the sand as to avoid the fall of the house of cards we've witness in this past month. The only real question I have is was there a conspiracy to bury the facts???? That insurance company should sit down and shut up before they're sued for everything they have going, if you ask me.

Ultimately, we're talking about Penn State, JoePa, and all the revenue/business that entails for the entire region. Sandusky, though a bit player, had them ALL by the b*lls... He got to do what he desired right under their noses, out in the open, in front of them, in well lit public spaces. He flaunted it, lived within reach of a schoolyard, pulled kids from public schools for his own gratification, all the rules were broken. Routinely. He, himself, was untouchable! Audacious as the devil himself.

Until Mike McQueary needed to clear his conscience-- or maybe, he was making a grab for the ring, who knows. (but with JoePa's sudden health decline, I wonder if Mike knew that time was short for Paterno no matter what).

In short, that entire region wished this away-- that's why he got away with it for so long. MOO

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