Wednesday, June 20

The "Secret" Files - & BOT Vice Chair Masser a Threat to PSU?

Penn State's Gary Schultz lied about Jerry Sandusky case, prosecutors say secret files show - Really? Why would the AG's prosecutors make such a seriously stupid statement? Do they think we are not paying attention?
And more from PSU BOT Vice Chairman Keith Masser - who seems to wish for a slew of lawsuits.
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So where is the "lie" about this "secret file"? Schultz says any notes he may have made or file that might have existed way back a decade ago would have been left in his office or likely destroyed.
If this was some cover up it would have been taken with him or definitely destroyed but he did not find the incident report by Mike McQueary anything to cover up or to keep track of at the time. Schultz definitely did not review any notes about the incident prior to his Grand Jury Testimony and he did not consult with Tim Curley about their testimony nor did he acquire counsel.
Board of Trustees Gets Roasted by Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship
Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship put out a lengthy statement Monday night, saying Masser isn’t acting in the university’s best interest. Following the revelation in court documents that former president Graham Spanier and vice president Gary Schultz had an email conversation about whether to report allegations of child sex abuse made against Jerry Sandusky in 2001, Masser said in an interview with the Associated Press: "It now appears like top administrative officials and top athletic officials were involved in making the decision to not inform the proper authorities."
He continued: "From a board standpoint it was Judge Freeh’s investigation that found these emails that relate Spanier, Curley and Schultz to the suspected cover-up."
Schultz and athletic director Tim Curley have both been charged with perjury and failure to report in that case. Spanier was fired from the president’s job by the board in November. Former FBI director Louis Freeh was hired by the board to do an internal investigation following the scandal.
PS4RS released a statement that read in part: "The trustees have repeatedly promised that they would not review or edit the report scheduled to be released late this summer. They have, in fact, said that they would first see the report only when it was released to the public. "That begs the question whether Mr. Masser has had an opportunity to read the email file and, if so, who provided it to him. Former President Graham Spanier, who has not been accused of any crime, has sued the university for access to all of his emails."
Attorneys for Curley and Schultz have said the emails — revealed by state prosecutors in court documents as evidence that bolsters their case — only shows that the administrators took careful consideration of what to do when presented with the allegation by assistant coach Mike McQueary. They "conscientiously considered and deliberated how to responsibly deal with the conduct and handle the situation properly," the statement read.
A lawyer for PS4RS, Robert J. Tribeck, said, "once again, this board seems to have no understanding of or concern for the basic concept of due process." "They feed the media sensational quotes and potentially do grave damage to the university and the individuals involved. We have to question the effectiveness of the university legal counsel and PR firms to allow a trustee to make such statements. Contrary to what Mr. Masser may believe, his statements, made a member of the Board of Trustees, constitute a statement of the Board of Trustees and will undoubtedly be utilized in pending litigation against the university." The founder of the group,Michelle Murosky, asked for Masser’s immediate resignation.
What was Masser thinking? Does he want PSU to bear the brunt of numerous lawsuits? This is worth repeating:
"once again, this board seems to have no understanding of or concern for the basic concept of due process." "They feed the media sensational quotes and potentially do grave damage to the university and the individuals involved. We have to question the effectiveness of the university legal counsel and PR firms to allow a trustee to make such statements. Contrary to what Mr. Masser may believe, his statements, made a member of the Board of Trustees, constitute a statement of the Board of Trustees and will undoubtedly be utilized in pending litigation against the university."
Masser's remarks make it seem he wants PSU to be sued. Or so believes the Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship
Keith Masser, a Penn State trustee, said in an interview that he initially thought the scandal was about a failure of administrative oversight of the football program. Now he suspects it goes deeper.
When the board of trustees ousted Spanier on Nov. 9, four days after Sandusky’s arrest, it was "because we didn’t have confidence in his ability to lead us through this crisis," Masser said. "We had no idea (at the time) he would be involved in a cover-up."
Masser stressed he was speaking for himself and not the board at large, and said he wants to be careful not to draw premature conclusions. But he said it now appears like "top administration officials and top athletic officials were involved in making the decision to not inform the proper authorities."
With prosecutors focused on the sex-abuse allegations against Sandusky, the trial isn’t intended to yield evidence of a possible cover-up. That’s the job of Louis Freeh, the former FBI director hired by the board of trustees to investigate the scandal. His report could be released in late summer.
Spanier, who has not been charged with any crime, did not respond to email and phone messages. His attorney did not return a phone call.
The law firm defending Curley and Schultz against charges they lied in their grand jury testimony and failed to report suspect abuse said in a statement this week they "conscientiously considered" McQueary’s account and "deliberated about how to responsibly deal with the conduct and handle the situation properly." They did not respond to follow-up questions posed by the AP.
Masser said the Freeh investigation is helping Penn State get to the bottom of the scandal.
"I hope the truth comes out, and from a board standpoint it was Judge Freeh’s investigation that found these emails that relate Spanier, Curley and Schultz to the suspected cover-up," he said. "I want the alumni to understand and the stakeholders to understand that this independent investigation is uncovering this information.
Perhaps he is simply not sophisticated enough to comprehend the damage his remarks could do. He is claiming that a cover up existed on the word of the prosecution just as the BOT jumped to the conclusion that Paterno, Curley, Schultz and Spanier had to go based on the AG's Presentment and Press Release.
Keith E. Masser (Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees) Sacramento, Pennsylvania, a family farm, whichproduces potatoes, cash grain and hay, and processes dehydrated and fresh cut potato products.Keith is a graduate of Penn State with a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering, and is actively involved with the university as a member of the Mount Nittany Society He has been honored with the following awards: the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Outstanding Alumni in 2008, the Red Book Produce Directory Business Character Award in 2007, the Vance Publishing Potato Man of the Year in 2005, the American Vegetable Grower Achievement Award national finalist in 2003, the Top Producer of the Year Finalist in 2002, the EPA Environmental Stewardship Award and the Master Farmer in 1998,
Does that explain this?
If anything the statement of Schultz prove beyond all doubt there was no coverup.
6/12/12 – Statement issued by Tom Farrell, Counsel to Gary Schultz

"To be clear, Mr. Schultz did not possess any secret files. All his files were left behind after he retired and were available to his secretaries and his successor. The only "secret" information revealed was the privileged grand jury information inaccurately described by unidentified law enforcement sources to the media."
There were no SECRET FILES held by Gary Schultz. There is no cover up. A group involved in a cover up at least gets together with counsel prior to Grand Jury Testimony to refresh their memories and get their stories straight. Shultz's testimony makes it clear that he didn't review any notes or even speak with Tim Curley to coordinate their statements. His memory of a decade old 10 or 15 min meeting with Mike McQueary was completely vague. He thought Child Protective Services was contacted he said in testimony.
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The only thing Gary Schultz was guilty of was perhaps bad judgment and a faulty memory. There is no perjury here and certainly no cover up. The prosecution is absurd. I would be most appreciative if any of you who actually believe Gary Schultz committed perjury would take the 10 or 15 minutes to scan the transcript of Schultz's testimony you will find on pages 204 thru 235 at this LINK.

With regard to perjury, Pennsylvania law provides, "a person is guilty of perjury, a felony of the third degree, if in any official proceeding he makes a false statement under oath or equivalent … when the statement is material and he does not believe it to be true."Schultz's attorney Thomas J. Farrell accused the Attorney General of setting a ‘perjury trap.’ "You bring someone into a grand jury to investigate something that can’t be prosecuted, something that isn’t a crime, and then you take that persons’ inconsistencies or inaccuracies, or failure to remember what happened nine years ago," said Farrell. "Then you manufacture a charge out of it. That’s what the Attorney General has done to these men."


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