PA PA - Ray Gricar, 59, former district attorney, Bellefonte, 15 Apr 2005 - #17

[J. J. in Phila]

Snipped for emphasis and brevity only.

I was astounded by her " theory" that Gricar met up with Freeh in Vermont as they both vacationed.

Your point about PEF is correct. I could not imagine RFG going to another state for a week or more, on his birthday, and PEF staying in Bellefonte. We don't even have any indication that Freeh and RFG were in the same town at the same time.

I wish I'd made a bet that she'd shoot arrows at Tom Corbett, too. I remember when the early sentiment ran so high against Corbett in this case and its discussion. It was hard to shove past Tom Corbett's huge shadow to discuss practical theories related to the case. I wonder now, all these years later, why Corbett was the very early scapegoat and boogeyman. NOT that I want to get anti-Corbett sentiment stirred up again- never would I wish that upon this cleaned up case discussion again.
Barely an intro to the series and BAM, we're already into " Corbett failed to investigate Gricar's disappearance".
Is Corbett the most hated man to come out of PA's executive branch of government in our lifetimes, or was their a direct and focused enmity between Corbett and Gricar specifically? ( I know about the televised press conference where Gricar looks so upset as Corbett is talking but don't recall the specifics of the reason for that occasion's bad atmosphere).

The issue with Corbett was his closeness to the Centre County DA at the time, Madera. Madera had been a deputy AG under Corbett and strongly supported him; Madera was a member of the GOP state committee and, as such, had some clout. It was a situation where Madera could have asked Corbett for a favor, or vice versa.

RFG, however, had been critical of Corbett when Corbett was head of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. The position looks good on a resume, but is not a particularity powerful one. He complained that Corbett, then a defense attorney, was representing a client that Gricar was prosecuting. It was not RFG's best moment and it created some animosity.

Corbett didn't take the case, but neither did his appointed successor, Kelly, or his elected successor, Kane. Madera did not send the case to the AG's Office, but neither did the acting DA before him, Smith, or his elected successor, Parks Miller. Parks Miller did send it to the PSP.

[/QUOTE]

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Good to see you post.

Snipped only for emphasis.

Respectfully Snipped

Actually the documents that you and I have obtained show very little money.

I do not buy into any connection between PSU and RG. Dug into it a bit a good while back and I don't see any merit in that theory.

I've looked into the Penn State scandal in detail and I cannot find any connection, or even a suggestion that RFG was trying to build a case.

I do think that all available resources were not utilized in searching for RG and no really deep investigation into why a sitting DA went missing was mounted by either political party or any public official elected since. That is a huge red flag to me. Somewhere, someone in local or state government is quietly saying "this is a can of worms you don't want to open" whenever there is any official poking around done. Of that, I am 99% sure. We have seen dozens of cases here at WS in the past few years with 100 times more resources applied to solving them. So you have to ask yourself what could have occurred that rises to a level that would quash any official deep dive? For some odd reason this case is a known "poison apple" that no one of any authority want's to bite into to make a name for themselves in solving.

I can give you a one word answer: Legacy. People, especially in Centre County, are more concerned about how RFG will look than what happened to him. They assume that if they get the answer walkaway, the public will be, in TG words, "properly outraged." They assume that, if it was foul play, it was something that RFG was doing wrong, and that he was murdered as a result.

Without prejudice, I feel comfortable in saying that it is possible that RG did destroy physical and data evidence when the hard drive was removed from the computer and both were tossed into the river. What that data was will most likely remain unknown.

I will add this, we know that RFG wanted to erase the data on the laptop. He asked people how to do it, including a defense attorney, how to do it. He bought software to do that.

Looking at the claim that RFG had Sandusky stuff on his laptop, there are two insurmountable problems.

1. Why does RFG put this stuff on a laptop he is planning to erase, and not have a backup?

2. If someone else destroyed the laptop to hide data, how did this other person know that RFG had backed it up? The guy had access to three computers, the laptop, his home PC, and his office computer. Even 2005, they had zip drives and CD's to store data. He could have even printed something out and it as a hard copy. Nobody, other than RFG could know this.

 

[U2forever]

I don't recall ever seeing this. Thank you for bringing the episode to the case discussion!
Also, as I have Prime Streaming, I'll be looking for it. I sort of have to prepare emotionally as this case really grabbed my attention and my heartstrings in 2005 and has never let go.

I've never seen him interviewed. Did see a very short clip where he and others in the D.A.'s office answered some questions about a case. He spoke maybe 2-3 sentences at most. Others spoke more than he did, which likely wasn't unusual.

Your welcome.

 

[U2forever]

Spring Dawn (Dawn Birnbaun) case?

Yes

 

[SeekingJana]

Let me see if I have the gist of today's discussion correct: LE assigned to Gricar's case, including the PSP who processed his ( or Patty's) Mini Cooper very early in the case plus the handlers of the scent dogs from likely outside Centre County and the land, water, and air search and rescue/ recovery teams deployed very early in the disappearance were ALL negligent slackers who failed to find evidence which was there for the taking?

If there was/ is a conspiracy to either ignore a missing DA's case and evidence associated with it, then at least ONE of the people involved in the coverup of evidence or the suppression of viable intel would have told a friend or family member who would have talked to the press by now don't you think? People dissolve relationships and the exes who might have info start to talk. Loyalties and ties are broken and if there was " small talk" about how " we kind of let that case in Bellefonte with the D.A. slide because we were told to by x,y, and z offices", then every year on the anniversary of his disappearance, if no other day in the year, this info is NEWSWORTHY.
I've never read anything of this type outside a few old friends saying " More should be done", " He was murdered" ( without one shred of evidence or even anecdotes to back up that shadowy accusation) or a broad statement of how sad it all is, which it IS.

To J. and Tracker, my question is: How do you find and prove a negative? IF no evidence is found, then where do you go and how do you look for what doesn't exist? I realize this can be reversed to " You can't find evidence if you don't look for it" as well. That's why I'm asking: What failed where, if anything?

What SHOULD HAVE been done to produce viable evidence which wasn't done for RFG? Weren't posters related to his missing status posted in foreign countries? Slovenia, for example?
I'm asking because I sincerely do not know how they should have proceeded in the almost- sterile parking lot, with an unusually neat car as evidence, with an austere person's small footprint of a life?

As far as " the legacy being more important than the man", IF he was so important to the legacy of Centre County, why is there no memorial to that legacy of work? Why is there not even a park bench with a plaque? Not even an " In memory of" small monument in a cemetery in Bellefonte?

People DID care about the DA who went missing. So many sightings for weeks and weeks. Not all could have been for the hope of reward money, could they? People still care about the DA who went missing, as the new podcast seems to have a healthy number of listeners, and this case discussion, while not " vigorous" is as active as can be expected for the years that have passed without any evidence, isn't it?

Ordinary people like me look at the total lack of findings beyond the car and the laptop parts, none of which ended up with much evidentiary value, and ask " OK, where should LE have gone, and should the investigators have been PSP or FBI from the beginning? How many PSP should have stayed on the case and for how long when no evidence of foul play or where he might have gone otherwise had been found?"

I am sincerely asking- who didn't look, where did they fail-- in what areas of the investigation? Did they put on their uniforms, climb into their patrol cars, drive to the station or stations and sit drinking coffee and eating doughnuts while watching TV?

 

[SeekingJana]

I'd like to address the issue of the Vidocq Society taking on the Gricar case.
This is exactly the type of case they'd take at the invitation of the investigating body of LE and give advice as to leads to follow. They might complete their work quickly, since the evidence we WSers have is scant. ( It really doesn't even need to be stated any longer, IMO).

It should be noted, if one doesn't know, that they will take X number of cases in the form of the complete case files from the case investigators only, and will study the case file as a group for unfollowed leads, or for a possible missed clue or clues.

I don't know IF they've looked into RFG's case, but whether they have or have not, the public is not told of Vidocq Society's work behind closed doors.

J,. they convene and possibly reside in Philly, so you may know more from local news references..... not sure, as it's all supposed to be highly confidential at all times.

One of the references I used, plus personal knowledge from an impeccable source.
Vidocq Society - Wikipedia

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Snipped only for brevity.

I'd like to address the issue of the Vidocq Society taking on the Gricar case.only, and will study the case file as a group for unfollowed leads, or for a possible missed clue or clues.

They, specifically, do not handle missing persons cases, which is what the Gricar case is. https://www.vidocq.org/#non-law

They also will only become involved if LE asks for their assistance.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I am snipping this on for emphasis and brevity.

Let me see if I have the gist of today's discussion correct: LE assigned to Gricar's case, including the PSP who processed his ( or Patty's) Mini Cooper very early in the case plus the handlers of the scent dogs from likely outside Centre County and the land, water, and air search and rescue/ recovery teams deployed very early in the disappearance were ALL negligent slackers who failed to find evidence which was there for the taking?

What SHOULD HAVE been done to produce viable evidence which wasn't done for RFG? Weren't posters related to his missing status posted in foreign countries? Slovenia, for example?
I'm asking because I sincerely do not know how they should have proceeded in the almost- sterile parking lot, with an unusually neat car as evidence, with an austere person's small footprint of a life?

Ordinary people like me look at the total lack of findings beyond the car and the laptop parts, none of which ended up with much evidentiary value, and ask " OK, where should LE have gone, and should the investigators have been PSP or FBI from the beginning? How many PSP should have stayed on the case and for how long when no evidence of foul play or where he might have gone otherwise had been found?"

During the first 48 hours of the investigation, the BPD (and PSP) did an outstanding job. The located the Mini, found witnesses, did some massive searches, did forensics of the sight and even discovered that the laptop was missing. The last one might not have been discovered for several weeks had the BPD not asked.

That first week, however, was the start of the problem. First was the "Mystery Woman." The BPD had the first reports of her on 4/16/05. They didn't try to get a composite of her. They did not widely publicize her until May of 2006. This may have been just some random woman who happened to ask RFG for the time. The man she was with might have just looked like RFG, e.g. it was her husband. She could have seen something that would help solve the case. She also could be involved in his disappearance. In any case, someone else might have recognized her from a composite.

The reason that the BPD didn't was because they didn't want people to think that RFG ran off with a woman. That might have been reasonable to hold back for several days, but by the end of the week, with no body, that should have been released. It is clear than no other woman from the area, or that RFG had interact with in the past, was missing.

Then let's move to August 2005. The laptop has been found, sans drive. The drive was removed by someone, possibly RFG. LE knew that RFG had been interested in getting rid of the data on the laptop; people had told him that he asked about it and that he had gotten software to erase it. That points something voluntarily. That leads to my favorite question. If RFG's action were voluntary, how did he get out of Lewisburg (and ultimately out of the area)?

LE did check his credit cards to see if he rented a car (probably earlier than this). Did they check to see if he had purchased a car? At the time, there was a 60 to 90 day delay in the processing car registration in PA. It would have been possible for possible for someone to get a temporary registration and sell it out of state in that time. Did they ever check his friends and associates bought (or had a long term rental of) a car at the time? So far as I know, they did not.

Finally, why didn't LE do a forensic audit of his funds? We have been raising these questions about and the more information we've found (thank you, Trackergd), the more questions we have.

These are type of things that LE should have been doing when the question "What happened to Ray Gricar" was not answered in the summer and fall of 2005.

 

[SeekingJana]

Snipped only for brevity.


They, specifically, do not handle missing persons cases, which is what the Gricar case is. https://www.vidocq.org/#non-law

They also will only become involved if LE asks for their assistance.

Yes, I stated they take the complete case file from the investigative body asking for their assistance. Likely, many more letters/ case summaries are sent than receive a green light.

I didn't know Vidocq excluded missing persons cases, but can certainly see why. Thanks for adding this info.

 

[SeekingJana]

I truly admire your clear thought on the main sticking point" How did RFG get out of Lewisburg if he left on his own?"

For me, that part of leaving almost requires a 2nd person as a confidential helper with a good condition, average looking ( not distinctive) vehicle they were either sold to Ray, or didn't want, and gave him. Many of us give older model cars away when they are no longer what we want or need. ( Older being usually 6 years old, when the value is very low for something like a Honda, Chevy, Nissan- very high volume selling " ordinary" car).

Keys could have been under the mat and he drove it away himself, for all we know. I base this on the fact that I don't think any of the eyewitness sightings included 2 adults, only a solitary male. Helpers have to eat and take breaks too, so I believe everything which was an action started in or totally happened in Lewisburg.

I believe he knew someone in Lewisburg or in that vicinity well who was not connected to his life in Bellefonte/ Centre County at all. Possibly the unknown lady reported to have been seen with him, but not necessarily that one person...

 

[SeekingJana]

If the lady called " MW" ( Mystery Woman) at the SoS area on the 15th intermingling with RFG was actually with him, as in " his companion for the day or weekend", then I don't see any logical way she could be a harmful person.

1) Considering murder of RFG- She would not be out in public with him, to be seen enough to be describable, possibly to run into someone he or she knew if she was there to kill him.
She would have likely been the lure to a murder elsewhere, perhaps, but where was the evidence? Where were the bodily remains? What happened to the lady? She didn't become invisible. Was there a " murder ring" operating in Lewisburg in 2005? I seriously doubt it.

2) Just friends- Speaks for itself, nothing to add. It wasn't for him to introduce her to a shop owner or the like. It was his and her personal business.

3) Lover - See above. Plus, Ray would know who he was with. He would know the lady's history and her present circumstances. He would not have entered into a risky affair. He was a prudent and cautious person. He did ONE reckless thing that is known- the baseball trip to Ohio where he didn't tell anyone he was leaving.

4) Motel room rented in her name for intimate rendezvous regardless of previous history together or lack thereof- OK, fine. Then, he has a fatal heart attack or stroke while with his lady. If the " He had a health crisis and died" is taken to a logical conclusion, a rational person would have called 911 and the situation would have been a tragic accidental death, or a fortunate survival. In any case, there would have been biological material left behind from a death in a hotel room. I'd think housekeepers at the establishment would have found the evidence of a disturbance and reported it.
It pays to know CPR if the lover is on the older side of middle age and above. If someone walked away from a person in dire straits, they were into espionage' or were a soulless psychopath.
Also applies to a lady's private residence scenario.

This is like a scene out of " Bullwinkle" with Boris and Natasha. I just can't buy it as truth unless Ray loved a psycho on the sly.

5) Maybe logical: Both Ray and the MW ( or another unknown lady love) were taken hostage or killed during the night of the 15th. I'm not at all sure how this could have happened unseen and unheard in a tiny town, though. No clues for all these years- it's not rational.

In any scenario where there was or could have been a lady with him that weekend he disappeared, though, IMO, the person he could have been with might have been a higher profile person than he was.
This brings up a point that irritates me to no end. It is somehow taken for granted that RFG would have been " the target" ( if foul play) or " the one who made plans to leave his life behind" on a solitary basis.

What no one here considers is that sometimes, in fact, many times, it's the tall leggy pretty lady of independent means who makes the plans, suggests starting a new life together as soulmates, who makes ALL the arrangements for travel, buys a new house far away, all of it, and then carries the meticulous plans out to the never ending delight of her true love. All the man has to do is show up, which they always do.

I personally know of 4 situations within a decade time period where young beautiful women with a bank account full of alimony cash assets took successful, grounded, married (but apparently secretly unhappy) doctors away from their established life, great career, wife and children to settle in a remote part of Colorado, Washington state, and in one case, the Florida coast. Usually, in 6 months or less from first meeting to his leaving with his new love and future wife. They not only left without a trace but they stayed gone.
People close to one or both of them ( separately) only found out when the ex- wife or teen children started talking.
One of the lovers convinced the doctor they'd known each other in a previous life and were pre-destined to be together forever. This was in ONE average smallish town, so it has to be fairly common.
I likely know of the doctors' and not the attorneys, the up and coming businessmen, etc. because I worked as a nurse and had a connection to at least one person in the coupling, but was completely surprised by the way they departed without a word or glance backwards.

Are there any known heiresses' offspring residing in Lewisburg? If so, find out what happened to dear Mother and when.
In this part of Texas, throw a stone and you're likely to gently tap an extremely wealthy descendant of one of our many dynastic families. ( Waltons, Hunts, many many billionaire oilmen and cattlemen as well as traditional business scions). They don't tell it, you have to know someone who knows....
The mega-wealthy who are not in show business don't have bodyguards and limo drivers in Texas. They may wear jeans, western ( cowboy) boots, and drive a truck ( a large heavy duty truck because they usually own ranches with thousands of acres of land here and there).
That's why wealth entered my thought process.

Unless a person of meager circumstances won the Mega Millions lottery and went shopping in Gaudytown, no one can tell who's a millionaire from an extremely wealthy background or see their financial accounts by looking at or talking casually with the person. There are women who fit into this status everywhere in the US, and they are as capable of loving a low-key. bookish D.A. as anyone else would be. We know he was loved by 2 wives and Patty, so there were reasons to love him as the man he was or maybe still is, IDK.

 

[SeekingJana]

I truly admire your clear thought on the main sticking point" How did RFG get out of Lewisburg if he left on his own?"

For me, that part of leaving almost requires a 2nd person as a confidential helper with a good condition, average looking ( not distinctive) vehicle they were either sold to Ray, or didn't want, and gave him. Many of us give older model cars away when they are no longer what we want or need. ( Older being usually 6 years old, when the value is very low for something like a Honda, Chevy, Nissan- very high volume selling " ordinary" car).

Keys could have been under the mat and he drove it away himself, for all we know. I base this on the fact that I don't think any of the eyewitness sightings included 2 adults, only a solitary male. Helpers have to eat and take breaks too, so I believe everything which was an action started in or totally happened in Lewisburg.

I believe he knew someone in Lewisburg or in that vicinity well who was not connected to his life in Bellefonte/ Centre County at all. Possibly the unknown lady reported to have been seen with him, but not necessarily that one person...

I'd like to edit the word " Sold" to " Loaned" or " Gave" for the legal reasons that apply to auto sales. " Loaned" with no expectation of recovery is my favorite way he would have gotten a vehicle.
I've driven friends' cars many times, sometimes for months, with them driving mine or another of their own. There is no crime involved in driving a friend's car if the time limit is under 30 days ( registration and title and so forth become an issue over 30 days time in most states).

Thanks, and sorry for the oversight.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Snipped only for brevity and emphasis.

If the lady called " MW" ( Mystery Woman) at the SoS area on the 15th intermingling with RFG was actually with him, as in " his companion for the day or weekend", then I don't see any logical way she could be a harmful person.

1) Considering murder of RFG- She would not be out in public with him, to be seen enough to be describable, possibly to run into someone he or she knew if she was there to kill him.
She would have likely been the lure to a murder elsewhere, perhaps, but where was the evidence? Where were the bodily remains? What happened to the lady? She didn't become invisible. Was there a " murder ring" operating in Lewisburg in 2005? I seriously doubt it.

I think that is a possibility. It could have been someone RFG should not have been involved with, such as a witness, defendant, or someone close to a defendant.

That also could why a lover, who had nothing to do with the disappearance, wouldn't come forward. Another factor could be that she has a an S.O. and doesn't want to damage that relationship.

It could also explain why, if RFG died of natural causes, she might hide the body. I call this the Nelson Rockefeller scenario.

2) Just friends- Speaks for itself, nothing to add. It wasn't for him to introduce her to a shop owner or the like. It was his and her personal business.

Why doesn't the friend come forward. The friend would know RFG and, if not helping him to disappear, would probably want LE to find him.

5) Maybe logical: Both Ray and the MW ( or another unknown lady love) were taken hostage or killed during the night of the 15th. I'm not at all sure how this could have happened unseen and unheard in a tiny town, though. No clues for all these years- it's not rational.

I can remember one case, in the area where I grew up, of the owner of car dealership who ran off with his secretary. The problem is that his secretary was also missing. There is no one else that RFG knew that went missing.

This is one thing that the BPD did check. They looked at women who had disappeared at about the same time RFG did, nationally. They were looking at a woman who disappeared in the Midwest; I think she was a nurse, coincidentally. They were able to rule that out.

Are there any known heiresses' offspring residing in Lewisburg? If so, find out what happened to dear Mother and when.

Not that I know of.

 

[SeekingJana]

Snipped only for brevity and emphasis.




I think that is a possibility. It could have been someone RFG should not have been involved with, such as a witness, defendant, or someone close to a defendant.

That also could why a lover, who had nothing to do with the disappearance, wouldn't come forward. Another factor could be that she has a an S.O. and doesn't want to damage that relationship.

It could also explain why, if RFG died of natural causes, she might hide the body. I call this the Nelson Rockefeller scenario.



Why doesn't the friend come forward. The friend would know RFG and, if not helping him to disappear, would probably want LE to find him.




I can remember one case, in the area where I grew up, of the owner of car dealership who ran off with his secretary. The problem is that his secretary was also missing. There is no one else that RFG knew that went missing.

This is one thing that the BPD did check. They looked at women who had disappeared at about the same time RFG did, nationally. They were looking at a woman who disappeared in the Midwest; I think she was a nurse, coincidentally. They were able to rule that out.



Not that I know of.

I knew you were writing your rebuttal, .
I meant to say that I didn't know why the MW hasn't come forward, unless she had absolutely no connection to Ray, maybe didn't even pay close attention to him maybe looking at her or speaking briefly to her in the SoS. It's happened to me many times.... women get used to this sort of casual attention and usually don't recall it later.
Seriously.

Then, there's the overseas connections he had in Slovenia. We don't know how deep and binding the love in his family was/ is. We also have no idea if he perhaps met someone special there who asked him to return. I'd think discretion would be needed for many reasons.
Maybe Ray had all the mediocracy he could take in Patty's old house and left Patty and the courthouse behind on his terms. Firstly, he probably was very discreet getting his likely offshore account(s) funds in hand. The possible offshore banking is a primary reason to leave covertly if he had plans to stay out of the US, I'd think.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

LOL

It is not a rebuttal to your 1st, 3rd and 4th points.

I would add that it could a "lover's quarrel" that became physical, which could explain why, if it was the MW, she was seen with him earlier. She was not intending to kill him, in this scenario.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I knew you were writing your rebuttal, .
I meant to say that I didn't know why the MW hasn't come forward, unless she had absolutely no connection to Ray, maybe didn't even pay close attention to him maybe looking at her or speaking briefly to her in the SoS. It's happened to me many times.... women get used to this sort of casual attention and usually don't recall it later.
Seriously.

Then, there's the overseas connections he had in Slovenia. We don't know how deep and binding the love in his family was/ is. We also have no idea if he perhaps met someone special there who asked him to return. I'd think discretion would be needed for many reasons.
Maybe Ray had all the mediocracy he could take in Patty's old house and left Patty and the courthouse behind on his terms. Firstly, he probably was very discreet getting his likely offshore account(s) funds in hand. The possible offshore banking is a primary reason to leave covertly if he had plans to stay out of the US, I'd think.

The offshore banking may be why he wanted to destroy or erase data from the hard drive. It doesn't necessarily have to be anything terribly nefarious. That is, if he indeed set up accounts offshore and voluntarily went missing.

 

[SeekingJana]

The offshore banking may be why he wanted to destroy or erase data from the hard drive. It doesn't necessarily have to be anything terribly nefarious. That is, if he indeed set up accounts offshore and voluntarily went missing.

Totally agree it's not nefarious to have had money in offshore tax shelter accounts.
It only became a problem post 9/11 when US banking laws changed to try and stop funding of terrorism through the same kinds of accounts.

Declaration of all assets, even foreign assets by US citizens was required, and taxation increased, making it hard to get money out and return it to US banks without penalties. I'd have gone after my money. I think we all would have.

So, I've been thinking for quite a while ( but kept quiet) that maybe this is a two part thing and we've been short- sighted in seeing Part Two play out, his right to privacy overrode the public's right to know, or only his closest family knows the truth.

Part One: He left without a trace to go get his money and do something else with it, which he successfully accomplished. I believe, like J., that he may have used a passport from Slovenia, possibly having obtained dual citizenship due to his ancestry. He visited the country more than once as a mature adult, and may have made application at that time.

Part Two: While everyone was looking for him, he moved to another part of the country, probably the PNW and likely to an area he'd scoped out as being ideal for his life and with people who were also independent in actions and not nosey neighbor types ( neighbors possibly being miles away). His only daughter and her family lived in that general area for years. He'd want to see his family.

This brings up some ethical issues, though. If he returned to the US on his own terms, unharmed, with his full bank account funds in his possession, living far away from PA, would he be obligated to tell LE he was alive and well?
Was the foreign passport, if it existed, obtained to the letter of the laws governing the issuance?

IOW, was any illegal act, including fraud, committed? What about taxes owed on money owned and recovered from offshore accounts, if this did happen?

 

[SeekingJana]

LOL

It is not a rebuttal to your 1st, 3rd and 4th points.

I would add that it could a "lover's quarrel" that became physical, which could explain why, if it was the MW, she was seen with him earlier. She was not intending to kill him, in this scenario.

I've finally moved on to another theory... It's not as complicated as a love affair with intrigue, but it is not clear to me whether RFG could have successfully re-entered the US in stealth mode with his offshore money from former accounts. Maybe he used a " doctored" passport, shall we say.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Snipped for emphasis and brevity.

This brings up some ethical issues, though. If he returned to the US on his own terms, unharmed, with his full bank account funds in his possession, living far away from PA, would he be obligated to tell LE he was alive and well?
Was the foreign passport, if it existed, obtained to the letter of the laws governing the issuance?

I know of no law that prevents someone from leaving their life behind. Even using an alias is not, it itself, illegal if not used for an illegal purpose. I have never heard of anyone being prosecuted for disappearing.

IOW, was any illegal act, including fraud, committed? What about taxes owed on money owned and recovered from offshore accounts, if this did happen?

RFG, if he walked away, did not "make it look like murder" or "make it look like suicide." He could have easily done either. He did not commit fraud in that regard.

If the two witnesses at the hearing to declare him dead, LAG and/or PEF, had been in contact with him, then there were would be legal issues, including possible fraud and/or perjury. I do not believe either knew what happened to him, nor that he was in contact with either.

Taxes are more complicated, but assets are not generally. If someone has $1,000,000 in the bank, he would be taxed on any interest that money earned, but not on the $1,000,000. Even if RFG did have offshore income, it could be hard to trace.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I was mulling over the documents in the first two parts of Final Argument and saw a few things:

1. RFG had a phone charger in the car. I had postulated that RFG might have turned off the phone to save the battery. That can be ruled out now.

Now, RFG did have voicemail and could have checked his messages in Lewisburg. That would let his phone ping off a tower in Lewisburg and could have been traced. He didn't do that. He was known to check messages, even on vacation.

2. While RFG generally becomes more empty after May, there is an email address written. It is to a company in Bellefonte, T. C. Transportation. They do bulk material hauling, things like gravel and road salt. Why would RFG have their e-mail written on the November, 2005, page?

3. The fingerprints of a secretary from the DA's Office were on the Mini, on the outside. When was she at the car, and what were the circumstances?