Thursday, January 12

The Rabbit Hole - How Deep Does It Go? The Second Mile Deep

This is long complicated and I believe is my most comprehensive yet on the Second Mile Sandusky Scandal. It will require some time and attention. The conclusions and connections offer a clear conception of why this disaster was pushed on Penn State, and exactly who is culpable (outside of Jerry Sandusky) for the clearly unfair defamation of Penn State University and Joe Paterno. At the end you may have a new slant on the situation with some teeth that might have some traction outside of the Penn State community. It seems the world needs someone to blame - a villain to whom they can point or give the finger and rant and rage against. Maybe we can give them targets that are not Penn State or Paterno.  You should find this compelling and useful, please bear with me- your Tennessee friend
DUELING CONSPIRACY THEORIES
The media frenzy defaming PSU was created from misleading statements by Attorney General Linda Kelly and her Grand Jury Presentment leading to a common belief that Penn State through AD Tim Curley & Sr VP Gary Schultz as "Penn State" conspired to cover up an eyewitness account of sexual assault..People who tend to accept conspiracy theories have Linda Kelly's flawed theory. So. In order to satisfy conspiracy lovers I offer an alternative. First we must agree that a cover up is a conspiracy by definition an agreement by two or more persons to commit a wrongful act.
This is a companion piece to the: Attorney General Linda Kelly Words and Motives fanpost - please visit the SECOND MILE SANDUSKY SEX SCANDAL WEBLOG for the full archive of my posts leading up to this one.
CONSPIRACY THEORY ONE  --- The Penn State cover up conspiracy theory is written in the Victim 2 account in the Grand Jury Presentment and explicitly stated in Attorney General Linda Kelly's Press Release. This conspiracy theory gained maximum exposure and traction in the National Media Frenzy and is widely accepted in the court of public opinion. This video of Linda Kelley' press conference - particularly the statements of Kelly and PA State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan - and part two of that video support thier cover up conspiracy theory. Noonan goes out of his way to make Penn State's culture and climate a villiain in the investigation. Kelly equates Curley and Schultz with Sandusky in her remarks and their "complicity" makes this a conspiracy. Kelly dwells on the unidentified alleged victim 2 and speaks more about Curley and Schultz than she does about Sandusky. These statements by Kelley and Noonan are indefensible and with the Victim 2 section of the presentment were designed to bring down a firestorm of negative public opinion on the Penn State coach and administrators along with the entire Penn State community by association. This was no accident - It was a malicious act of defamation.
Linda Kelly and Frank Noonan Kelly_and_noonan_up_medium
There are 8 brave young men who stepped up to lodge complaints against Jerry Sandusky but the Attorney General would have the country believe that Penn State's involvement is "EQUALLY SIGNIFICANT". Penn State is left with no choice but to defend itself and it's reputation against such malicious slander by the highest ranking law enforcement officer in the state and her mentor the Governor. The Board of Trustees and the new President failed to mount a defense. Penn State tried to be helpful to underprivileged kids by providing use of facilities to The Second Mile. Penn State raised millions to raise awareness about child abuse. Penn State has been made a villain by the Attorney General over the 2 sections of the Grand Jury Presentment with unidentified victims - victims 2 and 8
Conspiracy Theory Two  -- A cover up involving The Second Mile and it's board and executive director Jack Raykovitz who seem to have escaped notice or mention in anything issued by the Attorney General or her predecessor who is now Governor Tom Corbett. They are thus implicated in this conspiracy to make Penn State a defendant in the case against Jerry Sandusky in order to distract from shortcomings in the Attorney General's office investigation and the actions of The Second Mile where they got thousands of dollars for their campaigns.

Talking Cover up - the media trumpets the Linda Kelly theory of conspiracy that promotes the idea of a cover up to protect a football program.
Conspiracy Theory ONE involves two respected medical people Doctor Jonathan Dranov and John Mcqueary along with Head Coach Joe Paterno and PSU represented by President Graham Spanier, Athletic Director Tim Curley, and Sr. Vice-President Gary Schultz. Failure to report to police or child services suspicions from a 45 second locker room visit in March 2002 by a graduate assistant coach Mike McQueary is the issue. The sub text is that these men conspired to cover up a clear specific incident in order to protect a football program. Every crime requires a motive and cover up is the only motive possible here. Is there a need to cover up? So many seem to assume so.
But what would have been the downside for PSU if the good Doctor, John McQueary, Joe Paterno, and the PSU administrators had reported the strange "3 slap & 1 or 2 second glances" suspicion of Mike McQueary to police and child services? How would that have damaged the men who did not believe Mike McQueary's suspicions credible enough to involve police when compared with their view of the Second Mile Charity founder and foster father of six?
1) An investigation like the 1998 investigation could have been initiated.
Claiming that an investigation of Jerry Sandusky might have harmed the football program or the university seems odd given that Sandusky was investigated just 3 years prior to the 2002 incident when he was actually employed by PSU. No harm to PSU came from that investigation did it?
1b) Suppose a police investigation had implicated Sandusky and he had been arrested, tried, and convicted. We can argue about any potential damage that might have done to PSU. I suspect any damage to be minimal if any. Since AD Tim Curley spoke to Sandusky and we have the contention by the defense that this boy has claimed he was not molested - and he has not been identified it seems the available information tends to support another investigation with no charges. But I find it difficult to credit any idea that Curley, Schultz or Spanier would fear investigation or conviction.
2) Did any money change hands?
Some who argue cover up and conspiracy contend a guilty Sandusky would cost PSU money in sports revenues. Would State College residents and other alumni stop buying football tickets or T Shirts because a criminal had been caught who was a former coach? Would TV revenues or donations have suffered from a successful conviction of a predator 4 years removed from PSU employment?
3) Would careers be wrecked or jobs lost?
Would McQueary or Dr. Dranov, Joe Paterno, Curley, Schultz or Spanier have been fired or lost money if a GA's suspicions resulted in the conviction of a former coach? The obvious answer to that is NO.
4) Is there any evidence of collusion, cover up or conspiracy?
Read the testimony of Paterno Curley and Schultz in the Perjury Hearing Transcript page 173 forward is the reading of their Grand Jury Testimony. If you can find any evidence of an attempt by Curley, Schultz, and Paterno trying to get their stories straight about a couple of 10 minute meetings with Mike McQueary in 2002 please post it in the comments. No one asked Mike McQueary to remain silent. They did not draw up a statement for him to sign. No one threatened him with dismissal as a coach. They didn't even record the meeting or take minutes. Take my word for it - the obvious evidence shows no attempt to match testimonies or shape them to avoid any suspicion of a cover up. If anything the rather muddled testimony recollecting a 10 minute meeting in 2002 seemed completely unconsidered, confused, and unrehearsed. If this was a cover up it was the worst one in history.
So we have a very insubstantial and debatable motive, no monetary reward, no threat to employment, and good evidence that no collusion took place to support this widely held idea that some cover up conspiracy promoted by the Attorney General existed at Penn State. When you break it down the conspiracy by cover up is plainly ABSURD.
We know the cover up idea was introduced by the Attorney General and her prosecutors. What was LInda Kelly thinking? Why would she equate the actions of Curley and Schultz with Jerry Sandusky like this?
Equally significant, however, is the role that several top Penn State University administrators, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice President of Business and Finance Gary Schultz, played in this matter, allegedly failing to report suspected child abuse and later providing false testimony and false statements to the grand jury
top administration officials at PSU, Curley and Schultz, after receiving a report of the sexual assault from both a graduate assistant and the coach Paterno, not only failed to report the incident, as required by law, but never made any attempt to identify that child.
Equally significant? The sexual molestation of 8 identified alleged victims is equal to the actions of Schultz and Curley who did not consider the report they got from Mike McQueary evidence of a crime or abuse or that their recollections of a 10 minute meeting 10 years in the past were false? This claim is the equivalent of Kelly's Grand Jury Presentment's description of Mike McQueary's testimony as "He SAW a boy subjected to anal intercourse" and reported it to Paterno, Curley and Schultz now we know this was not the testimony of Mike McQueary. We also know the second part of the above quote is false. Paterno did not inform Curley and Schultz of a sexual assault, and the law in 2002 did not require Paterno, Curley or Schultz to report suspicions. 
The 2002 law required that the abused child come directly in contact with a person in his or her professional capacity in order for that person to be considered a mandatory reporter. The law was then amended in 2007 to broaden the reporting requirements
How can the chief law enforcement officer of Pennsylvania be so uninformed of the law. How can she get away with such obvious slander, libel and defamation of Penn State, Curley and Schultz. Were I a Penn State alumni or a resident of Pennsylvania I would be outraged by the Attorney General and the Governor. Kelly's presentment description was a LIE, her press release cover up conspiracy and equivalency was absurd, and her application of the law was incorrect. It's easier to to list what was right about Kelly's statements and theory - NOTHING.
It seems obvious that Attorney General Kelly has a serious ax to grind with Penn State. Why else would she make the Grand Jury Presentment and her Press Release revolve around the weakest unidentified victim case in her file?.
So on to Conspiracy theory TWO: 
Let us examine the second conspiracy in-depth, in particular, motives for AG Kelly to blame Penn State instead of Jack Raykovitz and The Second Mile and the lack of a response by Raykovitz and Second Mile 

There are several questions that remain to be answered:

First let's look again at the 2002 law concerning who is mandated to report incidents of potential child abuse 
The 2002 law required that the abused child come directly in contact with a person in his or her professional capacity in order for that person to be considered a mandatory reporter.
Neither Schultz, Curley or Joe Paterno fit the mandatory reporter description only people who are part of The Second Mile so that means one individual who was told of the 2002 incident. That person is Jack Raykovitz who's professional capacity involved children exclusively. So why isn't Raykovitz  charged by Attorney General Kelly for the failure to report suspicious contact with a minor child? 
Raykovitz already knows about the Second Mile mother who complained in 1998 and likely heard Sandusky's. "I'm so sorry I wish I was dead" remark. Now he is faced with a second complaint from the institution that supports his charity. Raykovitz is the expert on underprivileged children. He has the access to counselors and programs for the kids. His awareness of the potential evils of child abuse should be a clear part of his box of tools. And he likely has close contacts in the Child Services agency from his charity work. So why isn't Raykovitz all over this. It threatens his livelihood, his reputation, and the very existence of the charity he directs and even more it threatens his kids.
Now add the following into the pot and stir.
Why isn't The Second Mile central to the Grand Jury Investigation since The Second Mile is the organization founded by Jerry Sandusky and the place were he stalked his prey? Ask yourself if there is some reasonable motive for the Attorney General to focus on the flimsy Penn State association and disregard the obvious Second Mile association? Is there a reason why the then AG now Gov got $25,000 from The Second Mile and thousands more from Second Mile Board Members? Some reason why he approved 3 million in grants for the charity in 2010? If someone really followed the money where would it lead?
1) With whom was Jerry Sandusky most associated? Obviously The Second Mile since his coaching days at PSU ended in 1999. How does the prosecution benefit from eliminating Second Mile from their investigation?
2) Who's jobs and income are at risk? Jobs and board positions were lost when Second Mile ended and it is certainly a significant threat to the Governor and Attorney General if it becomes common knowledge that the Governor took money from Second Mile while he was investigating if the investigation of Second Mile was limited as a result. Jack Raykovitz and his wife lost $233,000 in combined salaries. When Sandusky was arrested it was a matter of weeks before Second Mile was history and the Governor is scrambling to explain his actions in not returning a donation from a group he was investigating.
3) Did money change hands?
Former AG now  Gov Tom Corbett recieved $25,000 from Second Mile and thousands more from Second Mile board  members while he was prolonging the Jerry Sandusky investigation instead of immediately charging him with victim one's complaints. We have to ask whether or not the Executive Director or volunteers at Second Mile were aware of any complaints from other kids about Jerry Sandusky who might have immediately come forward if the Victim one charges were immediately filed.The salary of Raykovitz and wife would have been and have been lost because of the scandal. We have 10 million in assets with 2.7 million a year budget that ended. Where did that 2.7 million per year or 24 million dollars after 2002 in revenue go. We need to know who benefited from the prolonged investigation and lack of action? And Second Mile receives a 3 million dollar taxpayer grant from Gov Corbett in 2010? Where is all that money? Second Mile had many volunteers, used school counselors, school facilities, and facilities at Penn State. See the Annual Report linked below for "In Kind" donations. Where was the money spent?
4) The list of Second Mile donors and Board Members is Impressive
Board members can be found on the last page and donors throughout the 2010 Annual Second Mile Report They would obviously prefer not to be associated with an organization under investigation by the Attorney General. President Bush praised Second Mile as a "shining example of his Thousand Points of Light". Senator Rick Santorum honored Sandusky with an Angels in Adoption Award in 2002. Eagles Coaches Vermeil and Reid, owner R.R.M. Carpenter, Matt Millen of ESPN, actor Mark Wahlberg, and Golfer Arnold Palmer served on the board.
5) Linda Kelly and Frank Noonan's press conference along with the Grand Jury Presentment misled everyone making PSU the equal to Jerry Sandusky in this case to distract attention from The Second Mile and her and Gov Corbett's remarkably slow investigation and the donations their party received from The Second Mile. That is now a fact.
The following news articles offer evidence of The Second Mile's involvement in the prosecution of Jerry Sandusky and their relationship with Governor and Attorneys General. We've seen nothing of the Grand Jury testimony of Jack Raykovitz or heard anything from the parents of Second Mile kids who may have been harmed by that organizations failure to protect the kids entrusted to Second Mile. What did they know and when did they know it?
Raykovitz Did Not Inform Board Members of PSU Decision to Ban Sandusky 
It seems Sandusky and Raykovitz were close friends. This is the guy who was protecting Sandusky while running the Second Mile charity where JS took his victims. Why did Raykovitz keep Tim Curley's report about Jerry Sandusky from his board of directors? 
Raykovitz and his wife received $233,000. in annual salaries
from Second Mile for the years following the notification by Tim Curley that Sandusky would no longer be allowed to bring kids to use PSU facilities. That adds up to over 2 million in salaries that were paid over 9 years to the guy who failed to investigate Second Mile internally to see if there were more kids taking showers with the founder. 2.7 million a year distributed by Second Mile somewhere 27 million dollars spent
Second Mile contributed $25,000 to then Attorney General Tom Corbett's campaign for Governor and board members contributed thousands more.
Second Mile knew of the 1998 investigation
and Executive Director Raykovitz was informed of the PSU decision to ban Sandusky from bringing kids to workout at PSU in early 2002, but did nothing to restrict his access to children using Second Mile or to question kids about possible inappropriate behavior.
Second Mile CEO Raykovitz was assured by prosecutors that The Second Mile was not a target of investigation. 
Gov. Corbett Can’t Have It Both Ways in Penn State Case 
the governor personally approved a $3 million taxpayer-funded grant to Sandusky’s Second Mile charity while Sandusky was under an investigation he started? 
Questions on the Way Corbett Handled Sandusky Investigation
"How many more victims were victimized by Jerry Sandusky during the course of that three years? ... He should’ve been cuffed and stuffed as soon as the first allegation came in the door," Philadelphia attorney Dan McCaffery said. "Everybody talks about a bureaucratic breakdown at Penn State," said Lackawanna County attorney Kathleen Kane. "What about the Attorney General’s Office? It was either the product of politics or inexperience. And either way we cannot allow that."
Botched investigation by Corbett 
"It was completely mishandled," one source close to the investigation told The Patriot-News. "I know these investigations take time, some of them, but someone should have been on this day and night from the beginning because of the severity" of the allegations. It wasn’t until early 2011 that The Second Mile — which Attorney General Linda Kelly said Sandusky used to find his victims — was officially notified by authorities of a child abuse investigation according to the Second Mile. Second Mile CEO Jack Raykovitz did not testify before the Grand Jury until April 2011. Why?
Sandusky charity faced contempt motion over missing records
Pennsylvania state prosecutors filed a secret motion to hold The Second Mile children’s charity in contempt in July but was withdrawn in October after some of the  missing Sandusky records were found and produced, But the charity’s new lawyers are still looking for the rest of the subpoenaed material and seeking to determine whether the missing records were destroyed or removed in an effort to impede the investigation into Sandusky’s relationships with The Second Mile children
Did Second Mile Charity Do Enough To Protect Its Children From Sex Abuse?
law experts say it was within Second Mile's grip to find out if its children were at risk for abuse. "If they really wanted to find out the truth, they could have," Jeff Herman, a Miami lawyer specializing in sex abuse cases told USA Today. "One allegation is a red flag. It puts you on notice. If after that point you don't do anything, it's on you." Herman said several Second Mile families had contacted him
Taking these revelations into account we are left with several burning questions.

    • Why did the investigation take 3 years from 2008 until the presentment in Nov 2011?
    • How could it possibly take 3 years to check out the claims of victim 1 and charge JS?
    • How could it take until April of 2011 to even interview Jack Raykovitz?
    • How many more victims were abused after 2008 when Gov Corbett had victim One? 
    • Why was The Second Mile not notified of the investigation until early 2011?
    • Why didn't Jack Raykovitz take steps to protect The Second Mile Children in 98 or 02?
    • Why didn't The Second Mile identify kids who were spending time with Sandusky?
    • Is the Governor afraid of consequences for his evident inaction & campaign donations?
    • Is AG Linda Kelly covering for the Governor by making PSU her point of focus?
    • Who benefited financially from 2.7 million in annual expenditures by The Second Mile?
    • What is happening to the near 10 million in Second Mile assets?
    • Did the failure to charge Sandusky in 2008 threaten the statute of limitations? 
    • Did that failure lead to more victims? 
    • Why didn't Raykovitz report McQueary's suspicions to child services? 
    • Was Jack Raykovitz made aware of suspicions about JS from other Second Mile parents?
    • Did anyone at Second Mile make inquiries to kids or families who spent time with JS?
    • Were Corbett cronies beneficiaries of Second Mile money?
    • How could Corbett approve a 3 million grant of Pa taxpayer money to 2nd Mile in 2010?
    • Does it benefit Corbett and his party's office holders to implicate PSU as a distraction?
WHY ISN'T JACK RAYKOVITZ THE KEY NAME TIED TO THE SECOND MILE SANDUSKY SCANDAL?
Given notification to Raykovitz from Tim Curley that actions suspicious enough to prompt PSU to deny JS access to PSU facilities in the company of children should that have prompted Raykovitz to make an effort to see if there was anything to the 1998 and 2002 investigations that required a closer look at Jerry Sandusky? Raykovitz was the only one told of the McQueary allegations who was by law required to report to child services and police. His job involved children as specified by the 2002 law. Why isn't he charged with failure to report? 
Jack Raykovitz  Raykovitz_up_medium The Sandusky name is inextricably linked to the Second Mile much like Paterno's name and Penn State Football. Sandusky is not an employee of Penn State and at this point in 2002 he is no longer welcome to bring Second Mile kids on campus so the organization that is saddled with his situation clearly becomes The Second Mile. It is the Second Mile kids that are at risk and Jack Raykovitz who is responsible for the well being of The Second Mile kids. Where Curley and Schultz's responsibility is Penn State - Raykovitz expertise and responsibility is at risk children. This is clearly in his realm of concern and knowledge.  

The Second Mile already had programs in place *(see appendix b below) that would offer Raykovitz an easy way to interview the Second Mile kids. Counselors are available for the PEAK and CHALLENGE programs who could look for signs of abuse. It should have been easy for Second Mile to ascertain which kids were with Sandusky on a regular basis away from Second Mile facilities and have those kids interviewed by these counselors to see if abuse was possible. The Second Mile had significant resources *(see appendix A below) close to 10 million in assets and over 2.6 million in revenue. Spending some time and money to research any potential problem indicated by the 98 and 2002 reports would have been money well spent.
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I'm not promoting a Second Mile,  Attorney General's Office and Gov Corbett conspiracy theory but how do we explain this obvious attempt by the Attorney General to make this into the Penn State Sex Scandal? It seems clear that theory 2 is far more plausible than any conspiracy at Penn State involving a cover up by Paterno, Spanier, Curley and Schultz. There is clear motive, evidence, and opportunity for Theory Two - no motive, evidence or opportunity for Theory One. 

When the Attorney General's office tells Raykovitz that The Second Mile is not under investigation we are left to wonder why that is? All of the victims were Second Mile kids and that was this predators hunting ground. Corbett says McQueary failed his moral responsibility but what about the Governor as AG in 2008. Why was he not morally responsible for failure to notify The Second Mile or to indict Sandusky with the charges of Victim One in 2008? What about the moral responsibility of The Second Mile and exec Jack Raykovitz to inquire about other kids close to Sandusky who were their responsibility?
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When The Second Mile learned from a Second Mile mother about the 1998 incident why was there no action taken by The Second Mile to restrict Jerry Sandusky from taking Second Mile kids to PSU or anywhere else? When it happened again in 2002 Jack Raykovitz now had two showering incidents - one that resulted in a full scale investigation in 98 and one that resulted in Sandusky putting the good relationship between Second Mile and PSU at risk. Did that not prompt Jack Raykovitz to question what he should do about Jerry Sandusky? Why didn't he protect his Second Mile kids by going to the police or child services? Surely Second Mile had a working relationship with Child Services. These showering incidents were causing problems for the institution that was helping his charity by providing facilities for their services. Did Second Mile tell Sandusky that it had to stop? Or did Raykovitz and his board approve of Sandusky showering with the kids of The Second Mile?
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Once Sandusky was charged and the Presentment came out The Second Mile was finished. So it is quite clear that The Second Mile had by far the most to lose if Sandusky was charged and arrested.That is a motive for a cover up. The Second Mile lost everything along with the kids who were benefited by the Second Mile program. Maybe Raykovitz recognized that losing Sandusky to molestation charges would put an end to The Second Mile and the $233,000 in combined salaries enjoyed by his family. The annual 2.7 million dollars spent by The Second Mile would no longer be available. And there was a 3 million dollar grant from the Gov in 2010? Where did all that money go? 
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Penn State thought a service to kids was being performed by arranging events on campus and at campus facilities but the welfare of The Second Mile kids was not Penn State's primary responsibility. That responsibility rightly belongs to The Second Mile and Jack Raykovitz and his board. Now we have identified a problem that might have negative impact on donors and board members associated with the charity. This brings to mind the Pennsylvania detention center "jail youth for profit" scandal. Is it possible there was some fraud in the funding of The Second Mile? Who is looking into the 2.7 million "expenses" to see how that money was spent and who benefited from 9 years of inaction after Raykovitz was informed of the 2nd showering incident and did nothing? 34 Million dollars includes Second Miles assets and revenues since 2002. Who got it and why?
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There is no need for a conspiracy theory to question the actions of Second Mile Executive Director Jack Raykovitz for failure to notify his board or to launch an internal investigation of Jerry Sandusky's contact with Second Mile kids. We don't need a conspiracy theory to question the actions of the Governor taking 3 years to notify Second Mile of the investigation when he was Attorney General or his acceptance of Second Mile donations for his campaign while he was investigating. No conspiracy theory is required to question the AG's office informing Raykovitz that Second Mile was not a target or her making this Second Mile Sandusky Sex scandal into the Penn State Sex Scandal.

Gov Corbett explains away his failure to return donations from Second Mile as an effort to avoid tipping off Second Mile about the investigation. Can you believe that? How does that make any sense? Second Mile should not only be tipped off but employed to locate other potential victims. Why was Corbett concerned about tipping off Second Mile? Did he expect they would cover up abuse? If so why wasn't The Second Mile a prime target of the investigation instead of a source of campaign donations and recipient of grant millions? 
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Notifying The Second Mile in 2008 and asking them to find all of their kids who spent time with Sandusky and to have counselors interview them in order to identify victims seems like a no-brainer. But we have an investigation that started with Victim One in 2008 that took three long years. Victim One alone was worthy of charges being levied against Sandusky and his immediate arrest. If the Statute of Limitations comes into play this is a massive mistake. If any more kids were molested after 2008 the AG and her predecessor are responsible. Raykovitz knew in March of 2002 about a 2nd showering incident that banned JS from taking his kids to PSU - he could have stopped Sandusky in 2002 if he had acted to warn The Second Mile families and maybe child services.
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The net effect of this public pillorying of Penn State will be to dampen the enthusiasm of institutions to support children's charities and will wipe out the good things The Second Mile did for underprivileged kids. There is no doubt some very good people did good things for underprivileged kids through The Second Mile, but this catastrophic failure on the part of Sandusky's friend Jack Raykovitz to stop Sandusky when he had to know his Second Mile kids were at least showering naked with a grown man in questionable circumstances was intolerable and inexcusable. Jack was the man close to Sandusky and the kids. Jack is the guy who knew of both showering situations. Jack is the man who should be under the microscope because he is the man with 2 million in salary and control of 34 million more who did nothing to protect the Second Mile kids his organization should have protected. Raykovitz is the one guy required by law to report the 2002 McQueary suspicions. Not Paterno, Not Curley or Schultz (see Appendix C) but Jack Raykovitz.

The new and proper list of responsible parties in the Second Mile Sandusky Sex Scandal
  1. Jerry Sandusky
  2. Jack Raykovitz
  3. Tom Corbett
  4. Linda Kelly
  5. Frank Noonan
Joe Paterno, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz were perhaps gullible in believing that Jerry Sandusky was a good man who built a fine charity and fostered six kids as a selfless act. They had no reason to believe otherwise. They may have been fooled into dismissing Mike McQueary's muddled suspicions in favor of their regard for Jerry Sandusky. But they were not Jack Raykovitz and charged with the well being of The Second Mile kids and required by law to report suspicions. Their chief concern was as a football coach and as PSU administrators. They notified the man who was responsible for The Second Mile - a most reasonable solution under the circumstances they knew in 2002. They don't deserve the insane attack of the Attorney General who should be focused on the kids of The Second Mile and the responsible people in that organization which includes Jerry Sandusky. Penn State in this case was a building used by a predator not an institution organized to be responsible for kids. I can support Jesse's solution of a campus SUV and a policy denying the use of facilities to children without university affiliated parents. But I am not longer on the fence about the propriety of the actions of Paterno, Curley or Schultz - reporting McQueary's less than definitive suspicions to Jack Raykovitz was the proper thing to do. He was the man responsible for Sandusky and the Second Mile kids with the resources and knowledge to deal with the situation. 

The Governor, Attorney General and Police Commissioner want you to believe that Paterno, Curley, and Schultz could have stopped a child predator in 2002 but they don't want you to look at Jack Raykovitz and his cozy relationship with Sandusky where the problem really existed - at the intersection where The Second Mile involves the kids and Jack Raykovitz knew of the 98 and 02 complaints and did nothing even though he was the man responsible for those kids and required by law to report suspicions. Why don't they want that closer look? 

So vote in the poll and add your comments about who you think is most culpable and most likely to have conspired to cover up their actions or inaction. As usual your recs, comments, votes, and likes are most appreciated. And if you need another answer added to the poll to fit your opinion let me know in the comments. -
Aurabass - The hookah smoking caterpillar down the rabbit hole in Wonderland

APPENDIXES
While Second Mile is nowhere near Penn State in revenues and assets it is still a considerable entity
REVENUES
 Individuals $ 438,308 Corporations 633,880Foundations 361,783Organizations 57,833Special Events Income $ 1,030,384Special Projects 147,944 Total Revenues $ 2,689,396 
EXPENSES Who gets this money?
Community Education $ 290,080Foster Care 241,295Friend/Friend Fitness 398,362Fundraising 423,586General Programs 239,640Leadership Institute 247,567Management and General 269,099 $233,000 go to Raykovitz and wife.Nittany Lion Tips 131,090Prevention: Ed & Awareness for Kids (PEAK) 31,988Summer Challenge 571,318 Total Expenses $ 2,844,025
    NET ASSETS $ 9,142,485
    Among programs offered by the charity that include counseling on self-awareness and self-esteem: PEAK
    • Prevention: Education and Awareness for Kids (PEAK) is a series of videotapes and a play kit that highlight issues such as peer pressure, rejection, and selfesteem. There are currently three modules available to educators, with more than 2,075 school counselors currently using them.
    Early Intervention Programs Challenge
    • This year, The Second Mile helped 782 young people develop the skills they need to succeed through its Challenge Program. During their week-long session of residence, Challenge Program participants set behavior and academic goals and decide on community service projects for the upcoming school year. Through encouragement and a positive environment, collegiate counselors, professional staff, and volunteers guide the children to work on self-awareness and skills in conflict resolution and effective communicationDuring the following year, participants use these new skills to earn their way back to the Challenge Program by meeting their goals. The Second Mile offers year-round support to participants, their families, and their counselors through written, phone, or in-person contact to assist in the child’s efforts to achieve his or her goals. During the 2009-2010 school year, The Second Mile staff made 9,308 contacts to participants and 6,924 contacts to school counselors to help them stay connected to the program and focused on their goals. We also held 32 mid-year events, attended by 1,295 participants and their families.
    Appendix C Who to Blame: To those of you who blame Spanier, Curley or Schultz as culpable in this Sandusky situationYou are stuck with Kelly's cover up conspiracy theory. The Attorney General has to make a case for cover up in order to supply a motive. Think about that before you react. Why would Curley or Schultz sweep a credible accusation by Mike McQueary under the rug? Why can't you accept that Curley and Schultz heard Mike's account, compared it to their view of the charity founder and foster father of six who they knew and chose to notify The Second Mile where Sandusky spent his time and the key responsibility for the Second Mile kids resided? The Second Mile had the reasons to check on Sandusky and they were the experts on kids. They had the resources, the people, the responsibility and they were the ones who's children were at risk. Why blame PSU, Paterno, Curley or Schultz when you have Kelly, Corbett, and Raykovitz?
    And why take Mike McQueary's word over the word of Schultz and Curley? Mike's statements have evidently been contradictory. He's the guy who did not bother to ask the boy if he was in need of help. He couldn't even ask Sandusky what was happening. He left the boy with Sandusky. He appeared to be fine with everything when Joe asked him. He continued to participate in Second Mile events. I am having trouble understanding why thinking the worst of Tim Curley or Gary Schultz seems so popular even here on BSD. I don't get the desire to blame Gary and Tim for thinking Jerry Sandusky was a good guy under the circumstances in 2002. Have Linda Kelly's lies and distortions had her desired effect even here?
    I don't think Mike McQueary is a bad guy. I suspect he has been guilt tripped by the Attorney General into embellishing his account after learning the extent of Jerry Sanduskys crimes. He wishes he had done more to confirm his suspicions that night in 2002. He wishes he had not run out of that locker room and he's trying to make up for it. Either way I don't see that making Curley or Schultz into pedophile enablers or even mistaken. It's difficult to clear our minds of what we know now and look dispassionately at March of 2002 when Sandusky was known as a good guy and all was right at Penn State. Curley told Raykovitz and in a perfect world without a clever monster that would be the right thing to do.  

    4 comments:

    1. I must say the 2nd theory seems more "plausible" than the "story" we got. I'm am going to pass this along to a friend who will be very interested to hear this.

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    2. Going back to reread some old fan posts.

      I have a number of issues with this post:

      1. There is no evidence, other than the contributions to the election of Corbett, to show there was any sort of "conspiracy" for the governor and the AG to redirect the ire towards PSU and Paterno. Or rather, all the "evidence" you have presented is tenuous at best.

      2. Your lack of proper grammar and excessive use of colored text, typefaces and type sizes, makes my eyes want to bleed, and quite frankly, hurts your credibility.

      Having said all of that, the evidence that Linda Kelly used against Penn State and Joe Paterno is likewise, tenuous at best. Her summary was most definitely misleading. Anyone with any sort of reading comprehension skills can see this.

      Then there is the trial, where Sandusky was found "not guilty" on the very charge that got Paterno and PSU in trouble to begin with. That "not guilty" verdict should have resulted in the case against both Curly and Schultz to be thrown out immediately. The case against them, where they supposedly perjured themselves by saying "it was horseplay," was found to not have occurred.

      Finally, the Freeh Report....so shorts on fact, and so long on speculation. The report makes it entirely clear that at least Curly and Schultz knew about the 1998 investigation, which should have given them a big red flag when Paterno and McQueary went to them about the 2001 incident. However, Freeh was dishonest in his "reasonable conclusions" that Paterno was involved in a cover-up, without providing one shred of overt evidence to show this to be true.

      In the end, I would like to see you write your posts in a word processor, and editorialize the article before submitting it. A bit late at this point for that comment, I know.

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      Replies
      1. Ah ha - a colored font credibility issue. Yes that must be the problem.

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      2. The colored font shows up because it is a LINK. You know - something you can click on to take you to the source. Using actual links to the sources always makes for diminished credibility. *shakes head in disbelief

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