Frank Fina walks the streets. Cynthia Baldwin still has a law license. Policemen lie under oath with impudence. A statewide porn-sharing network exists among judges, prosecutors and lawyers, among others. During the Sandusky investigation, no one in authority darkened the doors of Central Mountain High School, Centre County CYS or the Pennsylvania DPW. The Second Mile? Ha! Alert Solicitor General Bruce “Rip Van” Castor announced in May of 2016 (that’s not a typo; 2016, for real) that “It began bothering me like a pebble in my shoe, this long-held perception that the Second Mile may have provided some of Sandusky’s victims.” “Perception,” eh? May have? Can’t put one past old Bruce, can we? Agitated by the pebble…or maybe his butt just itched…Bruce dove headlong into the fray by asking one of his crack investigators to (drum roll, please)…compile a memo! I only wish I was making that up.
No arrests…no fines…no nothing. Maybe a reluctant resignation here or there…but usually with a soft landing nearby. Yet the only charges brought have been against Gary Schultz, Tim Curley, Graham Spanier…and AG Kathleen Kane herself, who had the temerity to poke a stick at the rattlesnakes by investigating “Porngate.” As a result, let’s call it a “network,” scooped her up and held her captive in an empty mayonnaise jar with nothing but a twig, a leaf, and two tiny air holes in the lid.
“Corruption” should be the Pennsylvania state flower or something. It certainly appears that some “network,” a network that doesn’t always play by the same rules as you and I do, exists in Pennsylvania. I’m not suggesting that everyone connected to that network is corrupt. Some are, no doubt. And an “appearance of impropriety” can be an indicator of “actual impropriety.” Our curiosity is fair.
“Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. will return $15,000 donated to his campaign for state attorney general from a company owned by Scranton businessman Louis DeNaples, a convicted felon with reputed mob ties, because, his campaign manager Marty Marks said, ‘(a)s Attorney General, even though the contribution was legal, reported and transparent, he believes it is important for the state's top law enforcement officer to lead by example and avoid even the appearance of impropriety whenever possible.’” (triblive.com, 4/18/16; italics mine)
Kane received a $25,000 campaign contribution from Pocono Gardens Realty shortly after taking office in 2013. She returned the contribution five months after revoking subpoenas delivered to DeNaples and William Conaboy in an investigaton of Donald Shiffer related to DeNaples’ gaming license application. Kane received the contribution on 10/3/13, after the investigation ended (no charges brought). She returned it on 12/30/13. Former Governor Bob Casey (1987-1995) also returned donations offered by DeNaples. Tom Corbett and former Governor Ed Rendell had no such reservations:
“In 2006 the newly created Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board awarded a casino license to Louis DeNaples, a convicted felon who has long been publicly accused of associations with organized crime figures. DeNaples and his Catholic priest, Joseph Sica, are currently under indictment for allegedly lying about mob associations when DeNaples applied for his casino license.
Gov. Rendell, a Democrat, and state Attorney General Tom Corbett, a Republican, both received large political donations from DeNaples in the run-up to the awarding of the slots license. Rendell received two donations from DeNaples totaling $115,000 in August 2002. AG Corbett accepted a $25,000 contribution from DeNaples in 2004. Both Rendell and Corbett to date have refused to return DeNaples' contributions.” (yardbird.com, 7/2/08) Marty Marks called that the “appearance of impropriety.”
For more on Rendell, who had close connections with the Savitz family (don’t Google Ed Savitz near dinnertime), read “The Quiet Don: The Untold Story of Mafia Kingpin Russell Bufalino” by Matt Birkbeck. For more on Corbett, and in particular his ties with Republican power broker LeRoy Zimmerman, read “The Chocolate Trust: Deception, Indenture and Secrets at the $12 billion Milton Hershey School” by Bob Fernandez. Corbett…the man who gave us Frank Fina…and Frank Noonan…and…ah, forget it. If you don’t know that much about Corbett, you got here by mistake.
Corbett served as attorney general from 1995-1997 and from 2005-2011. Among the OAG’s responsibilities: investigating and instituting criminal proceedings under Pennsylvania Gaming Law, and overseeing state non-profit organizations…like the Hershey Trust and The Second Mile.
Kane found out that the OAG was no match for the “Network” with her investigation of The Hershey Trust, originally established for the benefit of orphans. Though its exorbitantly compensated caretakers have turned the facility into a lavish hotel/golf resort, not a single former Hershey orphan has yet won a major title on the PGA tour. Might be a good start if any of the kids were actually allowed on the course, eh? Kane didn’t like what she saw, but charged no one with a crime, instead imposing…well, not much of anything. Consequences didn’t even amount to a light tap on the wrist. An investigation by John Cleese’s French Taunter (“I fart in your general direction”) would have had more impact.
The Second Mile. In 2010, Rendell approved a $3 million grant for a new facility for The Second Mile. The paperwork wasn’t finished when he left office. Corbett came into office in January of 2011 and reapproved it, even though he had been “investigating” Sandusky for almost two years. (He did rescind the grant after Sandusky was indicted.) I’m in the group who believes Corbett never intended to charge Sandusky at all. Ray Blehar has set up a timeline supporting the case that Corbett’s desire to nail Spanier changed his mind. Others believe he was forced to move because the V1 investigation was about to blow up and become public anyway. I’m good with either or both. I believe the “inexplicable delays” Geoffrey Moulton found in Corbett’s investigation of Sandusky were rooted in Corbett’s determination to protect The Second Mile from scrutiny.
Corbett knew better than Kathleen Kane. Whether of his own free will, out of respect/deference to the “Network,” or purely by accident, Corbett protected The Second Mile…with his own lack of oversight and investigation, through his appointee Linda Kelly with the shell game to shift blame to Penn State, through his recommendation of Louie Freeh, through Frank Fina and the courts, and through his influence over the Penn State board via the limits on the scope of Freeh’s investigation.
Corbett accepted $647K in campaign contributions from individuals and entities connected to The Second Mile’s board in the run-up to the 2010 gubernatorial election. Second Mile CEO Bob Poole hosted a campaign fund-raiser for Corbett at Poole’s house…while Corbett was investigating Sandusky, and ignoring TSM. TSM failed to implement a protection plan for children in 1998. Jack Raykovitz, a mandatory reporter, was not charged with failing to report the 2001 incident. Documents shredded. Lax oversight of one-on-one time between adults and kids. Inappropriate activities for the kids. Possible victims paid for their silence with cash and cars. Not so much as a parking ticket. AG Tom Corbett and the OAG, the first (oversight responsibility) and last (legal authority) lines of defense in the protection of children, chose protection of Tom’s buddies Bob Poole and Bruce Heim, “The Mad Shredder” and the rest of The Second Mile instead.
Why would Penn State’s trustees go along with a plan to fall on their swords in the name of covering up for The Second Mile? Two reasons, I believe: 1) their own involvement with The Second Mile, and/or other malfeasances; and 2) Tom Corbett’s influence over the board.
Briefly, Penn State current or former trustees with evident TSM connections include:
Current (11/5/11 and forward; listed contributions are 2005-2010 time frame): Corbett (his former company Waste Management contributed $47,000 or +), Lubert (Southeast Chapter board member), Silvis ($12,500 or +), Joyner ($2,500 or +; “active participant in Second Mile charity affairs”), Garban (son Drew was on TSM board for several years), Broadhurst ($1,000 or +), Frazier ($12,000 or +), Strumpf ($5,000 or +), Surma ($24,000 or +), Anthony Lubrano ($10,000 or +), Ryan McCombie (business partner of Bruce Heim and Cliff Benson; participated in TSM Friend Fitness program; “Joyner disciple”), Cliff Benson ($1,000 or +; former TSM board member and finance chair)
Former trustees; trustees emeriti: Ted Junker ($8,000 or +); Mimi Coppersmith Fredman (“emeritus board member who was actively involved on the real board of The Second Mile. She would sit with the big shots of that organization during their fundraising dinners.”), Lloyd Huck ($23,000 or +; Arthur C. and Evelyn M. Sandusky Society, which denotes estate provision or deferred gift to TSM; wife Dottie was on TSM board); L. J. Rowell, Jr. ($3,500 or +; TSM Southeast Chapter board member), William Schreyer (daughter DrueAnne was on TSM board for many years), Quentin Wood ($4,000 or +)
Corbett’s influence on 11/5/11 board was decisive, if not complete:
EX-OFFICIO TRUSTEES: First, Corbett had his own vote. Corbett appointees are his agents on the board. Let’s not kid ourselves. He controls their votes. And as Graham Spanier learned all too well, challenging Corbett (2011 budget) can have unhappy consequences. Corbett wanted Spanier’s scalp…and got it. I’d call that “influence.” Get the message, Rodney Erickson? Eat a $60 million fine; get an $80 million bump in the state’s budget. Scorecard: 5 votes. Corbett, Greig, Tomalis, Allan, Spanier/Erickson
APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR: Governors serve four-year terms. Trustees serve three-year terms. Do the math. Keep the governor happy, or lose your seat. By the end of a governor’s term in office, he will have appointed the trustees in all six of these seats. (This might be a good time to point out that Corbett replaced Lubert with former TSM finance man Benson.) Al Clemens left the reservation by joining the Paterno suit, and would have been booted at the end of his term if he hadn’t retired. Scorecard: 6 votes. Clemens, Dambly, Khoury, Lubert, Silvis, DiBerardinis.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES: The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and its former president Keith Eckel are reported to control the election process for the six Ag seats. (Eckel calls DeNaples a good friend.) Eckel was a member of Corbett’s transition team after Corbett was elected governor. Carl Shaffer was also a long-time PFB president. Boots Hetherington received a six-figure salary from Corbett as an advisor in 2011 and 2012. Scorecard: 6 votes. Eckel, Hayes, Hetherington, Huber, Masser, Shaffer.
BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY TRUSTEES: Ken Frazier took charge of the Freeh (Corbett’s recommendation) scam. Unrelated no doubt, Frazier agreed to a favorable settlement in Pennsylvania’s Vioxx suit with Merck, coincidentally (feels like I’ve used that word a lot in this series) just before Corbett’s AG appointee Linda Kelly became a lame duck. John Surma was a contributor to Corbett’s campaign, and in the aftermath of 11/5/11, Corbett was in close contact with Surma, the new acting chairman. Scorecard: 2 votes. Frazier, Surma
That’s 19 of the 32 votes, a majority, either controlled or heavily influenced by Tom Corbett, before we even consider:
Current trustee Bob Capretto asked Corbett who told the board to fire Graham Spanier and Joe Paterno, “and the governor said ‘I told them to do it.’ He was proud of it.” (That would be the same Gov. Corbett who was in, by far, the best position of any of the 32 trustees to warn the rest of the board about Sandusky. And don’t give me “grand jury secrecy”…like Corbett couldn’t have found a way.) Yes, this is largely Corbett’s show, as it regards the Penn State community. But it’s also been a team effort:
Two Pennsylvania State Patrol officers brazenly lied on the witness stand. The presiding judge turned a deaf ear to it. OAG Prosecutors were willing to bend or break all the rules to win a conviction. A Montgomery County judge hogtied the state’s attorney general in order to protect the “Good Old Boys.” State legislators were too corrupt or compromised to take meaningful action…or any action at all, for that matter. Government agencies (DPW and Centre County CYS) charged with the protection of children, abrogated that responsibility to cover up the nefarious deeds of politicians and fat cats. A Board of Trustees was willing to ruin the university they are obligated to serve. The Second Mile remains untouched. And the ultimate backstop, the State Supreme Court, is either too corrupted or too busy swapping porn to be bothered.
That, friends, is a “Network.” Why, if it weren’t for the ever-vigilant media keeping these folks honest…
SR/BHF
No arrests…no fines…no nothing. Maybe a reluctant resignation here or there…but usually with a soft landing nearby. Yet the only charges brought have been against Gary Schultz, Tim Curley, Graham Spanier…and AG Kathleen Kane herself, who had the temerity to poke a stick at the rattlesnakes by investigating “Porngate.” As a result, let’s call it a “network,” scooped her up and held her captive in an empty mayonnaise jar with nothing but a twig, a leaf, and two tiny air holes in the lid.
“Corruption” should be the Pennsylvania state flower or something. It certainly appears that some “network,” a network that doesn’t always play by the same rules as you and I do, exists in Pennsylvania. I’m not suggesting that everyone connected to that network is corrupt. Some are, no doubt. And an “appearance of impropriety” can be an indicator of “actual impropriety.” Our curiosity is fair.
“Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. will return $15,000 donated to his campaign for state attorney general from a company owned by Scranton businessman Louis DeNaples, a convicted felon with reputed mob ties, because, his campaign manager Marty Marks said, ‘(a)s Attorney General, even though the contribution was legal, reported and transparent, he believes it is important for the state's top law enforcement officer to lead by example and avoid even the appearance of impropriety whenever possible.’” (triblive.com, 4/18/16; italics mine)
Kane received a $25,000 campaign contribution from Pocono Gardens Realty shortly after taking office in 2013. She returned the contribution five months after revoking subpoenas delivered to DeNaples and William Conaboy in an investigaton of Donald Shiffer related to DeNaples’ gaming license application. Kane received the contribution on 10/3/13, after the investigation ended (no charges brought). She returned it on 12/30/13. Former Governor Bob Casey (1987-1995) also returned donations offered by DeNaples. Tom Corbett and former Governor Ed Rendell had no such reservations:
“In 2006 the newly created Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board awarded a casino license to Louis DeNaples, a convicted felon who has long been publicly accused of associations with organized crime figures. DeNaples and his Catholic priest, Joseph Sica, are currently under indictment for allegedly lying about mob associations when DeNaples applied for his casino license.
Gov. Rendell, a Democrat, and state Attorney General Tom Corbett, a Republican, both received large political donations from DeNaples in the run-up to the awarding of the slots license. Rendell received two donations from DeNaples totaling $115,000 in August 2002. AG Corbett accepted a $25,000 contribution from DeNaples in 2004. Both Rendell and Corbett to date have refused to return DeNaples' contributions.” (yardbird.com, 7/2/08) Marty Marks called that the “appearance of impropriety.”
For more on Rendell, who had close connections with the Savitz family (don’t Google Ed Savitz near dinnertime), read “The Quiet Don: The Untold Story of Mafia Kingpin Russell Bufalino” by Matt Birkbeck. For more on Corbett, and in particular his ties with Republican power broker LeRoy Zimmerman, read “The Chocolate Trust: Deception, Indenture and Secrets at the $12 billion Milton Hershey School” by Bob Fernandez. Corbett…the man who gave us Frank Fina…and Frank Noonan…and…ah, forget it. If you don’t know that much about Corbett, you got here by mistake.
Corbett served as attorney general from 1995-1997 and from 2005-2011. Among the OAG’s responsibilities: investigating and instituting criminal proceedings under Pennsylvania Gaming Law, and overseeing state non-profit organizations…like the Hershey Trust and The Second Mile.
Kane found out that the OAG was no match for the “Network” with her investigation of The Hershey Trust, originally established for the benefit of orphans. Though its exorbitantly compensated caretakers have turned the facility into a lavish hotel/golf resort, not a single former Hershey orphan has yet won a major title on the PGA tour. Might be a good start if any of the kids were actually allowed on the course, eh? Kane didn’t like what she saw, but charged no one with a crime, instead imposing…well, not much of anything. Consequences didn’t even amount to a light tap on the wrist. An investigation by John Cleese’s French Taunter (“I fart in your general direction”) would have had more impact.
The Second Mile. In 2010, Rendell approved a $3 million grant for a new facility for The Second Mile. The paperwork wasn’t finished when he left office. Corbett came into office in January of 2011 and reapproved it, even though he had been “investigating” Sandusky for almost two years. (He did rescind the grant after Sandusky was indicted.) I’m in the group who believes Corbett never intended to charge Sandusky at all. Ray Blehar has set up a timeline supporting the case that Corbett’s desire to nail Spanier changed his mind. Others believe he was forced to move because the V1 investigation was about to blow up and become public anyway. I’m good with either or both. I believe the “inexplicable delays” Geoffrey Moulton found in Corbett’s investigation of Sandusky were rooted in Corbett’s determination to protect The Second Mile from scrutiny.
Corbett knew better than Kathleen Kane. Whether of his own free will, out of respect/deference to the “Network,” or purely by accident, Corbett protected The Second Mile…with his own lack of oversight and investigation, through his appointee Linda Kelly with the shell game to shift blame to Penn State, through his recommendation of Louie Freeh, through Frank Fina and the courts, and through his influence over the Penn State board via the limits on the scope of Freeh’s investigation.
Corbett accepted $647K in campaign contributions from individuals and entities connected to The Second Mile’s board in the run-up to the 2010 gubernatorial election. Second Mile CEO Bob Poole hosted a campaign fund-raiser for Corbett at Poole’s house…while Corbett was investigating Sandusky, and ignoring TSM. TSM failed to implement a protection plan for children in 1998. Jack Raykovitz, a mandatory reporter, was not charged with failing to report the 2001 incident. Documents shredded. Lax oversight of one-on-one time between adults and kids. Inappropriate activities for the kids. Possible victims paid for their silence with cash and cars. Not so much as a parking ticket. AG Tom Corbett and the OAG, the first (oversight responsibility) and last (legal authority) lines of defense in the protection of children, chose protection of Tom’s buddies Bob Poole and Bruce Heim, “The Mad Shredder” and the rest of The Second Mile instead.
Why would Penn State’s trustees go along with a plan to fall on their swords in the name of covering up for The Second Mile? Two reasons, I believe: 1) their own involvement with The Second Mile, and/or other malfeasances; and 2) Tom Corbett’s influence over the board.
Briefly, Penn State current or former trustees with evident TSM connections include:
Current (11/5/11 and forward; listed contributions are 2005-2010 time frame): Corbett (his former company Waste Management contributed $47,000 or +), Lubert (Southeast Chapter board member), Silvis ($12,500 or +), Joyner ($2,500 or +; “active participant in Second Mile charity affairs”), Garban (son Drew was on TSM board for several years), Broadhurst ($1,000 or +), Frazier ($12,000 or +), Strumpf ($5,000 or +), Surma ($24,000 or +), Anthony Lubrano ($10,000 or +), Ryan McCombie (business partner of Bruce Heim and Cliff Benson; participated in TSM Friend Fitness program; “Joyner disciple”), Cliff Benson ($1,000 or +; former TSM board member and finance chair)
Former trustees; trustees emeriti: Ted Junker ($8,000 or +); Mimi Coppersmith Fredman (“emeritus board member who was actively involved on the real board of The Second Mile. She would sit with the big shots of that organization during their fundraising dinners.”), Lloyd Huck ($23,000 or +; Arthur C. and Evelyn M. Sandusky Society, which denotes estate provision or deferred gift to TSM; wife Dottie was on TSM board); L. J. Rowell, Jr. ($3,500 or +; TSM Southeast Chapter board member), William Schreyer (daughter DrueAnne was on TSM board for many years), Quentin Wood ($4,000 or +)
Corbett’s influence on 11/5/11 board was decisive, if not complete:
EX-OFFICIO TRUSTEES: First, Corbett had his own vote. Corbett appointees are his agents on the board. Let’s not kid ourselves. He controls their votes. And as Graham Spanier learned all too well, challenging Corbett (2011 budget) can have unhappy consequences. Corbett wanted Spanier’s scalp…and got it. I’d call that “influence.” Get the message, Rodney Erickson? Eat a $60 million fine; get an $80 million bump in the state’s budget. Scorecard: 5 votes. Corbett, Greig, Tomalis, Allan, Spanier/Erickson
APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR: Governors serve four-year terms. Trustees serve three-year terms. Do the math. Keep the governor happy, or lose your seat. By the end of a governor’s term in office, he will have appointed the trustees in all six of these seats. (This might be a good time to point out that Corbett replaced Lubert with former TSM finance man Benson.) Al Clemens left the reservation by joining the Paterno suit, and would have been booted at the end of his term if he hadn’t retired. Scorecard: 6 votes. Clemens, Dambly, Khoury, Lubert, Silvis, DiBerardinis.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES: The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and its former president Keith Eckel are reported to control the election process for the six Ag seats. (Eckel calls DeNaples a good friend.) Eckel was a member of Corbett’s transition team after Corbett was elected governor. Carl Shaffer was also a long-time PFB president. Boots Hetherington received a six-figure salary from Corbett as an advisor in 2011 and 2012. Scorecard: 6 votes. Eckel, Hayes, Hetherington, Huber, Masser, Shaffer.
BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY TRUSTEES: Ken Frazier took charge of the Freeh (Corbett’s recommendation) scam. Unrelated no doubt, Frazier agreed to a favorable settlement in Pennsylvania’s Vioxx suit with Merck, coincidentally (feels like I’ve used that word a lot in this series) just before Corbett’s AG appointee Linda Kelly became a lame duck. John Surma was a contributor to Corbett’s campaign, and in the aftermath of 11/5/11, Corbett was in close contact with Surma, the new acting chairman. Scorecard: 2 votes. Frazier, Surma
That’s 19 of the 32 votes, a majority, either controlled or heavily influenced by Tom Corbett, before we even consider:
- The subtle (or not) authority of the office; Corbett’s reputation for being vindictive.
- Proxy influence of Surma, as chairman of the board, with Corbett having been in his ear.
- “Remember the children.”
- Trustees who might be compromised or vulnerable to bribes or intimidation.
- Influence of the “Network”/”the appearance of impropriety.”
- The 99.9999% of the information these folks hide from us.
Current trustee Bob Capretto asked Corbett who told the board to fire Graham Spanier and Joe Paterno, “and the governor said ‘I told them to do it.’ He was proud of it.” (That would be the same Gov. Corbett who was in, by far, the best position of any of the 32 trustees to warn the rest of the board about Sandusky. And don’t give me “grand jury secrecy”…like Corbett couldn’t have found a way.) Yes, this is largely Corbett’s show, as it regards the Penn State community. But it’s also been a team effort:
Two Pennsylvania State Patrol officers brazenly lied on the witness stand. The presiding judge turned a deaf ear to it. OAG Prosecutors were willing to bend or break all the rules to win a conviction. A Montgomery County judge hogtied the state’s attorney general in order to protect the “Good Old Boys.” State legislators were too corrupt or compromised to take meaningful action…or any action at all, for that matter. Government agencies (DPW and Centre County CYS) charged with the protection of children, abrogated that responsibility to cover up the nefarious deeds of politicians and fat cats. A Board of Trustees was willing to ruin the university they are obligated to serve. The Second Mile remains untouched. And the ultimate backstop, the State Supreme Court, is either too corrupted or too busy swapping porn to be bothered.
That, friends, is a “Network.” Why, if it weren’t for the ever-vigilant media keeping these folks honest…
SR/BHF
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