Penn State Hit With NCAA's Punitive Hammer & Paterno's Statue Comes Down (Mitigating Lawsuit Damages)

NCAA gives Penn State 'stark wake-up call' with $60 million fine

Saying it is "a stark wake-up call to everyone involved in college sports," the National Collegiate Athletic Association announced a $60 million fine against Penn State University on Monday and took away 14 seasons of football victories from the late Joe Paterno.

The school was also banned from the postseason for four years and will lose 20 football scholarships a year for four seasons, NCAA President Mark Emmert said.

Emmert said the unprecedented fine will be paid over five years to fund programs that serve the victims of child sexual abuse.

The Big Ten Conference also acted Monday, ruling that Penn State is ineligible for its conference title football game and that the Nittany Lions' share of bowl revenues for the next four seasons -- approximately $13 million -- will be donated to charities that "protect children."

The NCAA's punishments are part of the continued fallout from the child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted in late June of 45 of the 48 counts he faced involving 10 young victims.

Read more: Penn State board member resigns over Sandusky scandal

The punishments follow an independent investigation led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, whose report held four top Penn State officials, including Paterno, responsible for failing to stop the abuse. That failure began in 1998, according to the report.

"The corrective and punitive measures the executive committee and the Division I board of directors have authorized should serve as a stark wake-up call to everyone in college sports," said Ed Ray, chairman of the NCAA's executive committee.

Penn State President Rodney Erickson said in a written statement that the university has accepted the NCAA decision and will not appeal.

"It is important to know we are entering a new chapter at Penn State and making necessary changes," he said. "We must create a culture in which people are not afraid to speak up, management is not compartmentalized, all are expected to demonstrate the highest ethical standards, and the operating philosophy is open, collegial, and collaborative."

Paterno, who coached at Penn State for 46 years, had been the all-time leader in major college football victories for a coach, with 409 wins. The NCAA's decision strikes 111 of those from his record, beginning in 1998.

"The NCAA has now become the latest party to accept the [Freeh] report as the final word on the Sandusky scandal," the Paterno family said in a statement Monday. "The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best."

The penalties are a major blow to one of college football's traditional powers, even though the two-time national champions avoided a suspension of at least one year. The postseason ban, which is also unprecedented, could damage the school's prestige in the eyes of potential recruits and will also affect the program's bottom line through the loss of potential millions from the conference title and bowl games.

A recent university study said the football program had a $161.5 million impact on Pennsylvania in 2009. The football team made a $53.2 million profit in 2010, according to CNN Money. The school made $24 million more through general merchandise sales, CNN Money reported.

"One of the grave dangers stemming from our love of sports is that the sports themselves can become too big to fail, indeed, too big to even challenge," Emmert said. "The result can be an erosion of academic values that are replaced by the value of hero worship and winning at all cost."

The penalties also deal an emotional blow to the Penn State community, one fan said.

"By essentially taking away the main pillar of the university, you are almost pulling the university down," former student Ujas Patel told CNN. What really hurts, he said, is taking wins away from Paterno, known affectionately by fans as JoePa.

"Anybody who's gone to Penn State, that's something that really is going to bother people," he said.

A lawyer for one of Sandusky's victims said the NCAA should have heard from his client and others who were abused.

"Throughout the past several weeks, PSU and the NCAA have imposed sanctions and taken what they perceive to be corrective measures," said Ben Andreozzi, attorney for the person identified as Victim No. 4 in the Sandusky case. "I am disappointed that no effort was made to consult the victims in this case to ensure that their voices were heard in this process. After all, they are the ones who were victimized, not the NCAA or PSU. "

Emmert said current players will be allowed to transfer to other schools without having to sit out a year, as is normally required, or they can stay and keep their grants, even if they don't play football. The restrictions mean that starting in 2014, the school cannot have more than 65 players on scholarship, and it can offer only 15 new scholarships each year for four years, beginning with next year's incoming recruits.

"I knew when I accepted the position that there would be tough times ahead," new coach Bill O'Brien said in a written statement. "But I am committed for the long term to Penn State and our student athletes."

On social media, some players wrote they would return next season as a team with a mission.

"PSU vs The World - Day 1 - ," tweeted tight end Garry Gilliam.

On Sunday, the 900-pound bronze statue of Paterno was removed from its place outside the 107,000-seat football stadium. Erickson issued a statement saying the statue is being stored in a "secure location." Another tribute to Paterno -- the university library that bears his name -- will remain as it is, Erickson said.

The statue was removed exactly six months after Paterno died of lung cancer. He died less than three months after he coached his last game. Under Paterno's tenure as head coach, the Nittany Lions went undefeated five times and finished in the top 25 national rankings 35 times.

The Freeh report found that several Penn State officials concealed evidence that Sandusky had sexually abused minors. Freeh concluded that Paterno could have prevented further sexual abuse had he taken action.

Sandusky is expected to be sentenced in September. His legal team has said it will appeal the convictions.

Two former university administrators are awaiting trial for their role in the scandal, and more charges are possible as the state's attorney general investigates what Penn State may have known about Sandusky's behavior.


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Paterno Conspired With Penn State To Cover Up Sandusky's Child Sex Abuse Crimes: E-mails Suggest Cover Up Conspiracy

E-Mails Suggest Paterno Role in Silence on Sandusky

Joe Paterno appears to have played a greater role than previously known in Penn State’s handling of a 2001 report that Jerry Sandusky had sexually assaulted a boy in a university shower, according to a person with knowledge of aspects of an independent investigation of the Sandusky scandal.

E-mail correspondence among senior Penn State officials suggests that Paterno influenced the university’s decision not to formally report the accusation against Sandusky to the child welfare authorities, the person said.

The university’s failure to alert the police or child welfare authorities in 2001 has been an issue at the center of the explosive scandal — having led to criminal charges against two senior administrators and the firing of Paterno last fall.

The university’s much maligned handling of the 2001 assault began when Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant in Paterno’s football program, told Paterno that he had seen Sandusky assaulting a boy of about 10 in the football building showers. McQueary has testified several times that he made clear to Paterno, and later to university officials, that what he had seen Sandusky doing to the child was terrible and explicitly sexual in nature.

To date, the public understanding of Paterno’s subsequent actions has been that he relayed McQueary’s account to the university’s athletic director and then had no further involvement in the matter.

But the e-mails uncovered by investigators working for Louis J. Freeh, the former F.B.I. director leading an independent investigation ordered by the university’s board of trustees, suggest that the question of what to do about McQueary’s report was extensively debated by university officials. Those officials, the e-mails show, included the university’s president, Graham B. Spanier; the athletic director, Tim Curley; the official in charge of the campus police, Gary Schultz; and Paterno.

The existence of the e-mail correspondence was first reported by CNN. The person familiar with aspects of the Freeh investigation was not identified because the investigation is continuing and no one is authorized to speak about it.

The Penn State e-mails, according to the person with knowledge of the Freeh investigation, indicate that Spanier, Curley and Schultz seemed at one point to favor reporting the assault to the state child welfare authorities, recognizing that if they did not, they could later be vulnerable to charges that they had failed to act.

But in one e-mail, Curley wrote that after talking to Paterno, he no longer wanted to go forward with that plan.

In the end, the university told no one other than officials with Second Mile, the charity for disadvantaged youngsters founded by Sandusky.

The e-mails suggest that the officials decided that Sandusky could be dealt with by barring him from taking children onto the campus and encouraging him to seek professional help.

Not reporting the accusation to the authorities, the men determined, was the more “humane” way to deal with Sandusky, according to the e-mails.

Curley and Schultz were indicted last fall on charges of failing to report the assault to the police and child welfare authorities, and then lying about their conduct under oath before a grand jury. Curley and Schultz, through their lawyers, have insisted that they were never told of the graphic nature of the assault in the showers, saying they were under the impression that it had amounted to little more than “horsing around.”

Lawyers for Curley and Schultz, contacted about the e-mails, issued a statement saying in part: “For Curley, Schultz, Spanier and Paterno, the responsible and ‘humane’ thing to do” in 2001 “was to carefully and responsibly assess the best way to handle vague but troubling allegations. Faced with tough situations, good people try to do their best to make the right decisions.”

Spanier, who resigned as Penn State’s president in November, declined to comment when reached by phone on Saturday.

Paterno died of lung cancer in January. When reached by phone Saturday, his son Jay Paterno deferred comment to the family’s spokesman, Dan McGinn.

McGinn said there was no evidence that Joe Paterno interfered with any investigation and that the e-mails could be interpreted in various ways. “If Joe Paterno wanted to interfere, why did he report the incident immediately” to university officials? McGinn said, adding that he was disturbed by what he called the “selective leaking” of the e-mails. “You are only seeing a piece of the puzzle,” he said.

Wick Sollers, a lawyer for the Paterno family, said in a statement: “To be clear, the e-mails in question did not originate with Joe Paterno or go to him, as he never personally utilized e-mail.

“From the beginning, Joe Paterno warned against a rush to judgment in this case. Coach Paterno testified truthfully, to the best of his recollection, in the one brief appearance he made before the grand jury. As he testified, when informed of an incident involving Jerry Sandusky in 2001, Coach Paterno followed university procedures and promptly and fully informed his superiors. He believed the matter would be thoroughly and professionally investigated.”

The e-mails have been turned over to the state attorney general’s office. That office, which began its investigation of Sandusky years ago, successfully prosecuted him. He was convicted June 22 by a jury in Bellefonte, Pa., of 45 counts of sexually abusing boys, including rape and sodomy. Sandusky was convicted of several counts involving the child attacked in the football building showers in 2001.

If accurate, the recently uncovered e-mail correspondence could further damage Paterno’s reputation and legacy. When he was fired, the university’s board of trustees said that his failure to act more aggressively after learning of the attack amounted to a failure of leadership. But if Paterno played a role in the decision not to report the attack to the child welfare authorities, his failure of leadership would seem more grave.

When they testified before the grand jury, none of the four men — Spanier, Curley, Schultz and Paterno — detailed internal discussions about what to do with Sandusky. Certainly, none of the men spoke of any involvement by Paterno beyond his initial report to Curley.

Freeh’s investigation, begun last fall, is expected to be the most thorough examination of the university’s dealings with Sandusky, including the question of whether there was a cover-up involving the 2001 accusations.

To that end, Freeh’s investigation has identified previously undisclosed billing records showing that officials of the university, when deciding what to do in 2001, consulted with the law firm that served as its outside counsel on their legal obligation to report the assault, the person familiar with the inquiry said. It is unclear from the billing records whether the officials disclosed the nature of the accusations against Sandusky or simply made a general inquiry. Several hours were billed, beginning on a Sunday night, the person said. The lawyer who represented the university at the time did not return a phone call requesting comment.

Freeh’s investigators are also exploring the circumstances surrounding Paterno’s decision to eventually hire McQueary as an assistant, the person familiar with the investigation said. McQueary, a former quarterback for Paterno at Penn State, has testified under oath that when he first contacted Paterno to inform him of what he had seen in the showers, Paterno assumed he was calling to ask for a job, and that Paterno brusquely told him he would not be hired.

McQueary was ultimately hired over another, more experienced candidate, and investigators are curious about whether that development came as a consequence of what he told Paterno that morning in 2001.

It is not clear when Freeh’s investigation is expected to be made public.



Emails show Paterno legacy, Penn State officials should face reckoning

Joe Paterno's statue has to come down. That's clear today, now that CNN has released emails that bury Paterno and his Penn State cronies with their own dirty words.

Paterno's statue outside Beaver Stadium has to come down, because otherwise Penn State would be celebrating a man who helped talk school officials into leaving Jerry Sandusky alone in 2001, letting an alleged pedophile escape detection for another decade, giving that alleged pedophile -- and it's not "alleged" anymore -- unfettered access to campus for another decade.

After the statue comes down, then what? Well, then his statue would be disposed of, possibly melted down into prison bars -- maybe the bars that will hold Sandusky. Or maybe someone could just toss Paterno's statue into a landfill, throw it away as easily as Paterno and his underlings threw away the lives of so many boys in their community.

But that's not the only thing on my wish list after reading the poisonous details of the CNN story. After someone disposes of Paterno's statue, and I mean in the next few days, prosecutors need to pursue jail time for former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz, who face perjury charges stemming from a 2001 grand jury appearance where they denied knowing about Sandusky's behavior.

That looks to be an outright lie. The CNN story seems to prove that, and not with words from prosecutors or police or unnamed sources. CNN has words it says came from Tim Curley and former Penn State president Graham Spanier.

As for Spanier, well, prison doesn't look possible for him. He hasn't been charged with perjury, and I'm not sure the immoral negligence and the despicable cowardice he showed a decade ago are crimes. So if Spanier can't spend time in prison, fine.

He can pay another way.

The civil suits are coming, and they probably will name Spanier along with Curley, Schultz, Paterno's estate and of course Penn State itself. Everyone should pay, but the first check must be written by Graham Spanier. It needs to have a one, followed by a lot of zeroes before he even thinks about writing the decimal. A million dollars? That's a start, but how much does he have? Sell his house. Raid his 401(k). Take the damn dentures out of his mouth and hawk them on eBay.

If that affects the next generation of Spaniers, denying them of the inheritance that would have been theirs, so be it.

Think of what Graham Spanier helped to deny the next generation of State College young men, 10 or more who were abused by Sandusky. Officially the count is 10, but few believe that's where the actual number lies. When it comes to serial offenders like Sandusky, the actual number is never as small as the one that comes out in court. For starters, that poor little boy in the shower in 2001? The kid that former Penn State assistant Mike McQueary said he saw being raped by Sandusky? That kid wasn't one of the 10 reported victims in the case that ended last week with Sandusky's conviction. Prosecutors never found that kid.

Penn State officials never even looked for him, even though they knew he existed in 2001.

They were too busy protecting themselves.

That CNN story is bad, people. It's so bad, I'm writing about this scandal again, for the third time in a week, and I didn't want to do it. I don't want to write it, you don't want to read it, most of us just want to do what those 10 victims and their families will never be able to do -- move on.

But how can we move on? Did you see what Paterno and his cronies did? Did you see what some of them wrote?

CNN found emails between Curley, Spanier and Schultz -- weeks after McQueary reported seeing that rape in 2001 -- that showed the Penn State officials deciding to do the right thing: They would confront Sandusky, they would speak with the folks at his Second Mile grooming grounds, and most importantly they would report the incident to the Department of Welfare.

If there was anything to stop in March 2001, by God, that would have stopped it.

But then they changed their mind. Why?

Because Joe Paterno got involved.

CNN found an email from Curley that said: "After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe [Paterno] yesterday, I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps. I am having trouble with going to everyone, but the person involved."

In other words, Curley still wanted to confront Sandusky, Paterno's longtime defensive coordinator. But call Second Mile to warn them Sandusky was using the charity to groom potential victims? Call child welfare officials to tell them of the predator in their midst?

Curley didn't want to do that. Not after "talking it over with Joe."

And Spanier, gutless cretin that he is, signed off on the new plan.

"I am supportive," Spanier wrote in an email obtained by CNN. "The only downside for us if the message isn't heard and acted upon, and then we become vulnerable for not having reported it."

Read that again.

The only downside for us if the message isn't heard and acted upon is that we become vulnerable for not having reported it.

Never mind the downside of another boy -- or 10 more boys -- being molested by a pedophile. That wasn't the downside that scared Spanier. What scared Spanier? That Penn State, and Penn State officials, would be "vulnerable."

This isn't Penn State now, but that was Penn State then. And that was so bad, it hurts. Do you have bile in the back of your throat as you read this? I do, as I write it. Men should go to jail for what happened in 2001, and not only Sandusky. Curley and Schultz do not deserve their freedom. Spanier does not deserve whatever happiness his money can buy.

Joe Paterno does not deserve a statue. Or his reputation as a good man.

The mask has been almost fully lifted, and I say "almost" because who knows? Maybe it gets worse.

Maybe it's bad enough. Maybe enough's enough. Time for the gloves to come all the way off. Time for the men in charge of Penn State -- living and dead -- to face their day of reckoning for the monster they let roam free in 2001.


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Penn State Must Now Pay Damages To Victims For Cover Up Conspiracy: GUILTY!

PAY UP PENN STATE!!!

After the recent Convictions of Jerry Sandusky and Roman Catholic Church Monsignor William J. Lynn, one thing is absolutely clear about the State of Pennsylvania.

The State cares Very Little about the Well being of Low Income Children, especially BLACK Low Income Children.

And that Powerful, Wealthy, Entitled WHITE Men who reside in Pennsylvania have been Afforded the Luxury of Sexually Abusing Low Income Children without Criminal Consequences for Decades.

I don't care what anyone else says if Pres. Obama were NOT in Office, Penn. State would NOT be facing a Major Civil Lawsuit for Protecting Sandusky.

Sandusky would NOT be facing LIFE in prison for Child Sex Abuse.

Monsignor William J. Lynn would NEVER have been Convicted of Child Endangerment due to his Cover Up of a Catholic Church Child Sex Abuse Ring.

Such recent examples of Justice for Children is another reason why the GOP is trying to Destroy Eric Holder and get him FIRED.









Victim No. 6: Violation and vindication

His heart pounded under his striped, maroon polo shirt as the one they call Alleged Victim No. 6 waited in a packed courtroom Friday night to hear the verdicts in the Jerry Sandusky child molestation case.

He is 25 now, lean and broad shouldered with short brown hair and big dark eyes. For years, he struggled with the fact that Sandusky, a local football hero, crossed the line with him in a locker room shower in 1998.

No. 6 was the only one of the accusers, the so-called "Sandusky 8," to come to court for the verdicts. He chewed gum with intensity, his jaws clenching and releasing as Sandusky, looking wan and bent in a brown sports jacket, lumbered into the courtroom shortly before 10 p.m.

The jurors took their seats, looking tired and sad. One woman appeared to be crying.

The young man's mother locked fingers with him with one hand, placed the other over his forearm and her head on his shoulder. She started to cry. Soon, they would hear whether there would be justice.

Count One: Guilty of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with Victim No. 1.

No. 6 smiled.

Count Two: Guilty again, of the same charge.

No. 6 nodded, and his smile grew broader.

Count Three: Guilty of indecent assault.

And so it went. Sandusky was convicted of 45 of 48 counts against him. They covered the gamut of child molestation -- everything from oral and anal sex to corrupting the morals of 10 boys over 15 years.

As the guilty verdicts tolled, a spectrum of emotions crossed the young man's face. He closed his eyes for a while, as if deep in prayer. He leaned forward when the jury foreman finally came to Counts 28, 29, 30 and 31, the ones that involved him.

"Not guilty," the foreman said for the first count, indecent assault, and No. 6 blinked with surprise.

But then, it was nothing but "guilty, guilty, guilty" -- of unlawful contact with minors, corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children.

His chest heaved, and No. 6 wiped tears from his eyes. His mother patted him on the shoulder. She looked at the jurors and mouthed the words, "Thank you."

And then, they both broke down and cried, clinging to each other as they have since May 3, 1993, the day Jerry Sandusky, then Penn State's defensive coordinator, took him into the football team's locker room showers and soaped him up.

"I don't think anybody really won," his mother said as Pennsylvania state troopers, prosecutors and agents with the state attorney general's office filed by to offer congratulations.

"I thought I'd be happy," she said, "but there's no joy. We all lost."

Lead prosecutor Joseph E. McGettigan II leaned over, said something in her son's ear and shook his hand. As if on cue, a loud cheer erupted in the square outside the courthouse. No. 6 glanced back, and then turned his head and smiled some more before collapsing into a sobbing group hug with his mother and sisters.

'I just rolled with it'

On June 14, a Thursday, he finally got to tell his story to a jury:

When he was 11 years old, No. 6 was the ultimate Penn State football fan. He met Jerry Sandusky at the charity Sandusky founded for at-risk kids, The Second Mile. He was thrilled when Sandusky paid him a little attention, asked him to come work out.

Sandusky picked him up in his car. The coach chatted with his mother for a bit about Penn State football, and then he got into the car with him.

Suddenly, there was a hand on his leg. According to prosecutors, that was Sandusky's opening gambit with the boys he molested. It was as if he was testing their tolerance for his touch.

"He reached over and put his hand next to my knee," No. 6 said. "I remember feeling that it was a little odd."

He pulled his leg away, but remembers, "I just rolled with it." After all, it was Jerry Sandusky.

At the team's locker room, he was allowed to try on the players' uniforms, their shoulder pads and their helmets. He peeked inside Joe Paterno's office and was given a pair of socks.

"I was thrilled with that," he said.

They played "Polish bowling," rolling a ball of sports tape on a hallway floor. Then, he recalled, Sandusky showed him some wrestling moves. He said it made him feel uncomfortable, but he didn't protest.

"It was Jerry Sandusky," and he didn't want to make him mad, he said.

They worked out for 15, maybe 20 minutes, and No. 6 learned how to use the weight machines.

"I remember him saying. 'It's time to shower,'" No. 6 recalled, "and I wasn't even sweating yet." Again, he felt uncomfortable because only his parents had seen him naked.

Sandusky stepped under a shower, and turned on the one next to him, warming it up for the boy. He told jokes to loosen him up, calling himself "the Tickle Monster" and tickled him under the arms, and on the chest and abdomen.

The coach grabbed him from behind, in a bear hug, and said, "I'm going to squeeze your guts out."

By now, he recalled, he was getting "pretty grossed out."

He explained, "I remember seeing his chest hair right next to my face and thinking, 'This is icky.'"

Sandusky soaped him up and lifted him under the showerhead.

No. 6 said his memory went blank after that. "I don't even remember being put down," he said. "I got home somehow, and everything else just blacked out."

His mother saw his wet hair, and he told her he'd taken a shower. He went into his room and closed the door, he said. She followed him a few minutes later and "I told her bits and pieces. It really wasn't a big deal to me."

He added, "I didn't want to get him in trouble. I still wanted to hang out with him and go to the games. He told me he had a computer and he would invite me over, and I could sit on his lap and play with the computer. And I still wanted to do that."

He never did spend time alone with Sandusky.

His mother called the authorities, and Detective Ronald Schreffler investigated for the Penn State campus police. While he was being questioned, No. 6 recalled, "I felt I did something wrong. ... I was a very small kid then."

Schreffler and the boy's mother set a trap. She confronted Sandusky and allowed authorities to record the conversation. She tried to make him promise not to take showers with young boys. He wouldn't agree, and so she told him he couldn't spend time alone with her son anymore.

According to testimony, Sandusky responded: "I understand. I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness. I know I won't get it from you. I wish I were dead."

Schreffler testified that he felt charges should be filed, but Roy Gricar, the Centre County district attorney at the time, disagreed. Gricar later disappeared, and he was declared legally dead last year.

No. 6 said he continued to occasionally see Sandusky over the years, but was never again alone with him. He sent Thanksgiving and Father's Day cards. He had lunch on campus last year with Sandusky and his wife, Dottie.

In January 2011, the police came knocking again. By this time, he was studying at a Bible college in Colorado. He agreed to cooperate.

He thought about what happened so many years ago, things he had banished from his mind.

By this time, he said, his perception of what happened had changed.

"I saw it was inappropriate," he said. "I feel violated."

And now with a jury agreeing that what happened to him in the showers at Penn State was wrong, perhaps vindicated at last.


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Sandusky Showed No Remorse During Trial! A Very Evil Man! Another Pennsylvania Scumbag! (Videos)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Sandusky Convicted Of 45 Counts, Plans To Appeal

Jerry Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse Friday night and faces spending the rest of his life in state prison.

His attorney said he would Appeal the Verdict.

Sandusky's attorney, Joseph Amendola, asked Judge John Cleland to allow Sandusky to be released on house arrest, but Cleland summarily rejected the request, saying: "Bail is revoked. Mr. Sandusky is remanded to the custody of the sheriff."

Sandusky was immediately led out of the courthouse in handcuffs as a large crowd of onlookers cheered. Sentencing was set for late September.

Sandusky, 68, the former longtime defensive coordinator for the Penn State University football team, had denied all 48 counts alleging that he abused 10 boys over 15 years.

Two grand jury reports accused him of having used his connection to one of the nation's premier college football programs to "groom" the boys, whom he met through his Second Mile charity for troubled children, for sexual relationships.

Several of the counts are so-called mandated felonies, meaning Cleland has no discretion in sentencing.

NBC News reported that he faces a minimum of 60 years in prison.

Cleland, who is a senior judge in McKean County, was brought to Centre County to oversee the trial after local judges recused themselves.

Amendola, who was interrupted by hecklers outside the courthouse several times, said he had expected the outcome and respected the verdict of the jurors, who didn’t speak to reporters afterward.

Amendola said he believed Sandusky had legitimate grounds for appeal, saying his client had "an uphill battle" because of the extensive pretrial publicity.

"We said we were attempting to climb Mount Everest from the bottom of the mountain. Obviously, we didn't make it," he said.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly, whose office prosecuted Sandusky, said, "A serious child predator ... has been held accountable for his crimes."

Kelly thanked the victims, who she said "came forward to bravely testify in this trial and to finally put a stop to the crimes that were committed."

"We hope that our search for justice will help them and perhaps others looking on nearby and afar," she said.

Grace Gordon, 49, of Bellefonte, also welcomed the verdict but lamented the damage the trial had done to Bellefonte and Centre County.

"It's hard. It really is, to see a small town torn apart like this," said Gordon, who was outside the courthouse with her 23-year-old son and his girlfriend.

Gordon said her father, wrho worked with Sandusky at Penn State, "would have just been devastated to know about this."

"You'd never, ever have dreamed that he'd be that kind of person," Gordon said. "What he did to those kids is just horrendous."

The university that Sandusky served for decades said in a statement late Friday that "we have tremendous respect for the men who came forward to tell their stories publicly.

No verdict can undo the pain and suffering caused by Mr. Sandusky, but we do hope this judgment helps the victims and their families along their path to healing."

The university said it would seek to "fairly ... compensate" the victims and invited them to participate in a program to "facilitate the resolution of claims against the University arising out of Mr. Sandusky's conduct."

It said it intended to get in contact with lawyers for the victims "in the near future."

A trial that riveted the nation

The trial, which opened June 11, culminated months of intense attention that led to the firing of head coach Joe Paterno, who won more games than any other major college football coach in history, many of them with Sandusky at his side.

Paterno died exactly five months ago, a few weeks after the Penn State Board of Trustees dismissed him for not having done enough to stop Sandusky's abuse.

Jurors heard often-graphic testimony from eight of the 10 victims whose accounts were included in two grand jury reports.

They told how Sandusky would first win their trust by giving them gifts and taking them on trips with the football team before progressing to hugging, kissing, increasingly sexual touching and, in some cases, oral and anal sex.

In a rare occurrence in an abuse trial, prosecutors also presented the testimony of a corroborating eyewitness — Sandusky's former Penn State coaching colleague Michael McQueary, who said that he saw a young boy, identified in the first grand jury report as "Victim 2," in a Penn State shower with Sandusky.

McQueary said the boy had his hands against the wall and that Sandusky was standing up against him from behind. He said he heard a "skin-on-skin smacking sound" and that he had "no doubt" that Sandusky was engaging in anal sex with the boy.

Because they were sequestered, without access to computers, phones or any other way to hear news coverage, the jury of seven women and five men wouldn't have heard newer, potentially damaging information from two other accusers that emerged after they began deliberations.

Sandusky's adopted son Matt said he had been prepared to testify that he, too, was a victim of abuse by his father, according to a statement issued Thursday by attorneys who said they are representing the younger Sandusky.

(NBC News and msnbc.com generally do not identify victims of sexual assaults, but Matt Sandusky chose to identify himself in a public statement released through his attorneys.)

Amendola said Friday night that Jerry Sandusky abandoned plans to testify in his own defense because of the prospect of damaging rebuttal testimony by his son.

Nor would they have heard the account of Travis Weaver, 30, of Ohio, who attended Second Mile camps as a youth. Weaver told NBC News in an interview that aired Thursday night that Sandusky performed oral sex on him in the upstairs bedroom of the Sanduskys' home.

Weaver testified to one of the two grand juries but wasn't mentioned in the grand jury reports or called as a witness during the trial.

The end of the trial doesn't mean the case is over.

Two former top Penn State officials, former Athletic Director Timothy Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz, face perjury charges in connection with their grand jury testimony in December, in which prosecutors alleged that concealed what they knew about Sandusky's conduct.

Law enforcement sources have told NBC News that former Penn State President Graham Spanier, who was fired in November, was under investigation for possible similar charges.


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Sources: ABC News, CNN, MSNBC, Google Maps

Jerry Sandusky Guilty On 45 Counts Child Sex Abuse! Faces Life In Prison! Next Civil Lawsuit Against Penn State!

Child Rapist/ Deviant Sexual Pervert and Former Assistant Penn State Football Coach Jerry Sandusky was Convicted tonight by a Jury of his Peers, on 45 out of 48 Counts of Child Sex Abuse.

Sandusky who even Sexually Molested his Own Adopted Son, now faces LIFE In Prison.
Hallejuah! And Thank God For Pres. Obama!

Because Were It Not For The Obama Administration This Intense, Thorough Investigation & Criminal Conviction Would NEVER Have Taken Place!

That Is Another Reason Why The GOP Is Trying To Destroy Eric Holder.

Now Its Time To Sue Penn State For Hundreds Of Millions In Restitution & Damages!
Now its Time To Vote Out Of Office The Entire Pennsylvania State General Assembly For Refusing To Protect Children!

Now Its Time To Help Sandusky's Victims & Ensure This NEVER Happens Again!
Now Its Time To Consider Cutting Off Penn State University's Federal Financial Aid Until They Straighten Out The Athletic Department Or Close Penn State's Doors.

This Conviction Is Vindication For Every Child Ever Sexually Molested By Perverts Like Sandusky.

Jerry Sandusky Is GUILTY!!!! GUILTY!!!! GUILTY OF 45 COUNTS OF CHILD SEX ABUSE!!! DON'T DROP THE SOAP!!! YOU PERVERT!

Now Its Time For George Zimmerman To Get What Is Due Him As Well.

Thank You Lord!
Save The Children & Equal Justice For Trayvon Martin!!!

God Bless The Obama Administration!






Ex-Penn St. assistant Sandusky convicted of abuse

Jerry Sandusky was convicted Friday of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years, accusations that had sent shock waves through the college campus known as Happy Valley and led to the firing of Penn State's beloved Hall of Fame coach, Joe Paterno.

Sandusky, a 68-year-old retired defensive coach who was once Paterno's heir apparent, was found guilty of 45 of 48 counts. He faces life in prison at sentencing, which is weeks away.

Sandusky showed little emotion as the verdict was read. The judge ordered him to be taken to the county jail to await sentencing in about three months.

Eight young men testified in a central Pennsylvania courtroom about a range of abuse, from kissing and massages to groping, oral sex and anal rape. For two other alleged victims, prosecutors relied on testimony from a university janitor and then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary, whose account of a sexual encounter between Sandusky and a boy of about 10 ultimately led to the Paterno's dismissal and the university president's ouster.

Sandusky did not take the stand in his own defense.

He had repeatedly denied the allegations, and his defense suggested that his accusers had a financial motive to make up stories, years after the fact. His attorney also painted Sandusky as the victim of overzealous police investigators who coached the alleged victims into giving accusatory statements.

But jurors believed the testimony that, in the words of lead prosecutor Joseph McGettigan III, Sandusky was a "predatory pedophile."

One accuser testified that Sandusky molested him in the locker-room showers and in hotels while trying to ensure his silence with gifts and trips to bowl games. He also said Sandusky had sent him "creepy love letters."

Another spoke of forced oral sex and instances of rape in the basement of Sandusky's home, including abuse that left him bleeding. He said he once tried to scream for help, knowing that Sandusky's wife was upstairs, but figured the basement must be soundproof.

Another, a foster child, said Sandusky warned that he would never see his family again if he ever told anyone what happened.

And just hours after the case went to jurors, lawyers for one of Sandusky's six adopted children, Matt, said he had told authorities that his father abused him.

Matt Sandusky had been prepared to testify on behalf of prosecutors, the statement said. The lawyers said they arranged for Matt Sandusky to meet with law enforcement officials but did not explain why he didn't testify.

"This has been an extremely painful experience for Matt and he has asked us to convey his request that the media respect his privacy," the statement said. It didn't go into details about his allegations.

Defense witnesses, including Jerry Sandusky's wife, Dottie, described his philanthropic work with children over the years, and many spoke in positive terms about his reputation in the community. Prosecutors had portrayed those efforts as an effective means by which Sandusky could camouflage his molestation as he targeted boys who were the same age as participants in The Second Mile, a charity he founded in the 1970s for at-risk youth.

Sandusky's arrest in November led the Penn State trustees to fire Paterno as head coach, saying he exhibited a lack of leadership after fielding a report from McQueary. The scandal also led to the ouster of university president Graham Spanier, and criminal charges against two university administrators for failing to properly report suspected child abuse and perjury.

The two administrators, athletic director Tim Curley and now-retired vice president Gary Schultz, are fighting the allegations and await trial.

Sandusky had initially faced 52 counts of sex abuse. The judge dropped four counts during the trial, saying two were unproven, one was brought under a statute that didn't apply and another was duplicative.


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Sources: AP, Boston Herald, CNN, ESPN, Google Maps

Aaron Hess Honored For Killing Danroy "D.J." Henry (Where's Eric Holder?)

On Oct. 17, 2010, A Black College Student/ Football Star Named Danroy "D.J." Henry Was Wrongfully Murdered By A NY Cop. One Year Later Not Only Does A Grand Jury Refuse To Indict That Same Cop But His Chief Approves Of His Heinous Actions By Honoring Him As "Officer Of The Year"!

ERIC HOLDER & AL SHARPTON WHERE ARE YOU??

Such Clear Cases Of Racially Motivated Crimes, Police Brutality, Obstruction Of Justice & Misuse Of Authority Requires A Fed. Investigation & March On Washington, D.C.!!

In D.J.'s Honor The American Black Community Needs To Unite, Mobilize & Demand Justice!! We Should NOT Let D.J.'s Premature, Wrongful Death Be In Vain!
















Danroy Henry's Family outraged after policeman who killed him named "Officer of the Year"


The family of young college footballer shot dead by police have spoken of their anger after the officer involved in the shooting was given an award.

Danroy Henry, 20, had been waiting in his car in a fire lane outside a bar in New York when officer Aaron Hess knocked on the window.

The young student accelerated away before Hess, who was thrown onto the hood, and his colleague Ronald Beckley opened fire during the chaos on Oct 17 last year.

Henry was killed in the shooting but his family are now furious that Hess has been named Officer of the Year by his union at Pleasantville Police Department.

His parents said that the award was 'insensitive' and branded the police 'arrogant'.

'We simply asked for truth and honesty, and we've gotten arrogance,' said Danroy Henry Sr. 'Some people see themselves above the law and above simple human dignity.'

The student's mother, Angella Henry, said: 'Now everyone else is getting to see the kind of inhumane treatment we've gotten.'

The Police Benevolent Association of the Pleasantville Police Department said yesterday that it honoured Officer Aaron Hess for his dignity and professionalism since the October shooting and throughout his career.

Hess fired at Henry's car as Henry drove away from a disturbance that spilled out of a bar in Thornwood, just north of New York City, after Pace University's homecoming game. Hess was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by a Westchester County grand jury in February.

Autopsy results found Henry was above the legal limit for alcohol, but his family says he wasn't drunk.

Hess, who suffered leg injuries, said he shot at Henry after Henry's car hit him. Some witnesses disputed that.

The Henry family is seeking federal intervention, and the Department of Justice has said it will review the evidence to determine whether there were any civil rights crimes.

The Henrys are planning a $120 million lawsuit against Pleasantville and Mount Pleasant.

The PBA said the award wasn't meant to offend the Henry family.

But family lawyer Michael Sussman said: 'They're offended.'

Meanwhile, four of Henry's friends who were involved in a fracas after the shooting were cleared of all charges by a judge last month.

Two weeks ago, prosecutors moved to dismiss various charges of disorderly conduct, obstruction and criminal mischief against the teammates.

'I feel relieved. I feel free,' said Joseph Garcia, of Floral Park, New York., who graduated in December and had been charged with obstruction. 'I don't have to worry about a criminal record.'

The players' attorney, Bonita Zelman, called it 'a great victory.' She said they planned to sue for 'brutality, false arrest, malicious prosecution and violations of their civil, constitutional and human rights.'

Joseph Romanick, of Slidell, La., who had been charged with felony criminal mischief, said: 'Nothing will take away from the loss that we felt from D.J.'

The other players are Yves Delpeche, of Brooklyn, and Daniel Parker, of Lauderhill, Florida.

In court papers supporting the dropping of charges, prosecutors wrote that the defendants' actions resulted from 'impulsive and youthful visceral reactions to the sudden, unexpected shooting of their friend.'

Prosecutors added: 'The fact their conduct caused no physical injury to anyone (civilian or police) provide additional compelling factors supporting a discretionary dismissal.



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Sources: AP, CBS News, CNN, Daily Mail, Patriot Ledger, NY Daily News, WGBH, Youtube, Google Maps

Fox & Time Warner Strike "Reasonable Deal"...Murdoch Wins!

News Corp., Time Warner Reach Deal to Keep Fox Programming On Air


The Fox television network and Time Warner Cable reached a programming deal in principle on Friday, after leaving millions of people in the lurch about whether they'd be able to see an anticipated college football matchup and other shows on cable TV.

Fox had threatened to force Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks to drop the Fox broadcast signal from 14 of its TV stations and half a dozen of its cable channels as a contract expired at midnight Thursday.

But signals were extended into Friday as talks continued, allowing more than 6 million cable subscribers in New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Fla., and other markets to tune into the Sugar Bowl and other programming.

The deal, which included Bright House, ended a week of public sparring that had some consumers worried they'd miss the matchup between highly ranked Florida and Cincinnati that started at 8:30 p.m. EST.

"I think it's all corporate gamesmanship and consumers are caught in the crossfire," said Richard Anderson, a 55-year-old city manager in Apopka, Fla., who had eight people at his place ready to drive four miles to root on the Gators at the residence of a friend who had satellite TV.

Anderson had tried unsuccessfully this week to get an injunction blocking Fox from pulling its signal.

Neither company would divulge the terms of the deal. Fox wanted to be paid $1 per cable subscriber each month for the broadcast signal it had once given away freely from the stations it owns. Other Fox affiliate stations that are owned by different companies had already cut deals to be paid by cable operators for a fraction of that fee.

"We're pleased that, after months of negotiations, we were able to reach a fair agreement with Time Warner Cable — one that recognizes the value of our programming," said Chase Carey, chief operating officer at News Corp., which owns Fox.

Time Warner Cable Inc. Chief Executive Glenn Britt said he was "happy to have reached a reasonable deal with no disruption in programming for our customers."

Politicians and regulators had gotten in on the dispute, especially because Fox sends its signals out freely on public airwaves on a frequency it obtained for nothing, with the obligation that it serve the public interest.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski congratulated both companies and his staff for the deal.

But Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., raised concerns about the effectiveness of a 1992 cable law that allows broadcasters to seek compensation from cable and satellite operators for their signals.

"I will reach out to both parties, the FCC, and consumer advocates to assess lessons learned from this dispute and what, if any, changes to law are necessary," Kerry said in a statement.

Fox said it could no longer give away its stations' signals to cable companies because the network is facing stiff competition from cable channels, such as the Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN, which earn subscriber fees on top of advertising dollars.

That dual revenue stream allowed ESPN to outbid Fox for high-priced events such as the college football Bowl Championship Series — including the Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl that are now on Fox — from 2011 to 2013.

Time Warner Cable, in the meantime, had vowed to hold the line on cable bill increases, and said the vast of majority of viewers who went to its Web site, www.rolloverorgettough.com, urged it to "get tough" and fight back against higher costs.

Neither side would have fared well if signals had been pulled.

Fox would have lost viewers and advertising dollars for some highly anticipated shows this month, including the 20th anniversary special of "The Simpsons" on Jan. 10, and the season premieres of "American Idol" on Jan. 12 and "24" on Jan. 17. It had urged viewers to go to its Web site, www.keepfoxon.com.

If the signal had been dropped, cable operators could have angered customers, who can switch to competitive television providers such as DirecTV or AT&T's U-verse that carry Fox programming.

Satellite TV provider Dish Network, which already has a deal with Fox, had been heavily advertising in newspapers, radio and TV telling Time Warner Cable customers, "Don't risk missing your favorite shows."

TV viewers could also have decided to cut off their cable entirely and watched the Fox broadcast network using an antenna with a digital TV or converter box.

Separately, Cablevision Systems Corp. said early Friday it had dropped HGTV and Food Network for its 3.1 million subscribers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in a fee dispute with Scripps Networks Interactive Inc., based in Cincinnati.

Time Warner Cable continued to carry Food Network and Great American Country under a temporary deal extension as its talks with Scripps continued.

Fox and CBS signals from Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc. stations in markets such as Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, also continued to be carried by cable company Mediacom Communications Corp. in a temporary deal extension to Jan. 8.



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Sources: Fox News, Newscorp, TIME, Keepfoxon.com, Google Maps

Mike Leach vs Texas Tech & Craig James, Possible Legal Showdown Brewing

What is Mike Leach's Legal recourse in this situation?




Craig James discusses Mike Leach's termination. Did Coach Leach cross the line with James' son?








Legal Showdown Between Leach, Texas Tech May Just Be Starting



The legal showdown between football coach Mike Leach and Texas Tech administrators reached a breaking point Wednesday when the university fired Leach for cause, effective immediately.

The firing relieves Texas Tech of its remaining financial obligations in Leach's employment contract, which runs through 2013 and sets the stage for Leach to bring a wrongful termination lawsuit against the university.

Leach, who had been suspended by Texas Tech on Monday, has come under fire for his decision to require redshirt sophomore receiver Adam James to stand in an equipment garage while the rest of the team practiced.

A son of ESPN analyst and former New England Patriots running back Craig James, James was reportedly recovering from a mild or slight concussion at the time, and speculation persists that Leach disbelieved either the existence or severity of James' injury. James apparently felt humiliated by Leach's decision and that he was being wrongfully punished for having suffered a football-related injury which precluded him from practicing

Leach received notice of his firing only minutes before he was to appear in a Lubbock, Tex., courtroom to seek a Temporary Restraining Order that would have reinstated him as coach. Leach argued that he was suspended without due process and in violation of his contract.
The TRO would have restrained Texas Tech from continuing its suspension.

Leach, who reportedly refused Texas Tech's request that he apologize to James, asserted that he received no credible opportunity to present his side of the James story and that he would be personally harmed if not able to coach the Red Raiders in the Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2.

By firing Leach for cause, effectively immediately, Texas Tech relieves itself of any compensation owed to Leach. The "for cause" aspect of the firing is extremely important: it relieves Texas Tech of financial obligation to Leach (though reports indicate that Texas Tech might still pay him a $800,000 payment that will be due Dec. 31).

If Leach had been fired without cause -- for instance, if Texas Tech simply felt a coaching change would help the Red Raiders succeed -- he would have been owed $400,000 each year from 2010 to 2013. It is plausible that Leach will seek a wrongful termination claim, among other possible claims, against Texas Tech, seeking to recover not only damages under his employment contract, but also damages for harm to his reputation.

Was Texas Tech legally entitled to fire Leach for cause?

Leach's contract lists the circumstances under which Texas Tech could dismiss him for cause:


1) The commission of a major NCAA violation or an excessive accumulation of secondary violations by Leach.

2) Knowingly condoning NCAA violations by any staff member under his direct control.

3) Failure to take appropriate disciplinary action against any staff member committing NCAA violations.

4) Failure to take appropriate disciplinary action against football student-athletes.

5) Indictment for a felony criminal act.

6) A misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.

Worded literally, the six circumstances for cause might not cover Leach's alleged misbehavior. Leach has neither been charged with a felony nor a misdemeanor (Nos. 5 and 6), nor is there any indication that he will be.

Even if Leach is eventually sued by James in a civil claim, such as for false imprisonment or intentional infliction of emotional distress, such a claim would not constitute a criminal charge. There is also no indication that Leach failed to take appropriate disciplinary action against football players in this situation (No. 4).

Similarly, there are no allegations of major NCAA violations or accumulation of secondary violations (No. 1).

An arguable nexus between James' behavior and the "for cause" stipulations could emerge in Nos. 2 and 3.

The NCAA has developed player safety rules that Leach arguably breached when he instructed staff members to isolate Leach. The NCAA is also considering new rules that would demand particularly safe care for players who have suffered concussions.

With many disputed facts as to what happened, however, Leach could maintain that it was at best premature for Texas Tech to fire him for cause. Leach might also argue that his firing reflects wrongful retribution because it occurred right before he sought to protect his legal rights in the form of a temporary restraining order.

Potential litigation might extend beyond Leach and Texas Tech. James, for instance, could bring a torts lawsuit against Leach for false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress and also argue that Texas Tech was vicariously responsible for the coach's actions.

In addition, both the NCAA, which is considering a new rule that would sideline a student-athlete for at least the rest of the day if he or she loses consciousness, and Congress, which recently held hearings to examine the relationship between concussions and playing football, are likely monitoring the Leach-Texas Tech battle with great interest.



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Sources: AP, Texas Tech, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Washington Post, NCAAWiki, Youtube, Google Maps