"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.
TIMELINE NOV 9, 2011 In an emergency meeting of the BOT, John Surma takes over as chairman for Steve Garban and after telling any hesitant board member "We will not drink the Kool aide this is what we need to do", no objections were raised to his declaration that Joe Paterno was to be fired. Then Graham Spanier who had served PSU with distinction for 16 years but who counseled Surma that firing Paterno would not be in the best interest of Penn State and who publicly told reporters that he stood behind Curley and Schultz was fired for urging the right thing for Penn State.
TIMELINE NOV 9, 2011 In an emergency meeting of the BOT, John Surma takes over as chairman for Steve Garban and after telling any hesitant board member "We will not drink the Kool aide this is what we need to do", no objections were raised to his declaration that Joe Paterno was to be fired. Then Graham Spanier who had served PSU with distinction for 16 years but who counseled Surma that firing Paterno would not be in the best interest of Penn State and who publicly told reporters that he stood behind Curley and Schultz was fired for urging the right thing for Penn State.
TIMELINE NOV 17, 2011 With Ronald Tomalis - the appointed Sec of Education for Tom Corbett on board the new special investigations committee, Frazier, Chm Garban, Vice-chair Surma, Tomalis and legal counsel Cynthia Baldwin, fresh from betraying Curley and Schultz in the Grand Jury, announced the selection of failed former FBI Director Louis Freeh as the 6.5 million dollar award winning hitman. Freeh would work hand in hand with Attorney General Linda Kelly to craft a report supporting the case against Penn State administrators.
The Corbett Conflicted Board of Trustees must believe the people of Penn State to be extremely gullible. They claim this investigator is "independent". Any report CLEARING Paterno or Spanier or Curley and Schultz would make the same people choosing Freeh to receive 6.5 million, (Frazier, Corbett, Surma, Balwin, and Garban) look like fools for firing Paterno and Spanier and opening Penn State to over $200 million in liability.
One week from "emergency" meeting to hiring a hitman to work with Kelly. You don't see that kind of speed at a NASCAR track on Sundays in the Summer, much less out of a deliberative board of 33 acting and 19 emeritus Trustees.
Louis Freeh wrote a fiction supporting Kelly's Presentment lies (and made up a few more). He took fragments of a couple of vague emails and made the case that Spanier, Paterno, Curley and Schultz were involved in a nefarious CONSPIRACY to cover up for a child molester they knew was operating on their campus. Joe Paterno the icon of "Success with Honor" an aging old school football coach was painted as a conniving manipulative ultimate power on "his" campus protecting his program from 'bad publicity' he feared more than having a child molester run loose. Curley, Schultz and Spanier his willing accomplices bent on protecting Sandusky in order to save the program from the awful stigma of having to expose an ex-employee using his charity as a hunting ground for deviant sexual appetites. This CONSPIRACY THEORY was swallowed whole by the NCAA that spit out sanctions and stripped Joe Paterno of 111 wins dating back to 1998.
And you thought CONSPIRACY THEORIES never worked? In this case, the engineers of the railroading of PSU officials were all corrupted by their own self-interest they put above the fiduciary duty they acquired as trustees of your Alma Mater. You should be livid.
And you thought CONSPIRACY THEORIES never worked? In this case, the engineers of the railroading of PSU officials were all corrupted by their own self-interest they put above the fiduciary duty they acquired as trustees of your Alma Mater. You should be livid.
Ronald Tomalis, who was the Secretary of Education, co-chaired the Special Investigations Task Force (SITF) and reports directly to Governor Corbett. After Tomalis helped engineer the disaster at Penn State and his term as Secretary of Education expired, Corbett set him up with an advisory job that pays $139,931 and has no office hours.
Tomalis was among the finalists to become the Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education -- which would have paid him over $300,000. But State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale questioned the move, considering it part of the revolving door of position appointments at Penn State in the aftermath of the scandal. Tomalis didn't get that job so he had to settle for the $140,000 free time advisory position.
Business and Industry trustee, Kenneth Frazier, the other co-chair of the SITF had pending legal matters concerning the Vioxx case in the Pennsylvania judicial system. Shortly before AG Linda Kelly left office, she filed a Frazier sought $8.25 settlement agreement with Merck. A quid pro quo for services rendered.
Tomalis was among the finalists to become the Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education -- which would have paid him over $300,000. But State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale questioned the move, considering it part of the revolving door of position appointments at Penn State in the aftermath of the scandal. Tomalis didn't get that job so he had to settle for the $140,000 free time advisory position.
Business and Industry trustee, Kenneth Frazier, the other co-chair of the SITF had pending legal matters concerning the Vioxx case in the Pennsylvania judicial system. Shortly before AG Linda Kelly left office, she filed a Frazier sought $8.25 settlement agreement with Merck. A quid pro quo for services rendered.
With these two close Corbett allies at the helm all that was needed to complete the railroad was to align the "independent" investigation by Freeh with the ongoing investigation of the Penn State case of Attorney General Kelly.
And that's exactly what happened, when Tomalis told Frazier to "reach out to her (Linda Kelly) early next week." The Governor already "discussed the role of the committee with her". The outside investigator should "talk directly with that office".
In the paragraph at the bottom, Governor Corbett already has directed that the PSU internal (independent:) investigation firm talk directly with the OAG -- even prior to selecting Freeh.
This is smoking gun evidence. Corbett intended to have investigators at PSU work hand in hand with his Attorney General every step of the way to insure any report would support the presentment against Penn State administrators.
The next email shows Tomalis congratulating Frazier for getting U.S. Representative Pat Meehan to drop his request for a seat on the independent committee overseeing the PSU investigation. They would brook no interference from anyone near the committee outside the control of the Governor and his cronies on the BOT.
Another e-mail revealed Frazier, Surma, and Tomalis nixing the recommendations with those with legal training to have seats on the SITF. No need to have a qualified lawyer questioning the independence of the investigation or the strength of any 'evidence'.
The cabal that ran the PSU BOT were ensuring that the SITF would be made up of people who would ultimately defer decisions to the chairs and they didn't need individuals on the task force who might ask any tough questions. By November 17, they had their man -- Louis Freeh. After the issuance of the Freeh Report, Governor Corbett would take credit for identifying and recommending Freeh for the job.
Note the group who are the inner circle charged with selection of the special Investigator and making certain that investigator is directly involved with the Attorney General.
1) Ronald Tomalis - Sec of Education appointed by Corbett
2) Ken Frazier of Merck Pharmaceuticals - needed Corbett's help to get Linda Kelly on board for a sweetheart settlement
3) John Surma - The CEO of US Steel and subject of THE SURMA VENDETTA stories
4) Cynthia Baldwin - PSU attorney caught pretending to represent Curley and Schultz in the Grand Jury proceedings
5) Steve Garban - Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Two more members of the Board sent in endorsements of Freeh:
7) Karen Peetz - BNY Mellon officer - beholden to Surma who was a member of her Board of Directors
That's right - it only took 8 days after the Nov 9 2011 firing of Paterno and Spanier for Corbett & Surma to put together Louis Freeh with Attorney General Linda Kelly in order to have this "independent" investigation of their well crafted PENN STATE SEX SCANDAL.
It's small wonder that the current BOT and their Upward State supporters keep pushing the "MOVE ON" meme. They knew if these documents came to view they risked this kind of exposure. This Board of Trustee and Upward State hopes that Penn State alumni will grow exhausted and tire of the battle to win back the hard earned reputation of their Alma Mater
YOU ARE PENN STATE - not this Governor and his Board of Traitors. THE LION SHOULD NOT SLEEP TONIGHT and the lions should never sleep until they drag down this pack of hyenas and hold them accountable for the damage they have done. What more evidence do you need to get angry enough to rise up and put an end to this? You now have the ammunition in the written words of the guilty. Tom Corbett and John Surma set out to destroy Graham Spanier and Joe Paterno are they going to get away with it? Will you forget your fallen leaders who made a Penn State degree a thing of pride and honor?
What are you going to do now that you know the TRUTH?
Yay Barry! I love your insight and eloquence. Write on. You and Ryan are warriors.
ReplyDeleteThe two main problems I see are Corbett with Spanier and Surma with JoePa. For the Board of Traitors to agree with their agendas makes me very concerned about the future of PSU. If these are the types of decisions that our leadership is making, without any thought as to the consequences is very disheartening. I think PSU will continue to be a great University, but I feel the future is very much in doubt.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about the future, Bobby, we are taking the fight to the enemy and we will be relentless!
ReplyDeleteI still remember your 95 yard run against Syracuse on a frigid December day in 1968. Greatest run in PSU history. It was a trap or scissors, Holuba pancaked a Syracuse defender, and a gigantic hole opened. We were out guarding the Lion into the wee hours the night before. We expected Sue Paterno and O'Hora's wife to show up with a bucket of orange paint, but I guess they knew that we were waiting for them.
The conflicts of interest of Frazier are significant. Since Freeh subcontracted work to Merck law firm Pepper Hamilton, It has the looks of a quid pro quo arrangement. I have never seen a Statement of Work for the subcontract or a list of deliverable items. What did Pepper Hamilton do?? A Federal Acquisition Officer would be thrown into jail for something like this. Private companies can do what they want with their money, but I don't think PSU is in that category. Funds are supposed to be used to support education and research. From the looks of things, neither Freeh nor Pepper Hamilton did much of anything. Indeed, a team of upperclassmen in the Smeal College of Business could have put together several operating models based upon industry best practices and not cost PSU anything.
If I read these emails correctly, they only identified 2 potential special investigators (Freeh and Chertoff) that were worthy of being interviewed and then only Frazier and Tomalis conducted the interviews and spent only 4 hours total interviewing BOTH of them. There were not other possible candidates that could be interviewed? I bet Frazier and Merck were much more deliberate and thorough when they searched for someone to conduct and internal investigation of Vioxx.
ReplyDeleteI recently went on a job interview where I was interviewed by 5 different people for about a total of 5 hours and these guys only spent 4 hours total on 2 separate candidates for a job that paid $6.5 million and would have a profound impact on a major university. It boggles the mind. And why the rush to make the announcement of the special investigator the Monday of Thanksgiving week when most people's attention are focused on other things like getting ready to travel or preparing for visitors. What's the different if they wait another week or two, or even a month of two. That just shows they wanted this done as soon as possible so they could release the report right after the trial when the media would be paying the most attention. And also very telling that one of the things that separated Freeh from Chertoff was that Freeh was "more at ease with the media side of things". Just goes to show you what their real priorities were in selecting someone to conduct an investigation.
Merck never conducted an internal investigation for Vioxx. They intentionally submitted a fraudulent data package to FDA in 1999/2000. They had clinical data that showed that Vioxx did not selectively inhibit the cyclo-oxidase 2 enzyme involved in inflamation...it also partially inhibited the cyclo-oxidase 1 enzyme responsible for vascular repair. This put people with underlying cardiovascular disease at high risk. They hid this data from FDA. This is not like a side effect that researchers missed because of low populations in clinical trials. This was intentional fraud. The depth of the fraud was not revealed until 2009, when an independent study analyzed all of the data. Until 2009, Ken Frazier and Pepper Hamilton fought tooth and nail, and used every form of intimidation possible. (note: The MO of Freeh in his various reports is to neglect all data that does not support the interests of his client...Fraud by omission ... Freeh is now chairman of Pepper Hamilton's executive committee...what a match!).
ReplyDeleteThe result of Frazier, et al, fraud is 88,000 premature deaths of Americans and another 60,000 deaths around the world. Frazier should be prosecuted for negligent homicide.