Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Spanier Fighting Heart Disease, Cancer, Depression On Way To Jail

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

The three top former Penn State officials that Judge John Boccabella just sent to jail so he could be tough on crime in a high-profile media case are in bad shape.

Former Penn State President Graham Spanier is 69 years old, and has had five operations in the past year, in addition to 35 radiation treatments for advanced prostate cancer. According to a sentencing memorandum prepared by Spanier's lawyers, Spanier is being evaluated for imminent open-heart cardiac valve replacement surgery. He's also being treated for high blood pressure, depression and anxiety.

Former Penn State VP Gary Schultz, 67, is the primary caretaker for his wife, Karen, his high school sweetheart, who has MS. Schultz also cares for his 86-year-old mother-in-law, who moved into Schultz's house in November, 2015. Both Schultz's wife and mother-in-law depend on Schultz's assistance to get through their daily lives, Schultz's lawyers stated in a sentencing memorandum ignored by the judge.

Former Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley, 63, suffers from "incurable lung cancer," his lawyer wrote. "Any term of incarceration would negatively impact his health, his ongoing treatment and continuity of health care and cause extreme hardship to himself and his family." In addition, Curley's cancer treatment "has caused liver damage making him susceptible to infection and illness," his lawyer wrote.

But in the interests of "justice," the show must go on. The Penn State trio must do jail time for misdemeanors, after seeing their careers torched, and their reputations destroyed.

According to the judge's rulings, Spanier must do two months in jail, followed by up to ten months of house arrest.

Schultz got two months behind bars and up to 21 months of home confinement.

Curley will do three months in jail followed by up to 21 months of house arrest.

The charade of the Penn State trio going off to prison for supposedly turning a blind eye to the suffering of the sainted "victims" of Jerry Sandusky must play out. So in this morality play staged by the prosecutors and judges, the media and public must see someone pay for the sins of Jerry Sandusky.

Even though Jerry's already doing up to 60 years in solitary confinement.

The official Penn State storyline, as promulgated by the media and the justice system, is like King Nebuchadnezzar's 90-foot tall golden statue in the Old Testament book of Daniel. Everyone must bow and worship before it. Or be thrown into the fiery media furnace, as well as jail.

As stated by the prosecutors and the judge in this case, the Penn State trio must also may for the sins of the  deniers of the official version of the truth. Bloggers and blasphemers like former PSU trustee Al Lord, who famously said he was  "running out of sympathy for 35 so-called victims with 7-digit net worth."

But anyone with a sane mind would have to see some gaping holes in the Penn State storyline we've been fed for the past seven years. Such as:

-- The entire 2011 grand jury report is built upon a lie, that Mike McQueary supposedly saw Jerry Sandusky in the Penn State showers engaged in an "anal rape" of a 10-year-old boy. Even McQueary wrote in an email to the prosecutors that it never happened, he never saw penetration, and that the prosecutors "twisted" his words.

-- Of the 24 original charges filed by the attorney general's office against the Penn State trio, the only three that stuck were three misdemeanor charges for endangering the welfare of a child. Charges that I've already explained were filed under an original 1972 state law that didn't even apply to the Penn State trio.

-- Many in Penn State nation seem to think that Jerry Sandusky was a master pedophile, and that the AG's office should have spent their time investigating Sandusky's Second Mile charity, instead of Penn State. A vocal minority believe that Sandusky was innocent, and that the prosecutors manufactured evidence against him. As well as victims.

Both sides should agree that Sandusky deserves a new trial, after the earlier farce that he was railroaded at. BigTrial has covered the incompetence of Sandusky's lawyer in an excerpt from a soon-to-be published book by journalist Mark Pendergrast.

-- If Jerry Sandusky was a pedophile, where's the evidence? The only pornography discovered in this case was on the computers of the prosecutors. Knowledgable law enforcement sources say they have never heard of a case of pedophilia not accompanied by large caches of pornography.

Also, after three years of investigating, the prosecutors had found only one so-called victim, Aaron Fisher. And this was a guy who initially said nothing ever happened with Jerry. Until he underwent six months of psychotherapy and many more skull sessions with investigators. I'm talking about two state troopers who admitted on a tape-recorded interview with another suspected victim that it took months for the cops to coax to a sex abuse story line out of Fisher.

-- The identity of the victim of one of the most infamous sex abuse crimes in history, the 10-year-old boy in the showers whose alleged anal rape by Jerry Sandusky was supposedly witnessed by McQueary, is "known only to God," the prosecutor said. After seven years of a full-blast, highly publicized media scandal? It makes no sense. Especially to the guy doing 60 years in jail.

It was the marquee crime in the state attorney general's indictment of Sandusky, and the prosecutors were unable to produce a victim. That says a lot.

If Sandusky gets a new trial, maybe some of these issues will finally be investigated. But don't expect the mainstream media to show any interest in digging for the truth. They already have their official story line.

Meanwhile, those sentencing memorandums detail the pain and suffering that the official scapegoats of the Penn State scandal have already been subjected to.

"Dr. Spanier has become the subject of public debate, incessant and vitriolic media commentary [both traditional and 'social' media] and endless ridicule and scorn," wrote lawyers Samuel W. Silver and Bruce P. Merenstein.

"Dr. Spanier has already suffered severely through public shaming, loss of employment and significant repetitional harm," his lawyers wrote. "He is almost 70 years old and in worsening health."

In the sentencing memorandum, a doctor detailed those health problems, both mental and physical.

"Due to the chronic psychological stress from prolonged legal issues, as well as the chronic burden of severe medical problems, Dr. Spanier was diagnosed with major depression and anxiety," wrote Dr. Michael P. Flanagan,  the Professor and Vice-Chair of Family and Community Medicine at Penn State's College of Medicine.


 "In addition to his cardiac and prostate cancer medications, as well as extensive radiation therapy, Dr. Spanier has been prescribed three medications to treat underlying reactive depression and associated anxiety," Flanagan wrote.

In an unsuccessful effort to keep Spanier out of jail, his lawyers detailed Spanier's extraordinary accomplishments and many good deeds.

In 2005, Spanier was asked by FBI Director Robert Mueller and CIA Director Porter Goss to take the "lead role in national security matters pertaining to higher education," his lawyers wrote.

In the sentencing memorandum, Tom Mahlik, former NCIS Deputy Assistant Director, told of Spanier's receipt of the Warren Medal.

"During the ceremony, it was said that 'No American has done more since 9/11 to bring the CIA and FBI closer together in a collaborative working relationship," Mahlik wrote. "Graham is courageous . . . Graham is transparent . . . Graham is trustworthy."

John R. Sipher, former member of the Clandestine Service of the CIA, described Spanier as "a man of integrity," a "patriot and a concerned citizen" who wasn't paid for his services to the intelligence community.

Steven L. Soboroff, a childhood friend of Spanier's, and the commissioner of the Los Angeles Police Department, described Spanier as a man of "truthfulness" and "unwavering integrity."

In the sentencing memorandum, Spanier's lawyers also documented their client's good deeds. Such as Spanier and his wife have donating almost $2 million to Penn State. The couple also has been honored for raising more than $700,000 for the Penn State Renaissance Fund scholarship endowment.

In Schultz's sentencing memorandum, Thomas J. Farrell and Emily C. McNally, Schultz's lawyers, included a handwritten note from Schultz's wife, Karen.

"My MS requires someone to be available in times of lack of strength and stability," she wrote. "I hope you understand how important Gary is to me and my well being."

In Tim Curley's sentencing memorandum, his lawyer, Caroline M. Roberto, tried to explain Curley's memory lapses on the witness stand, which drew the ire of prosecutors.

"The Commonwealth asserts that the astonishing forgetfulness that Curley demonstrated during his testimony . . . was simply not credible," the AG wrote. The AG states that Curley's forgetfulness "was designed to protect those who deserved to share blame with Curley for the decisions that led to the colossal failure to protect children from Sandusky."

His lawyer, however, stated that Curley "testified consistently with his proffered testimony and answered all questions to the best of his ability. Only once did he appear to misunderstand a question and immediately corrected his answer to conform with his prior statement."

Roberto, in her sentencing memorandum, included testimony from a witness who talked about a time before his cancer treatments, when Curley's memory was so good he knew all 26 members of the men's soccer team by name, as well as the names of every coach at Penn State.

"I had never seen anything like this," wrote Sandra Rogus. "He was doing this with every coach in every sport." Curley, Rugus wrote, "cared deeply about supporting every coach."

In Curley's sentencing memorandum, his lawyer wrote about the "pain" and "deep and substantial punishment" already inflicted upon Curley during a "media firestorm."

"Mr. Curley was subjected to epic international shaming and humiliation through relentless media frenzy that went on for years through the Sandusky trial and the publication of the dubious and frequently discredited Freeh Report," Roberto wrote.

"As well as the dubious and eventually vacated NCAA sanctions against Penn State," Roberto wrote. "Such public shaming of a man revered by so many who was at the peak of his job performance must be taken into account when determining a fair sentence to impose."

But Judge Boccabella ignored such pleas.

Sorry, Mr. Curley, Mr. Schultz and Mr. Spanier, the judge said.

We don't care about your health problems or the hell you've already been through.

Because in the Penn State scandal, the show must go on.

18 comments

  1. Is the transcript of the Curley and Schultz's testimony during the Spanier trial available online somewhere? I've seen several allusions to it in the past few weeks, but I can't find a copy anywhere.

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    1. Let me give you a little hint here about things that you see on line and then they are gone. I've been working this case from the start and have found that this disappear off line or are changed as per the wording. When you see things make a hard copy ( print it out). The OAG's office take things off line like have told him JS hearings. More of thier corruption.

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    2. The Dauphin County Court system is seemingly milking the trial transcripts by charging for print copies. They have over a hundred other motions in the Spanier case available free online including the memoranda detailing the defendants health problems.

      http://www.dauphincounty.org/government/Court-Departments/Curley-Schultz-Spanier/Pages/Spanier.aspx

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  2. I believe the corruption that prevails in the Pennsylvania courts, working in tandem with the PA media, has actually finally stripped these two institutions of their humanity.

    Where is common decency in this state anymore? Because the worst Governor in PA history, Tom Corbett, bears false witness against these men and the University, these spineless sycophants, Laura Ditka, Judge Boccabella, and Josh Shapiro continue on with the false accusations? All I can say is these three "authorities" must put themselves and their lies above God Almighty himself.

    Innocent men of this age, and with these health conditions and dependents, should not be given jail time for first-offense misdemeanor charges. This is simply inhumane and barbaric and should not occur anywhere in America.

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  3. Maybe what has happened is that over time mainstream media has given up and found it's just easier and safer to go with what the prosecution is alleging. Having a difference of opinion can be dangerous, disagreeing with a prosecutor can lead to an indictment and jail time or threats of both. Why is it be that very few reporters ask any questions of them, how is it that the prosecution is always right and defendants are always wrong.

    The public does not care to stand up for the same reasons, they fear the prosecutors as they have the final word over someone life. We are not a free country, we have had our rights eroded daily by a media that cares so little for defendant's lives.

    My theory for why the media is so damaging to its fellow citizens, shaming them and ruining a lifetime of accomplishments, is because they are taking directives from the prosecution.

    No supposedly unbiased reporter should treat other Americans the way prosecutors do unless there is something in it for them, such as future stories or exclusive advances on raids or upcoming indictments.

    Being on the world's stage and having a respected news outlet condemn and dismember a lifetime's work is truly the ultimate betrayal, feeding the masses with one embarrassing lie after another all to satisfy the prosecution and stay afloat by selling papers.

    Who deserves our respect ,prosecutors that invent crimes for their own career advancement or the mainstream media that spreads the sewage. Who has our best interests at heart the prosecution, the media or those that want to see destruction and humilation of humans for sport.

    Lead the way mainstream media, show us compassion and truth, not the hatred and lies the prosecution has been feeding us for too long.

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    1. I don't know about a reporter receiving threats of indictment or jail for disagreeing with a prosecutor. The reporter might not get called on to ask questions at a prosecutor press conference or the prosecutor's office might complain to the reporter's boss.

      I think most of it is probably just laziness. It's much easier to just write a story based on the prosecutor's press release or grand jury indictment rather than do research yourself.

      As an example, the 2001 shower incident witnessed by Mike McQueary was the day after PSU wide receivers coach, Kenny Jackson, announced he was leaving to coach for the Steelers. Yet McQueary didn't associate the two even though he got Jackson's job in 2004? Also that week was National Signing Day yet McQueary didn't associate that with the shower incident either.

      No reporter ever wrote a story on that. No defense lawyer ever questioned Mike McQueary on that. McQueary even testified that the first thing Paterno said to him the day after the shower incident was that he didn't have a job for Mike. No defense lawyer asked why Paterno would say that. No reporter asked that either.

      It seems very likely that Paterno thought Mike McQueary phoned him to ask for the suddenly vacant wide receivers position.


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  4. Love u Ralph . But I have to disagree with you . These guys all need to go away and paterno was number one enabler . He died from guilt .

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    1. Really, now? How many pedophiles do you know that were vetted multiple times by Child Welfare agencies for the adopting of 5 children and placement of 7 foster children? It is a really rigorous process. The investigators found nothing negative, the caseworkers found nothing, the Minister at St. Paul's saw nothing inappropriate. So somehow Graham Spanier is supposed to devine that JS is a pedophile based upon a report of him showering with a 14 year old boy after a weightroom workout? Nice logic! That they reported their concerns to Jack Raycovitz who had custodial care of Second Mile children and controlled JS's access to children apparently doesn't seem the correct thing to do, even though it is exactly what people are told to do in these circumstances. In the military, it is chain of command and reporting to the responsible person. Shapiro and his cabal suborned perjury from V5. Multiple people have testified that they never saw JS with a child on campus after 2001. He said he was abused in the Lasch building in August (during preseason practice), a provable lie given the security that Paterno had in place. No unauthorized personnel, and certainly not JS or a teenager.

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    2. Guess that you are afraid to show your name!

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  5. Shapiro is coveting his ass as he does not want to rock the boat. He does not care about the three administrators and their health problems only his ascent as State Attorney General. My theory about the whole case is panic over protecting the children. A similar thing is happening to women teachers having a consensual relationship with mature high school boys. If caught, they go to jail with careers, marriage and shared custody of children lost. What they did was wrong and the prosecutors are prosecuting them based on evidence discovered unlike the OAG's prosecution of the three administrators.

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    1. James,
      Although you seem to give this Spanier miscarriage of justice some thoughtful consideration, I disagree with comparing it to a lustful teacher betraying the trust of the parents and children. I think what you speak of are singular incidents that are not linked. But they are hyped in the dirty mainstream media as clickbait "porn" that makes them more dirty money. And there's the whole other likelihood that some of these teacher/student sex stories are fake news incidents being created by the corrupt MSM to sell "news".

      But Josh Shapiro is part of something nefarious that is much bigger than himself. In a nutshell, it's corruption in our state and federal government. This corruption has protected child sex abuse on an institutional level. And the "panic" as you put it is not over protecting the children at all. In fact, it's exactly the opposite. The panic is over protecting the corrupt players that are part of this disguised sexual abuse of our children within these so-called child protection agencies.

      Think about it James-----Governor Wolf, Josh Shapiro, Laura Ditka, and Judge Boccabella won't even say the words, "Second Mile". When asked about this agency that Sandusky started, these dirty officials won't even respond! So what are we, the public, supposed to glean from this attempt to pretend the Second Mile didn't exist? After all, it was the place where Sandusky for sure, and probably many others, were picking out boys to abuse. But Shapiro, Ditka, Boccabella and Governor Wolf all agree with Bruce Beemer---keep shredding those Second Mile documents and don't talk about it!

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  6. The only victims in this saga are the kids who were abused. With great power comes great responsibility. The Paterno 3 had great power and looked the other way. They are to blame for their own misfortune and no one else.

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    1. To Anonymous:

      Actually, there are now two sagas. You are correct in saying the only victims are the children. But that would be in the first saga only. Jerry Sandusky, the founder of The Second Mile found and abused kids through his organization while the Director, Jack Raykovitz looked the other way. Tom Corbett, with a rape lie, created a second saga to shift blame from himself and The Second Mile to Joe Paterno and Spanier. And the victims of that saga are the 3 innocent men that have now been jailed for the crimes of Tom Corbett, and Jack Raykovitz.

      Corbett as the PA Attorney General for two terms and finishing Ernie Preate's term( a total of about 10 years)had many complaints on file about Sandusky going back to at least the early 90s. So, the Att. Gen. of PA has files on Sanduksy for 10 years and does nothing about it until all the damage had already been done. This damn sure is not a Penn State sports issue, this is obviously a corrupt OAG facilitating child abuse within The Second Mile.

      Shhhhh---Josh Shapiro says don't talk about this!

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    2. Reporting their concerns to the person who had custodial care of Second Mile and control of JS's access to children is hardly looking the other way. Is your name Raycovitz, Fina, Klein, Shubin, or Ganim??

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    3. Nothing reportable was given to the Second Mile. Testimony of Curley and Raycovitz shows that. The "report" was watered down so that TSM would not report it. Meanwhile kids were abused. It was a coverup.

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  7. Boccabella was a participant in the V5 Hoax. He had to know of the Not Guilty verdict in the JS trial, he had to know of V5's constantly changing story, he should have known of testimony that JS was never seen on campus after 3/2001 with a child. He should have known that JS and a teenager would never be allowed near the Lasch Building during preseason practice (8/2001). V5's story is a provable lie. The theatrics that went into V5's testimony would have caused a mistrial in most other states. Unacceptably prejudicial. Boccabella committed a crime. Suborning perjury and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

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  8. Gregory Vernon is right. Nothing illustrates the prejudice of this case more than this final sentencing of three honorable men for a bogus charge merely to pose as a moralist. Boccabella abandoned law when he decided to be King instead. The three men should have stood up for Jerry who they knew in their hearts was innocent. Instead they went along with the attorneys who thought telling the truth would make them appear more guilty. Also they caved in to the joke that there was an unknown victim 2 in spite of never having been told of it in 2001. For their lack of courage they probably deserve some punishment...but not for endangering children which they absolutely did not.

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    1. Agreed. Criticizing a dead Paterno from the bench was also highly unprofessional by Boccabella.

      Putting a retired judge like Boccabella on a high profile case like this was very inappropriate. He is not answerable to the voters so has license to violate the law.

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