Freeh "exposed" Fina's OTHER email problem.

[rmb297]

When then-Governor Tom Corbett recommended Louis Freeh to conduct the investigation at Penn State, little did he know that the Freeh Report would provide key evidence that helped unveil Fina's email deception.
By

Ray Blehar

Parts 1 and 2 of the series identified critical facts and evidence (indicating misconduct) that surfaced after Frank Fina's "flip" strategy failed. Part 3 identifies the information contained in the Freeh Report that revealed Fina and Baldwin misrepresented evidence before the court.



CORBETT ENDORSED FREEH

Shortly after Penn State announced that it hired Louis Freeh, then-Governor Tom Corbett opined that Freeh was the right man for the job.

"And I think one of the reasons that someone like Mr. Freeh was appointed is because he understands the role of a grand jury investigation, the role of the prosecutors and will work well with the attorney general's office and Attorney General Linda Kelly so that [obstruction of the attorney general's investigation] does not happen."


Emails obtained by PSU alumnus Ryan Bagwell clearly show that Freeh's team and the prosecution worked together....but to say that Freeh and AG partnership would "work well" turned out to be wishful thinking.

Read more

 

[bjf1984]

When then-Governor Tom Corbett recommended Louis Freeh to conduct the investigation at Penn State, little did he know that the Freeh Report would provide key evidence that helped unveil Fina's email deception.
By

Ray Blehar

Parts 1 and 2 of the series identified critical facts and evidence (indicating misconduct) that surfaced after Frank Fina's "flip" strategy failed. Part 3 identifies the information contained in the Freeh Report that revealed Fina and Baldwin misrepresented evidence before the court.



CORBETT ENDORSED FREEH

Shortly after Penn State announced that it hired Louis Freeh, then-Governor Tom Corbett opined that Freeh was the right man for the job.

"And I think one of the reasons that someone like Mr. Freeh was appointed is because he understands the role of a grand jury investigation, the role of the prosecutors and will work well with the attorney general's office and Attorney General Linda Kelly so that [obstruction of the attorney general's investigation] does not happen."


Emails obtained by PSU alumnus Ryan Bagwell clearly show that Freeh's team and the prosecution worked together....but to say that Freeh and AG partnership would "work well" turned out to be wishful thinking.

Read more

Bump

 

[masterbaker65]

Crib notes please!

 

[sluggo72]

Bump

bump

 

[NittanyAmerica]

Bump

N i t t a n y A m e r i c a

 

[rmb297]

Crib notes please!

Timeline: Freeh & Baldwin Exposed The Deception
Dec 29, 2010: Subpoena 1179 for Sandusky information related to 2002 incident.


Jan 10, 2011: PSU turned over handful of materials (likely including "Schultz" file).


Mar 22, 2011: Spanier interviewed by Fina, Eshbach, Rossman, and Sassano.


Mar 24, 2011: Subpoena 109 for emails from 1997 to the present. No motion to quash.


Apr 11, 2011: Due date for emails re: Subpoena 109.


Apr 13, 2011: Baldwin turned over thumb drive to Feudale.


Apr 13, 2011: Judge Feudale agreed to write order for emails prior to 1997.


Apr 13, 2011: Baldwin promised to turn over all emails by April 15th.

At the outset of the April 13th grand jury, Baldwin explained that PSU had been cooperating with the subpoena but was having difficulty obtaining the emails because the University's administrative computer networks were not centralized. She also argued (at 5) that the request for emails from 1997 to the present was "much too broad."

It strains credulity that - in the face of the new, expanded requirement for all emails prior to 1997- Baldwin would commit to turning around the information in just two days. Not only did approximately 15 years of email have to be recovered and searched, but it had to be combed through for "metaphors" and possible "allusions" to Sandusky. Yet all of this would be completed in two days -- according to Baldwin.


Baldwin (at 27) exposed the ex post facto argument for the pre-1997 data when she stated that PSU's IT people were already working to gather and cull out the emails.










The Clincher: A USB Drive
While Baldwin's promise to deliver emails in two days was quite incredible, the clincher that the emails had already been gathered was her statement that they would all fit on a single USB drive.






How could Baldwin have known all of the data would fit on a single USB drive? The answer is she knew they would fit on a USB because she already had it in her possession.

 

[myronpsufootball]

All of wikipedia fits easily on a USB stick. Fair to think that 1 colleges emails involving 4 people would also.

 

[didier]

Thanks for the write-up Ray. Unrelated question but I'm curious about what you think about the Schreffler/Weaver signatures on the copies of the 1998 police report that were made available?

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

All of wikipedia fits easily on a USB stick. Fair to think that 1 colleges emails involving 4 people would also.

Baldwin wouldn't know that unless she was told. She doesn't know how many bytes are in a gigabyte. Hell, she might not even know the color of the socks she is wearing!

 

[rmb297]

All of wikipedia fits easily on a USB stick. Fair to think that 1 colleges emails involving 4 people would also.

Yes, but do you think Cynthia Baldwin knew that?

 

[marshall23]

Baldwin wouldn't know that unless she was told. She doesn't know how many bytes are in a gigabyte. Hell, she might not even know the color of the socks she is wearing!

We are talking about a genius who couldn't find JVP in Tampa (according to her testimony) @ the Outback Bowl. They were in the same hotel. The only thing I can't pick up on is who she was an agent for. Her BOT buddies, beholden to some Pa. kingmaker, OAG..........?

 

[rmb297]

Thanks for the write-up Ray. Unrelated question but I'm curious about what you think about the Schreffler/Weaver signatures on the copies of the 1998 police report that were made available?

Suspicious. It would be interesting to run them by Schreffler. As I have shown, there's more alterations to the police report than just the title. JimmyW alerted me that Harmon put the wrong time (AM instead of PM) down for when the incident occurred.

 

[psengr82]

4 years ago gigabit HSB drives were not that common and somewhat expensive. I'm thinking she probably had a 30 meg drive or something along those lines.

 

[rmb297]

4 years ago gigabit HSB drives were not that common and somewhat expensive. I'm thinking she probably had a 30 meg drive or something along those lines.

Baldwin wouldn't know a megabyte from a mosquito bite.

 

[myronpsufootball]

4 years ago gigabit HSB drives were not that common and somewhat expensive. I'm thinking she probably had a 30 meg drive or something along those lines.

That definitely settles it. HSB drives were not that common, and still are not today. Fair to say that USB drives were common, though, and a large USB drive was expensive, yes, but less than Baldwin's hourly rate. She wou;d have know all this because she was "leaning on IT" and whether 1 yr or 10 yrs or all years since email was invented, for 4 guys, a USB drive could hold all their emails.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

4 years ago gigabit HSB drives were not that common and somewhat expensive. I'm thinking she probably had a 30 meg drive or something along those lines.

I am thinking that she did not know "$hit from $hinola".

 

[didier]

Suspicious. It would be interesting to run them by Schreffler. As I have shown, there's more alterations to the police report than just the title. JimmyW alerted me that Harmon put the wrong time (AM instead of PM) down for when the incident occurred.

I agree. Schrefflers signature on the last page (6/3/98) is completely different than the others. Basically block letters rather than cursive. Strange that on that same page whoever was doing redactions redacted the location in the upper left. You can see it says "Latch building/University Park"... Not sure why they tried to black that out and not the other pages. And of course we are missing the previous 2 pages which detail the 5/19 interview.

 

[JmmyW]

I agree. Schrefflers signature on the last page (6/3/98) is completely different than the others. Basically block letters rather than cursive. Strange that on that same page whoever was doing redactions redacted the location in the upper left. You can see it says "Latch building/University Park"... Not sure why they tried to black that out and not the other pages. And of course we are missing the previous 2 pages which detail the 5/19 interview.

Agree, the signature on the last page is much different. I hadn't noticed that redaction on the upper left before, but it wasn't done well enough since you can still read it, which means it was done at a different time or with a different pen than all the other redactions on that page. One point of clarification, we don't know how many pages are missing from the body of the report. All we know for certain is there were an additional 2 pages in what was faxed on 3/23/2012.

 

[marshall23]

Well that's a hell of an assumption and charge in that post. People believe what they do about Baldwin from her actions and reading her testimony to questions (like saying she couldn't reach Paterno about subpoena issues because he was out of town at the bowl.......only for Scott to tweet out (IIRC) that she was at that same bowl and staying in the same hotel. Don't insert race as an issue here. Her answers to questions were laughable at times. She told a fed investigation (under oath) for Spanier's security clearance he was a trustworthy guy then IIRC a few weeks later she's testifying under oath again for the state and says Spanier wasn't a trustworthy guy. She sat in the Grand Jury room as 3 different men identified her as their lawyer and then says she didn't hear that (each time apparently). She will be destroyed on the stand- if she ever takes it.

Why do you think this mess has not gone to trial? Baldwin is acquittal insurance for the defendants. A veritable train wreck.

 

[psu00]

Why do you think this mess has not gone to trial? Baldwin is acquittal insurance for the defendants. A veritable train wreck.

I do wonder why the state is so insistent on keeping Baldwin in this trial mess. Her testimony that I read was very 'blah' in that there was no smoking gun or really anything damning to CSS. The misrepresentation over being CSS's lawyer will kill them in front of a jury so I don't get why the state wants her so badly. I know the theory is for the judge to rule against her so the state can use it as an excuse to drop charges.......but it's just really odd.

 

[91Joe95]

That definitely settles it. HSB drives were not that common, and still are not today. Fair to say that USB drives were common, though, and a large USB drive was expensive, yes, but less than Baldwin's hourly rate. She wou;d have know all this because she was "leaning on IT" and whether 1 yr or 10 yrs or all years since email was invented, for 4 guys, a USB drive could hold all their emails.

Does that include all of Fina's porn? Because some of those files can get pretty big, or so I'm told.

 

[rmb297]

That definitely settles it. HSB drives were not that common, and still are not today. Fair to say that USB drives were common, though, and a large USB drive was expensive, yes, but less than Baldwin's hourly rate. She wou;d have know all this because she was "leaning on IT" and whether 1 yr or 10 yrs or all years since email was invented, for 4 guys, a USB drive could hold all their emails.

Baldwin was not "leaning on IT" at that time...she was already done with IT. Nothing Baldwin said in this case was been buttressed or supported by ANYONE else....not even the prosecution's own witnesses.

Baldwin "proffered" to avoid being charged with obstruction of justice. She was thrown under the bus by the BOT's inner circle in December 2011 and that forced her to "retire." Instead of getting Curley and Schultz to flip on Spanier, Fina got Baldwin to do it.

 

[marshall23]

So Curley and Schultz were indicted in part to A. flip on Spanier and B. keep them from testifying in the JS Trial. Since they didn't flip, the designated flipee became Baldwin? I'm not sure why Baldwin was obstructing. Did she think she was protecting trustees and their interests (who then cut her loose?)

 

[marshall23]

Ray, if your on board, I have another question. I have been fascinated with the lack of attention given to Tom Harmon. In my mind. a career cop, who should have known about everyone's missteps on campus. Would you agree that it is likely that Schultz in fact informed him of the 2001 incident and assumed that he (Harmon) contacted CYS? How has Harmon escaped scrutiny. If he was informed and didn't follow up with "that agency" that investigated the first incident.....what was his motivation?

 

[rmb297]

So Curley and Schultz were indicted in part to A. flip on Spanier and B. keep them from testifying in the JS Trial. Since they didn't flip, the designated flipee became Baldwin? I'm not sure why Baldwin was obstructing. Did she think she was protecting trustees and their interests (who then cut her loose?)

Baldwin has hired by the BOT because they needed someone in the General Counsel's office who they could control and who would obstruct the investigation. She did that quite well up until Corbett got pissed at Spanier in October 2010 and then got elected in November 2010. At that point, the "switch" got thrown and she was told to start cooperating.

Curley and Schultz got charged in November 2011 and Fina thought they would flip. They didn't.

In December 2011, Fina wrote a letter to Baldwin admonishing her for failure to comply with the original subpoena for Sandusky's retirement information and for being slow to respond to new subpoenas. Once Frazier, et al, saw that letter, they threw Baldwin under the bus - that led to her "retirement" announcement in January 2012.

She later "proffered" because she knew obstruction charges were hanging over her head...and that the Commonwealth had nothing on Spanier. They still don't -- considering Baldwin is their star witness.

 

[rmb297]

Ray, if your on board, I have another question. I have been fascinated with the lack of attention given to Tom Harmon. In my mind. a career cop, who should have known about everyone's missteps on campus. Would you agree that it is likely that Schultz in fact informed him of the 2001 incident and assumed that he (Harmon) contacted CYS? How has Harmon escaped scrutiny. If he was informed and didn't follow up with "that agency" that investigated the first incident.....what was his motivation?

As I wrote here, it appears that Schultz, on February 12, 2001, reached out to Harmon about the 1998 police report.

End Note 304: Schultz confidential file note (5-1-12). Schultz contacts Harmon to inquire allegedly about the 1998 file on 2/12/2001.


If it was simply an inquiry about the 1998 incident --- with no mention of the 2001 incident -- why wasn't this BENIGN email included in the Freeh Report.


Certainly, adding two more pages to make the report 269 vs. 267 pages wouldn't have been an issue....

...I suspect that email blows Harmon's testimony (about not being told about another incident) out of the water. Also, Harmon testified on April 14, 2011 - one day after Spanier. His testimony is under a non-disclosure order.

It's almost certain that Harmon, who could have been charged with FTR for not reporting the 2001 incident, reluctantly flipped on Gary and Tim. His preliminary hearing testimony wasn't really helpful to the Commonwealth because he said he had no recollection of Schultz asking for the 1998 police report nor did he recall ever providing the police report to Schultz. One or more perjury charges is based on Schultz reviewing the 1998 report.

The media fell for the OAG's story, hook, line, and sinker in November 2011. They should have begun doubting Harmon's credibility after he testified in July 2013....however, the media avoided any coverage that cast doubt on the existing narrative.

 

[marshall23]

So its possible that Harmon tagged Tim and Gary because he simply dropped the ball and didn't report the incident? I can't help but wonder if he just thought 01 was innocent like 98, or he thought trustees and others wanted to protect Jerry from scrutiny. I don't believe anyone at least at that time (at PSU) thought Jerry was a pedophile.

 

[marshall23]

I am of the belief that if not for the political backlash from opponents and now of course fighting for survival, Kane would have dropped charges on GS2 and TC a long time ago.

 

[Marshall30]

I am of the belief that if not for the political backlash from opponents and now of course fighting for survival, Kane would have dropped charges on GS2 and TC a long time ago.

They know they have no case. Time for the charade to end.

 

[rmb297]

So its possible that Harmon tagged Tim and Gary because he simply dropped the ball and didn't report the incident? I can't help but wonder if he just thought 01 was innocent like 98, or he thought trustees and others wanted to protect Jerry from scrutiny. I don't believe anyone at least at that time (at PSU) thought Jerry was a pedophile.

I'm rather sure that Harmon knew Jerry had an issue.

 

[TheGLOV]

When then-Governor Tom Corbett recommended Louis Freeh to conduct the investigation at Penn State, little did he know that the Freeh Report would provide key evidence that helped unveil Fina's email deception.
By

Ray Blehar

Parts 1 and 2 of the series identified critical facts and evidence (indicating misconduct) that surfaced after Frank Fina's "flip" strategy failed. Part 3 identifies the information contained in the Freeh Report that revealed Fina and Baldwin misrepresented evidence before the court.



CORBETT ENDORSED FREEH

Shortly after Penn State announced that it hired Louis Freeh, then-Governor Tom Corbett opined that Freeh was the right man for the job.

"And I think one of the reasons that someone like Mr. Freeh was appointed is because he understands the role of a grand jury investigation, the role of the prosecutors and will work well with the attorney general's office and Attorney General Linda Kelly so that [obstruction of the attorney general's investigation] does not happen."


Emails obtained by PSU alumnus Ryan Bagwell clearly show that Freeh's team and the prosecution worked together....but to say that Freeh and AG partnership would "work well" turned out to be wishful thinking.

Read more

Thank you Ray!

 

[didier]

a

I'm rather sure that Harmon knew Jerry had an issue.

Ray, do you believe Harmon altered the 1998 report...not just the "admistrative information" title but the time stamps and other discrepancies you had previously mentioned? Have you been able to have a handwriting analyst look at those signatures? Not having the originals may prevent an accurate diagnosis but I'm curious whether they seem legit.

 

[didier]

Agree, the signature on the last page is much different. I hadn't noticed that redaction on the upper left before, but it wasn't done well enough since you can still read it, which means it was done at a different time or with a different pen than all the other redactions on that page. One point of clarification, we don't know how many pages are missing from the body of the report. All we know for certain is there were an additional 2 pages in what was faxed on 3/23/2012.

View embedded media

Correct...and I'm curious why two pages weren't made public if they were faxed over. Why fax them at all?

Is it possible NBC got this from someone other than OAG...then ran it by OAG to make sure they could release it? And OAG said to take those two pages out perhaps? It's never been clear how NBC got this report.

 

[towny87]

Ray, if your on board, I have another question. I have been fascinated with the lack of attention given to Tom Harmon. In my mind. a career cop, who should have known about everyone's missteps on campus. Would you agree that it is likely that Schultz in fact informed him of the 2001 incident and assumed that he (Harmon) contacted CYS? How has Harmon escaped scrutiny. If he was informed and didn't follow up with "that agency" that investigated the first incident.....what was his motivation?

Problem with Curley and Schultz pretending to know "nothing" is you wouldn't have discussed "nothing" with the UPPD chief of police

Isn't it possible that if Curley and especially Schultz were a little more forthright with the 2010/2011 investigation the scrutiny due Harmon would have had a better chance to come to light

It is far more likely than not that Harmon was informed of Sandusky's Friday night before Schultz emailed him feb 12

Other than it just being the truth not sure how that helps PSU or the admins facing charges

 

[bjf1984]

Problem with Curley and Schultz pretending to know "nothing" is you wouldn't have discussed "nothing" with the UPPD chief of police

Isn't it possible that if Curley and especially Schultz were a little more forthright with the 2010/2011 investigation the scrutiny due Harmon would have had a better chance to come to light

It is far more likely than not that Harmon was informed of Sandusky's Friday night before Schultz emailed him feb 12

Other than it just being the truth not sure how that helps PSU or the admins facing charges

Well....ain't none of us going to see the truth unless/until there is a trial (and even then....chances are probably slim).
So...any discussion at this point is purely based on hypotheticals.

______________________________________

But, at the risk of "ringing the circle-jerker dinner bell":

If Harmon was indeed brought into the loop (and particularly if he was expected to report to the Child Welfare folks)....whatever life there may be in the whole "Slam Dunk" FTR/Conspiracy charges would be deader than the Wicked Witch of the West.

Again.....purely hypothetical at this point - and no point to getting any more involved in discussing it......unless and until we see some disclosure on just what evidence is out there.

 

[Aoshiro]

I do wonder why the state is so insistent on keeping Baldwin in this trial mess. Her testimony that I read was very 'blah' in that there was no smoking gun or really anything damning to CSS. The misrepresentation over being CSS's lawyer will kill them in front of a jury so I don't get why the state wants her so badly. I know the theory is for the judge to rule against her so the state can use it as an excuse to drop charges.......but it's just really odd.

The clock started ticking when Corbett's anointed successor (Freed) lost the election to Kane and they had to use whatever they could to indict Spanier, who was Corbett's intended target from the outset.

 

[marshall23]

If Harmon was informed, then Schultz/ Curley indeed reported the incident to law enforcement. What further responsibility would they have? If nothing came of the conversation with Harmon, they would have every reason to believe the incident was addressed by LE and "nothing more could be done." The perjury is pretty much Mike's version vs TC and GS....and MM is the Commonwealth's star, but hard to prove perjury in that instance. Conspiracy, of course that is why they told Mike, JM and Dr. to "clam up." No attempt to lay guilt to PSU administrators exonerates MM if indeed he saw what he has testified to.

 

[towny87]

Well....ain't none of us going to see the truth unless/until there is a trial (and even then....chances are probably slim).
So...any discussion at this point is purely based on hypotheticals.

______________________________________

But, at the risk of "ringing the circle-jerker dinner bell":

If Harmon was indeed brought into the loop (and particularly if he was expected to report to the Child Welfare folks)....whatever life there may be in the whole "Slam Dunk" FTR/Conspiracy charges would be deader than the Wicked Witch of the West.

Again.....purely hypothetical at this point - and no point to getting any more involved in discussing it......unless and until we see some disclosure on just what evidence is out there.

I agree - Curley doesn't have to worry about the FTR

In my opinion Curley not having to worry about FTR is exactly why he has to worry about perjury and obstruction - Just not going to be able to have it both ways........................

btw 2 of the 3 conspiracy charges have already been dropped there is only one conspiracy charge left - Conspiracy - Endangering Welfare Of Children

 

[marshall23]

This will never see trial. If it did....what prosecutor gets the short straw.......? "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury.....fifteen years ago....blah, blah blah.

 

[towny87]

If Harmon was informed, then Schultz/ Curley indeed reported the incident to law enforcement. What further responsibility would they have? If nothing came of the conversation with Harmon, they would have every reason to believe the incident was addressed by LE and "nothing more could be done." The perjury is pretty much Mike's version vs TC and GS....and MM is the Commonwealth's star, but hard to prove perjury in that instance. Conspiracy, of course that is why they told Mike, JM and Dr. to "clam up." No attempt to lay guilt to PSU administrators exonerates MM if indeed he saw what he has testified to.

You are misinformed on the perjury charges and not sure where you are getting the conspiracy nonsense from. It seems you are confusing the public narrative and the freeh report with the actual charges against the admins

there was a laundry list of statements provided to the defense regarding all of the different times the state is alleging perjury was committed. Only a very small part of the perjury charges relate to what MM specifically told Curley and Schultz