VOTE AS IF THE REPUTATION OF YOUR ALMA MATER DEPENDS ON IT. IT DOES.

The upcoming election for Governor offers the opportunity to get the media to focus on the Truth because the Truth clearly shows Tom Corbett damaged Penn State university without regard for the Truth.  Popularly elected Alumni Trustees will have the power to make the Truth known so vote for the Trustee candidates who are willing to fight for the Truth.  

by Barry Bozeman

May 8, 2013 will mark the end of this year's Board of Trustees election. The turnout as of April 24 is just under 19,000 votes lagging behind 2012 and 2013 by 20 to 25%. As we have attempted to explain in several posts here on SMSS, the makeup of the BoT runs counter to the interests of Penn State University:

In our view, Tom Corbett and those who are beholden to him, are in clear breach of their fiduciary duty to Penn State due to clear and compelling conflicts of interest. Their violations should constitute grounds for removal from the Board of Trustees. Corbett's desire to gut Commonwealth funding for Penn State is just one obvious example of his personal conflict with what is in the best interest of Penn State. His handling of the attack on Penn State and his part in the firing of Joe Paterno and the termination and indictment of Graham Spanier is even more obvious and repellent. We support a strong group of Trustees who will fight Corbett and bring these breaches of fiduciary duty to light in this election year. How can a Trustee bound by law to do what is in the best interest of Penn State be the architect of these attacks on Penn State and remain on the Board of Trustees ? 


Erickson nixes renaming of Beaver Stadium, Emmert Agrees

Erickson's parting shot is a thumbs down on Paterno Field

By

O.J. Frazier

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA:  Outgoing PSU President Rodney Erickson rejected a proposal from an alumni group to rename Beaver Stadium to Paterno Field.

Erickson, whose title was changed from “Interim President” to “President” without the knowledge of Ken Frazier and Ron Tomalis, revealed he never wanted to be President because he didn’t like to make decisions.

When asked about his rejection of the proposal of the new name of the stadium, Erickson remarked, “I was hoping that issue wouldn’t have come up before I retired.  Fortunately, when it did, I was able to reach out to some of the trustees who recommended against it. I have absolute faith in those trustees. I signed the NCAA Consent Decree based on their advice.”

I then asked Erickson what he learned from his experience as President.

“I have learned a great deal from my experience in the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal.  I think one of the greatest lessons I learned was the value of our traditions here at Penn State.  To rename the stadium, I think would upset many of the alumni who sat in Beaver Stadium all those years on fall Saturdays.  I’m sure most of them can still remember, as I do, that famous stadium cheer:  PENN STATE….LIVES HERE!

The NCAA’s Mark Emmert also agreed with Penn State’s decision on the matter. 

Emmert stated: 

“If there is one thing that sets college football apart from professional sports it’s the traditions.  We tend to be traditionalists who want to see the Big Ten er,  Eleven er, ah, whatever, square off in the Rose Bowl against the Pac-10, er, I mean, Pac-12."

As I looked at Emmert with a raised eyebrow, he knew that I knew he was full of crap, so he quickly changed his reasoning.

“Well, to be honest, I think that you still have some traditions that shouldn’t be messed with," remarked Emmert.  "When I was President of Washington we played at Huskie Stadium and when I was at LSU, the games were played at Tiger Stadium.  I see no reason why Penn State wouldn’t want to keep their stadium named after their mascot.”

More Baldwin: Schultz's GJ testimony reveals Baldwin's underhandedness

Former PSU General Counsel Cynthia testified she had discussed Subpoena 1179 with Gary Schultz, but Schultz's testimony reveals Baldwin told him little to nothing.

By
Ray Blehar

In the November 1, 2012 Conspiracy of Silence presentment, Linda Kelly's Office of Attorney General (OAG) made the case that Cynthia Baldwin had done her utmost to gather information responsive to Subpoena 1179 and blamed the PSU administrators for obstructing the investigation.  Subpoena 1179 requested “[A]ny and all records pertaining to Jerry Sandusky and incidents reported to have occurred on or about March 2002 and any other information concerning Jerry Sandusky in inappropriate contact with underage males on and off University property.”  

Curiously, page 24 of the presentment mentions that "no independent efforts were made to search the paper files of Athletic Director, Tim Curley, the Vice-President for Business and Finance Gary Schultz or President of the University, Graham Spanier.   The "independent" efforts -- that allegedly weren't made -- would have been done at the direction of Baldwin.

NCAA's Emmert Tour Is Good News For PSU Fans

Mark Emmert's recent media tour has given PSU fans renewed vigor in our fight for the truth and the repeal of the unjust sanctions.  We need Mark Emmert to keep talking because when he does, bad things happen.
Meanwhile, the "Big Five" conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big XII, SEC, and PAC-12) might be planning a jail break.

After the Mike and Mike Show, twitter lit up with a lot of funny tweets.

Hat tip to Onward State for this collection, which closed with this incredibly funny tweet by former PSU linebacking great, Mike Mauti....

Bryant Gumbel came out with this gem:

"Emmert has lately been on a media tour of sorts and to say it’s been a disaster would be giving it and him a ton of undue credit."

However, it was this tweet by Ivan Maisel that did double duty, who in response to an LSU writer who thought Emmert handled the Penn State case correctly, bashed the Freeh Report and Emmert in the same tweet.

FEAR & LOATHING in HAPPY VALLEY - The BALDWIN DUPLICITY and The CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE

CYNTHIA BALDWIN - Who is this Woman? 

And how can we explain or even understand her actions ?  

By all biographical and outward signs, Cynthia Baldwin is a major success story:

PSU BA in English 1966, MA in Amer. Lit 1974. Worked as a teacher, English professor and Asst. Dean of Students at PSU's Greater Allegheny Campus. JD from Duquesne 1983, Prosecuting Attorney Bureau of Consumer Protection. First black woman elected to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas 1989 - 2006. Appointed interim Supreme Court Justice by Governor Ed Rendell.Jan 2008 Duane Morris, LLP -. appellate litigation non-profit issues. VP / General Counsel at PSU Jan 2010 to announced resignation in Jan 2012   President PSU Alumni Assn 1989-91.and Chair of the Board of Trustees 2004-07.

What happened to Cynthia Baldwin seems a complete mystery? 

Continuing yesterday's  PROSECUTION or PERSECUTION - CONSPIRACY of SILENCE we can compare Graham Spanier, Tim Culey and Gary Schultz's actions to Cynthia Baldwin - the person these administrators believed was representing them and Penn State at the Grand Jury.

PSU President Graham Spanier was a good friend and benefactor to Cynthia, putting her name forward for several awards and honors over his 16 years at the helm of PSU. He approved her request to resign from the board and take over as in-house General Counsel & VP when the Board decided to go with in-house counsel in January 2010. Turns out that may be the biggest mistake Graham ever made. 

In 2012, Graham Spanier was under review for a very high security clearance from the Department of Defense and the Intelligence community, since he was involved with:

National Security Higher Education Advisory Board,

The National Counterintelligence Working Group, and

The Board of Advisors for the President at the Naval Postgraduate School & War College

Baldwin told the federal Office of Personnel Management in early 2012 that Spanier was very smart, “a man of integrity,” and “very forthcoming and open” with the board of trustees. 
About six months later she testified before a grand jury that Spanier told a series of lies and misleading statements before and after Sandusky was arrested in late 2011. 

How does that make any sense, Cynthia? How can a person make 180 degree opposite claims in 6 months. In early 2012 Spanier is a "forthcoming open man of integrity" - half a year later he's a "misleading liar". 

When you read the POST HEARING MEMORANDUM from Graham Spanier's Attorneys you will be even more astounded at Cynthia Baldwin's behavior and statements along with the court's acceptance of this behavior. Typically I would not suggest a full reading of a long legal document, but this one is simply astounding. Some excerpts:

PROSECUTION or PERSECUTION - The CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE

FEAR & LOATHING in HAPPY VALLEY - PENN STATE LEADERS UNDER ATTACK
by Barry Bozeman

“ The District Attorney is a quasi-judicial officer. He represents the commonwealth and the commonwealth demands no victims. It seeks justice only--equal and impartial justice-- and it is as much the duty of the district attorney to see that no innocent man suffers as it is to see that no guilty man escapes. Hence, he should act impartially. He should present the commonwealth’s case fairly, and should not press upon the jury any deductions from the evidence that are not strictly legitimate. When he exceeds this limit, and in hot zeal seeks to influence them by appealing to their prejudices, he is no longer an impartial official, but becomes a heated partisan.” Bailey v. Commonwealth, 193 Ky. 687, 237 S.W. 

In Nov of 2012 mere weeks prior to relinquishing the office to which she was appointed by Tom Corbett, Linda Kelly once again takes the stage to proffer charges against Penn State's former President Graham Spanier and to alter the charges against former AD Tim Curley and VP Gary Schultz. 

SMSS was on this development prior to the typical staged circus designed by Kelly et al to maximize the theater for the chattering hyena class sometimes known as the media. Once again she fills her stage with a large supporting cast, this time featuring more uniforms than a meeting of the Chiefs of Staff. 

One thing leaps out at us from the beginning when taking more than a cursory glance at this freak show. What exactly was the motive for this Conspiracy of Silence touted by the Freeh Fiction and the Persecution? Why would covering for an ex-coach no longer on the payroll of PSU be of the slightest benefit to Graham Spanier, Tim Curley or Gary Schultz? Please keep that in mind as you delve deeper into this morass of prevarications. 

Part 3: The Media’s Conspiracy of Silence

The media became willing accomplices of Tom Corbett and  the “Old Guard” BOT by not reporting exculpatory facts in the case of the PSU Three

By

Ray Blehar

The story so far:  In February 2014, I wrote Part 1 of this series, highlighting how the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (PA OAG) suppressed and manipulated evidence in order to charge former Penn State University (PSU) officials Curley and Schultz with crimes related to the Sandusky scandal.  Two weeks later, in Part 2, I revealed how the PSU Board of Trustees (PSU BOT) engaged with Louis Freeh and various public relations firms to perpetuate a false narrative that former PSU President Graham Spanier and deceased coaching legend, Joe Paterno had concealed Sandusky’s crimes from the public.  

After the release of the Freeh Report, Governor Tom Corbett piled on, condemning the actions of “the prior administration” and “prior people who were in control.”

Corbett stated:  “I’m very disappointed in the lack of forthcoming evidence to the subpoena that was given to them by the Attorney General’s office.” 

The statement was a continuation of a theme of misattribution – or assigning blame or responsibility where it didn’t belong.  It is a fact that Cynthia Baldwin received a letter from the Attorney General in December 2011 that admonished her for failure to comply with grand jury subpoenas.  The letter referenced information that was subpoenaed before Curley, Schultz, and Spanier had any knowledge of the investigation.  Moreover, Schultz was retired at the time of the subpoena, thus had no role in answering that particular request.  Corbett’s July 2012 statement was part of the Commonwealth’s strategy of trying the case in the court of public opinion.  Their allies in the media had the easiest job of all -- do nothing.  Let the public continue to believe that the AG's and Freeh's narratives on the case were not disputed by any of the legal proceedings.  As you will see, they carried out their part magnificently.  

 

Part 3: Keeping the PSU Three Convicted In the Court of Public Opinion

After the release of the Freeh Report, the PA government,  the “old guard” PSU Board of Trustees, and especially the local media did everything in their power to ensure that the PSU Three (Spanier, Curley, and Schultz) remained convicted in the court of public opinion.    

About three months after the release of the Freeh Report and Corbett’s presser accusing the “prior administration” of wrong-doing, the OAG made the Freeh Report "official" by issuing the Conspiracy of Silence presentment (or the Freeh Report-Lite).  The conspiracy and obstruction charges in the presentment were mostly based on the testimony of former PSU Counsel Cynthia Baldwin, who claimed that the PSU Three were uncooperative in responding to the grand jury subpoenas.

PROSECUTORS - POWER CONFLICT and CORRUPTION with UNLIMITED RESOURCES

FEAR & LOATHING in HAPPY VALLEY
by Barry Bozeman (an homage to Dr. Gonzo, who would have done justice to this story)

Prosecutors are “shepherds of justice.” When a government lawyer, with enormous resources at his or her disposal, abuses power and ignores ethical standards, he or she undermines public trust and inflicts damage beyond calculation to our system of justice. This consequence, alone, compels the responsible and ethical exercise of this power.

CORBETT, KELLY, BEEMER, FINA, BALDWIN, and FREEH

These 5 PROSECUTORS have the wealth and power of the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at their disposal and, in the case of prosecutor Freeh, 8.2 million Penn State dollars that he used to trash The Penn State Culture. 

CORBETT and BALDWIN both hold or held positions on the Penn State Board of Trustees. 
CORBETT became GOVERNOR.
BALDWIN was the GENERAL COUNSEL for Penn State University.

CORBETT was ATTORNEY GENERAL when the Grand Jury was convened. 
KELLY was CORBETT'S hand picked successor. She did not seek election.
BEEMER was KELLY'S chief of staff. 
FINA was lead prosecutor on the Curley, Schultz, and Spanier cases until he resigned. 
BEEMER took over for FINA.

The SLIME also RISES -- Segments of the following contain language and descriptions Dr. Gonzo might have used were he still with us. Hunter S Thompson (HST) was a master of descriptive hyperbole for effect. Picture: by Ralph Steadman, HST's artist of record.

PROSECUTORS PLAN NOVEMBER 5 PRESS CONFERENCE TO PERSECUTE PENN STATE

Well ... to hell with writing with reserved respect for the subjects of this essay. These malicious mendicants feeding from the public trough don't deserve polite measured consideration. These are bottom-feeding mutants on steroids, unfit for reason or respect. The Commonwealth has had more than its fair share of slimy creatures dredged up from permanently smoldering underground coal pits and fracking contaminated aquifers, particularly the prosecutors and judges who seem to flourish while committing some of the most heinous crimes in memory, crimes against children -- KIDS FOR CASH. 

CORBETT is a real piece of work. You can contemplate his Lebanon Valley BA and St Mary's Law Degree, as the absolute minimum requirement. His stint as counsel for Waste Management is so odorous that he has wiped it from his bio. As a prosecutor, Corbett is ethically unfit by the standards set forth by the American Bar Association: 

“ The duty of a prosecuting attorney is not to persecute, but to prosecute, and that he should endeavor to protect the innocent as well as to prosecute the guilty. He should always be interested in seeing that the truth and the right shall prevail….”

The muddy, blood-spattered path from prosecutor to higher political office is well worn and often traveled. PA politicians have plumbed the furthest depths of this sewer more often than most. It's an obvious route, where vastly superior resources in staff and wealth are pitted against individuals forced to pay hideous amounts of money to well-connected mouthpieces or suffer the consequences of representation by a court-appointed well meaning dullard of less than equal wit with none of the resources. Prosecutors have all the advantage and, too often, pursue publicity or a high conviction rate at the expense of truth or justice. The current reigning champion example of this being The West Memphis Three

SPRING FORWARD - - TIME TO UNITE AND FIGHT BACK

ANNOUNCING A WEEK OF RENEWED FOCUS and Spring Cleaning of the narrative. 2.5 years into this we renew and refocus our efforts with a breath of clean fresh Spring air. 

The Battle lines are being drawn WE ACCUSE the Prosecution 

Ray Blehar and I will offer a very clear choice for anyone who takes the time to really absorb what we will offer this week. After 2 and a half years of intense study and research with over 450 articles available on this site covering every detail of the case(s) you should be able to get a clear picture. 

Either politically motivated vengeful prosecutors have it right and by their theory you should believe that Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz are the most detestable of men. Men who knew a serial molester and pedophile was using PSU Football as bait to lure his young prey, while they did everything they could to protect him. 
OR 
The current Governor along with John Surma had such contempt for Penn State, Joe Paterno, and Graham Spanier, they would make the case about a very crafty pedophile (who fooled everyone in PA. along with a US President and Senator into believing he was a laudable benefactor to children) into a case claiming notable PSU administrators and head football coach, protected a known pedophile just to avoid some potential bad publicity for their University.  

Response to Joel Mathis' "Let Penn State's Punishment Stand"

Joel Mathis is among many in the media who really don't know the facts about the Sandusky case, but feel compelled to opine about the justness of the NCAA's punishment against PSU.  What Mathis also doesn't know is that his support of the false narrative against PSU keeps PA's children in danger.

By
Ray Blehar

On April 16, 2014, Joel Mathis wrote a blog insisting that the NCAA punishment was just because "something uniquely evil" had developed at Penn State.  Mathis, of course, was rehashing the nonsense that was written in the Freeh Report and then blindly accepted/tweeted the minute it left Freeh's mouth during his grand standing press conference on July 12, 2012.

Mathis then stated that PSU copped a plea and accepted the Consent Decree because:

Why? Because Jerry Sandusky molested young boys. Because important people at Penn State knew about it, eventually. Because they passed the buck out of deference to the football program. And because that allowed Jerry Sandusky to keep molesting young boys. All of which may not violate any particular NCAA rule, but it did undermine the underlying ethos of the NCAA’s enforcement regime: Schools are supposed to have control over their athletics programs, not the other way around. Penn State didn’t. Period.

You could argue that last statement is true to some degree of almost every major college sports program in existence, that the culture of college athletics has grown far beyond its useful boundaries. I wouldn’t dispute that. At Penn State, though, the cancer developed into something uniquely evil. It deserved an equally unique, intense response. Thus the sanctions and the $60 million fine.

After about 75 comments from readers who tended to know a lot more about the case than he did,  Mathis responded with this comment, to which I replied with the hopes of setting the record straight and shifting the focus where it belongs.

Joe Paterno and Alfred Dreyfus - THE PENN STATE CULTURE

THE DREYFUS AFFAIR REDUX by Joseph A Cattano Ph.D Penn State  

First a reminder:  The Dreyfus Affair, a political scandal that divided France 1894 until its resolution in 1906, is one of the most striking examples of a miscarriage of justice with a major role by media and public opinion. 

THE DREYFUS AFFAIR REDUX   

note: Written a year ago edits made to bring current. 

           Before sharing my thoughts regarding the tragedy that occurred at Penn State University, I will preface my discussion with the necessary statement that children were the tragic victims of harm and a reckless insensitivity by a sexual predator that will stay with them for years.  As a mental health professional who has worked with the victims of sexual abuse, I fully appreciate the scope of emotional issues and he horrid “soul murder” of a child who has experienced sexual abuse.There is no question that those responsible for this tragedy should face both criminal and civil prosecution and be held accountable for their actions.

Liz Grove: CDT LTE, No More Bewilderment

April 15, 2014

By hook and by crook — and at times by crowbar — we, the people, are prying open the doors of secrecy so carefully sealed by the Nov. 9, 2011, Penn State board of trustees.

In the recent ruling by the Commonwealth Court, President Judge Dan Pellegrini said, “The majority appears to arrive at this outcome because it is bewildered, as I am, by how the Board of Trustees of PSU could have approved ... a Consent Decree involving the expenditure of $60 million of PSU funds when the Consent Decree specifically states that the matter ordinarily would not be actionable by the NCAA.”

Penn State needs new leadership that does not bewilder — leaders strong enough to stand up to the decision-makers from November 2011 who have caused incalculable damage to our community and university.

As we continue to pry open the doors of secrecy surrounding the decisions made in the past two years, the importance of voting for the three alumni-elected trustees is more important than ever.

Please vote for Alice Pope, Bob Jubelirer and Al Lord. Their experience, intelligence, common sense and honesty are what we need to right the wrongs of the past and to guide the future of our university.

ELIZABETH GROVE, STATE COLLEGE

CDT Link

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/04/15/4135647/letter-to-the-editor-no-more-bewilderment.html?sp=/99/145/#storylink=cpy

Tom Corbett vs Graham Spanier - THE PENN STATE CULTURE

by Barry Bozeman
FOR THE FUTURE - we must recognize the past. 

The announcement yesterday of the great achievement of the FOR THE FUTURE campaign reminds us of when that campaign began back in April of 2010.

Penn State sets $2 billion goal for campaign to help students

April 23, 2010  University Park, Pa. – President Graham Spanier announced that Penn State will aim to secure $2 billion by 2014 to ensure that the University can continue to offer an outstanding education to students from every economic background while benefiting the public through research and service.

 Penn State raises more than $2 billion in For the Future campaign

April 12, 2014 -- Penn State doubled the amount collected in its last 7 year drive, became one of only 12 public universities in the country to exceed $2 billion in a fundraising campaign, and convinced more alumni to donate along the way than in any other campaign in the nation.

Graham Spanier's 16 year tenure as Penn State University just keeps on giving. We have to wonder why it had to stop. A brief history lesson that should be known to all Penn Staters. 

Joel Myers vs Graham Spanier - THE PENN STATE CULTURE

by Barry Bozeman

Saturday April 11, 2014, In an article on State College dot com, Joel Myers is credited with the following remarks:

"..... three former Penn State administrators, including former President Graham Spanier currently face criminal charges for allegedly trying to cover-up the Sandusky scandal. The board decided to terminate Spanier in the wake of the scandal. 

Joel Myers says Graham Spanier had too much authority at Penn State. 

"Here we had a situation where the board had to act over a couple of days and it became obvious Graham Spanier hadn't kept the board informed," Myers says. "Graham Spanier had a lot of authority, he had in retrospect far too much. ... Obviously he didn't keep the board informed with things they should know about." 

In response, Lubrano challenged Myers, saying the board should be held responsible for allowing Paterno and Spanier to have too much power. Myers argued the board took responsibility with its actions to remove Paterno and Spanier as well as moves to reform the communication and organizational models of the board and administration."

These remarks come along with his justification for the firing of Joe Paterno -- a subject this website has covered in copious detail. Everything that we need to know about Joe's correct and appropriate action has been discussed in great detail repeatedly. We have been remiss in not considering Graham Spanier's role in what happened at Penn State.

It is our contention that, had the Board followed Dr. Spanier's lead, Penn State would be in a far better position today -- morally, ethically, and financially.  Dr. Spanier did two things about which we are certain:  1) He told John Surma that firing Joe Paterno would be a terrible mistake; and 2) He publicly announced his full support of AD Tim Curley and VP Gary Schultz.

Graham Spanier with Joe Paterno

Spanier called the allegations against Sandusky "troubling" and added that Curley and Schultz had his unconditional support.  He predicted they would be exonerated.  "I have known and worked daily with Tim and Gary for more than 16 years," Spanier said. "I have complete confidence in how they handled the allegations..." 

Despite knowing the personal risk Spanier did the right thing - and the BOT fired him for it while Corbett's AG indicted him.

2 1/2 years later, those comments appear to have been absolutely appropriate. 

By contrast, the Board (including Joel Myers) acted in a panic, driven by a media tsunami that was set off by the lies contained in then-Attorney General Linda Kelly's Presentment. The Presentment contained the fabrication that Mike McQueary saw a boy "being subjected to anal intercourse" and told Joe Paterno, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz exactly that. The Board reacted based on those lies and that media pressure. When the Trustees fired Joe and Graham, they sent a message to the world that the Penn State Board believed these key employees to be guilty. That act signaled the world,that the Trustees accepted liability on behalf of the University for the crimes of Jerry Sandusky -- a man who had not been employed by PSU for 11 years. 

Alice Pope's Statement - SMSS Supports ALICE POPE for 2014 Board of Trustees

SMSS offers our support for PENN STATE BOARD OF TRUSTEES CANDIDATES who assure us that they intend to stand up for the best interests of Penn State, unlike the compromised and conflicted BOT members of Nov 9, 2011. We cannot "move on" without addressing the damage done and holding accountable those who failed in their fiduciary duty to Penn State. I give you the statement of ALICE POPE, who is such a candidate.

Alice Pope is endorsed by PS4RS, Reform Members of the BOT Lubrano, Doran, Oldsey and Brown, and Franco & Dana Harris.

ALICE POPE - 2014 Candidate for Penn State Board of Trustees

I am a 3-time Penn State alumna, with bachelors (1979), masters (1983), and doctorate (1986) degrees in psychology.  I have held faculty appointments for the past 25 years in public and private universities.  The Penn State board currently has no faculty as trustees.  I will bring the perspective of a career educator who is familiar with the challenges facing higher education today, and will ensure that Penn State’s education mission is prioritized in decision-making


I ask for your support based on my record of thoughtful, principled, and constructive activism in response to the board’s errors.  I have worked effectively outside the board; now I am ready to serve Penn State as a trustee. In particular, I have:

1.  Regularly attended committee and full BOT meetings.  I have commented at meetings; have communicated with trustees to voice my opinion; I have connected with alumni who attend meetings. 

2.  Written 11 op-eds and other opinion pieces in Pennsylvania newspapers.  These works have made me a recognized voice of alumni who are concerned with promoting effective governance and with responding to the profound weaknesses of the Freeh report.  Please see my website  to read my published work.

3. Conducted research and written position papers in collaboration with other alumni in support of governance reform.  These reports have been used by our progressive PSU trustees and by state legislators to guide their efforts to make the BOT more effective, transparent, and efficient.

4.  Met with Pennsylvania senators and have formed effective working relationships with several who support PSU board reform.

5.  Used social media to lead actions.  We have generated letter-writing campaigns to PSU trustees and to state legislators in support of governance reforms.

6.  Attended hearings and press conferences in the Capitol on PSU governance reform.  I have also helped to organize attendance by PSU alumni at these events to show the strength of our numbers.

CORBETT, SURMA, FRAZIER, TOMALIS & BALDWIN - UNCOMMONLY CLEAR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST PART 1 A

Eight days after the Nov 9, 2011 firing of Joe Paterno and Graham Spanier, Corbett, Frazier, Surma, Garban, and Balwin had Louis Freeh in place as the "INDEPENDENT" executioner for Penn State demanding complete collusion with Attorney General of Pennsylvania Linda Kelly.  

"The hiring of Louis Freeh is synonymous with an institution paying $8.2 million to concoct evidence supporting its own guilt and liability. Why would any institution in its right mind fund such an effort? It's insanity, clearly demonstrating the conflicted interests that are the point of this article. The Freeh insanity depicts Penn State as a schizophrenic trying to convict itself of a crime imagined in the fevered mind of its own alter-ego, the Board of Trustees." 

In Part I CORBETT & SURMA - UNCOMMONLY COMPLETE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
the roots of the damaging decisions of the Board of Trustees were exposed, showing why Corbett, Surma and Corbett's appointees should have recused themselves from the Nov 9th meeting that resulted in the termination of President Spanier and Joe Paterno.

Although I have followed these events very closely since Linda Kelly's Presentment drew my interest on Nov 5, 2011; I was very surprised to find the enclosed documents among the 300 made available by Ryan Bagwell. They verify the 8 day timeline and actually confirm the effort to restrict the special investigation group to a tightly controlled Cobett conflicted few. 

If you want further confirmation that the events of Nov 9, 2011 were a well-planned and executed strategy on the part of the Attorney General turned Governor Tom Corbett and his willing Joe hating partner John Surma, then take a quick look at this timeline. Have you ever seen any sizable governing body move this quickly?

TIMELINE  NOV 5, 2011 Penn State stands accused at the moment Linda Kelly decides to put equal sized posters of AD Tim Curley and VP Gary Schultz on her Presentment stage along side of a poster of Jerry Sandusky,  There was simply no equivalence involved in the crimes of which they are accused thus the display was part of a strategy to anchor a narrative of PSU enabling Sandusky's abuse.

The verifiable LIE in that presentment; that Mike McQueary saw a boy being "subjected to anal rape" on the Penn State campus was tied to Curley and Schultz in another LIE - that McQueary told this to Joe Paterno and then to the two PSU administrators.  Those lies created the media tsunami that made Penn State the equal villain in the public eye.

CORBETT & SURMA - UNCOMMONLY COMPLETE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

WHO REPRESENTED PENN STATE'S BEST INTERESTS IN NOV. 2011?

PART ONE - THE MAJOR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

“In general, the most conventional form of a conflict of interest involves money—typically, an institutional decision maker has some kind of financial stake in the outcome of the decision.  A conflict can also arise when the decision maker has a non-monetary stake in the outcome of a decision—for example, a personal relationship, prestige, or career advancement.” 

by Barry Bozeman

Tom Corbett Embarrassed Trustee

Tom Corbett served as Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 2004 until he assumed office as Governor on January 18, 2011.

The Governor is automatically placed on the Penn State Board of Trustees. He also appoints six (6) members, in addition to his choices for PA Secretaries of Education, Conservation, and Agriculture, who sit on the Board along with a non-voting personal representative. This block of Trustees depends on the Governor for their positions, effectively making him the single most powerful presence in both voting power and influence.


Six (6) members of the Board are known as Business and Industry Trustees. These members are "self -selected" by an arcane procedure far from being transparent or apparent to those outside the process. Another six (6) members of the Board are known as Agriculture Trustees, who are selected through a county-by-county vote of the Commonwealth's agricultural societies (i.e., the PA Grange and the PA Farm Bureau).  We will discuss the business relationships of most of these members and the influence the Governor holds over them in our next installment.

Nine (9) members are elected by Alumni, the most independent and democratically selected group. That's only 9 members to attempt to balance 11 of the Governor's directly controlled members plus 6 each from Business & Industry and from Agriculture.

Part 3: What Corbett and Fina should fear about Kane's Sandusky probe

Corbett and Fina's foot-dragging led to continued abuse of Victim 9, but there was more misconduct than just delaying the arrest of Sandusky.

By
Ray Blehar

Governor Corbett

In Part 2 of this series, I revealed that the foot-dragging in the Sandusky case led to the continued victimization of Victim 9.  In addition, I stated that it was highly probable that there were other victims in Lock Haven and at Central Mountain High School (CMHS) that should have resulted in an immediate arrest of Sandusky.  I will touch on CMHS a bit more, then move on to other potential areas of misconduct, but first a word from Governor Tom Corbett.

According to Governor Tom Corbett, former OAG prosecutor Frank Fina should have nothing to fear about Kathleen Kane's investigation of the Sandusky investigation.  As Corbett pounded the podium at a July 2012 press conference, he exclaimed that he was tired of hearing about what took so long for the successful prosecution and a "monster was taken off the streets."  They had successfully convicted Sandusky on 45 of 48 counts.

As Governor Corbett should know, sometimes the result is undermined by how you got to it.  In math class, you had to show your work on how you got the answer and it appears that Corbett doesn't want ANYONE to "show the work" in the Sandusky case.

As it turns out -- there was quite a lot wrong with, not just the work, but even with the result.

40 vs. 400

Why was it that the OAG decided on a 40 counts in November 2011, rather than 400 counts?  

Back in January 2011, former State Police Corporal Joseph Leiter told the mother of Victim 6 that there was enough evidence for 400 counts and that they had less evidence in murder cases.  Unless Leiter was lying, there had to be more than two victims up until that point.  

According to information on the public record, there were allegedly just two victims in November 2010 -- Aaron Fisher and the unknown Victim 2.  The Victim 2 case was a single incident involving five counts.  Therefore, either Aaron Fisher's abuse could substantiate 395 counts on its own or there were more victims that we hadn't heard about.  

Smart money is on the latter.

 NBC's Rock Center featured an interview with another boy from Lock Haven who stated he was not abused, but was in contact with Sandusky from 1997-2003.  Using 1997 as a starting point, the math shows that Sandusky had been interacting with children in the Lock Haven area for about 11 years before Fisher reported him for abuse.  According to Fisher's trial testimony, troopers Cavanaugh and Akers told him in December 2008 that "he was not alone" and that there were other victims.  Similarly, trooper Scott Rossman also told Fisher about other victims (see Commonwealth v. Sandusky, 6-12-2012, page 77) in June of 2009.  

Sandusky became a volunteer assistant football coach at Central Mountain High School in the Fall of 2003, thus he had access to children not only through his work at Second Mile, but through coaching.   Based on a study by "Abel, et al, of 377 non-incarcerated, non-incest-related pedophiles...(the) average, homosexual pedophile had abused 150.2 children and committed 281.7 acts." From this information, the odds favor Sandusky abusing more than just one child (Fisher) at CMHS and far more children than the 17 that were listed by the OAG as accusers in the Sandusky case. 

As I noted in this blogpost, the fact that Sandusky dropped his appeal to DPW in February 2009 is yet another indicator that other victims had come forward.  It would seem rather easy for a pillar of the community like Sandusky to win an appeal against a single, unconvincing victim.  Sandusky's dropping his appeal would have come about because the police had found other victims.  If what I have written so far is true, then the OAG could have charged Sandusky almost immediately, publicized the arrest, and in so doing, put out a call for more victims to come forward.  

If we play out this scenario, and Corbett and the OAG bring 400 counts, it would have been a rather insurmountable case for Sandusky to fight and probably would have resulted in a plea deal. Why wouldn't Corbett and the OAG wanted to go this route?

Perhaps because they wanted a "circus" trial -- more on that later.