DOES PENN STATE COVERUP LEAD TO BOARD OF TRUSTEES?

"Where there is smoke, there's usually fire".....but in the matter of the Penn State sexual abuse scandal, it's far more than that, it's a firestorm.  To understand that further, the definition of a firestorm is a conflagration  which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system.  In this case, let's call it alot of hot air. 

The finger pointing is going to become very interesting.  All of that will be part of the who knew what, when investigation.  And we're just getting started.

Here are a couple of recent curious happenings:

The judge who ignored a prosecutor’s request and ordered Jerry Sandusky released on $100,000 bail has worked for the charity of the former Penn State assistant coach, who’s accused of child sex abuse, sports website Deadspin said.

District judge Leslie Dutchcot ruled that the 67-year-old could pay nothing unless he failed to attend a court hearing, the website said.  Prosecutors had asked for Sandusky’s bail to be set at $500,000.  A profile of the judge on her former law firm’s Internet site said she was a volunteer for Sandusky’s foundation, The Second Mile, Deadspin said.

For me, I have to wonder what Judge Dutchcot was thinking.  How in the world can she justify not giving Sandusky the $500,000 bail prosecutors were asking?  How can she give any child abuse victim in the world a comfort level that the legal proceedings of this despicable event will be handled properly...right from the very beginning?  Which begs the question.....judge, how much and how long have you known of this Sandusky travesty?  It would appear that we are trying to prosecute the case without any impartial person at the helm.  Unbelievable.  But let's go a step further.  And here's where it might get ugly as all hell.
  
At a crowded press conference last Wednesday night following a Penn State Board of Trustees meeting, Board chair Steve Garban made this announcement: “The Board has asked John Surma to head up all Board activities on the current matters.”  Trustees lack confidence in Garban’s ability to lead the university out of this mess given his close relationships with Curley, Schultz and university President Graham Spanier, sources said.  That source, probably a trustee, left one and maybe as many as 20, out of that mix.

Who is Steve Garban you ask?  Garban is or was (I'm not sure right now what he is) the chair of the Penn State Board of Trustees.  He graduated from Penn State in 1959 with  a B.S. in Business.  As an undergraduate, he was captain of the football team among several other honors.   Let me restate that again.  HE WAS CAPTAIN OF THE FOOTBALL TEAM. 

Okay, let's review.  The Board of Trustees has asked John Surma to lead the board.  Could it be that Garban, having been fully connected to the football program from every different imaginable angle, looked the other way?.  Was he so loyally blind and deaf that he protected Joe Paterno and the football program at all costs? 

Last week I reported of a column by Pittsburgh sports radio host, Mark Madden. written on April 3rd of this year.  In Madden's writings, he was spot on of his assessment of the Penn State Secret on Jerry Sandusky's doings.  That information came out seven months ago.  Are you telling me, no one asked the questions to the Board of Trustees and it's chairman....what's going on here?  Is there any truth to these allegations?  And if so, how will we lead the investigation into these matters?   Garban led by doing nothing....and it makes one wonder why.

Garban was elected to the Board of Trustees by the alumni for a three-year term beginning July 1, 1998 and was re-elected for succeeding terms.  He was elected vice chair of the Board from 2007 through 2009 and was elected chair in 2010.

Trustees at fault too?  How far reaching is this cover up?

From my perspective, no one gets a pass here.  Not ONE person....and that includes the Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, who sits on the Penn State board.  Are we on the brink of a firestorm?  I hope so.  The victims have had to endure this cover up far, far too long.

Maybe, just maybe, we'll see justice served like we've never seen before.  And it begins with having Judge Durchcot removed from the case and then Garban is charged, and then, and then.....

Thanks for reading,

John


UPDATE:  "The president of the charity linked to the Penn State child sex-abuse scandal has resigned, saying he hopes his departure after 28 years as the group's CEO would help restore faith in its mission.  The Second Mile's board of directors said in a statement Monday that it had accepted the resignation of Dr. Jack Raykovitz."  I'll reserve comment on that.