PSU response to Spanier...

[canuckhal]

I haven't seen a thread on this, but PSU response to Spanier suit is linked. A few take-aways:
1) States that Spanier was terminated
2) With the release of the Freeh Report and revelations (emails and Spanier kept board and University in the dark about said emails) and criminal proceedings (Spanier charged), Masser, Frazier, Peetz et al. did not violate the separation agreement because they spoke truthfully about ongoing and forthcoming investigations, and their own experiences during those investigations (provided their opinions, which are not necessarily reflective of the University)
3) Separation agreement only applies to University, not Freeh. The University did not contract with Freeh for him to develop a report with predetermined outcomes.
4) Once Spanier was criminally charged, he was put on paid leave of absence as per Employment Agreement, which appears to trump separation agreement or at least separation agreement does not cover such circumstances.
5) PSU does not have cover legal fees going forward but only pertaining to Grand Jury and his termination. Thus, do not have cover criminal proceedings legal fees and certainly not Spanier's PR bills.
6) PSU never violated separation agreement.

Should get interesting as to how this moves forward.
http://co.centre.pa.us/centreco/media/upload/GRAHAM SPANIER VS PENN STATE MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS POS.pdf

 

[91Joe95]

I love these trials.

 

[Talpsu]

I love how it was announced that spanier was stepping down and retiring but now they say he was terminated, yet joe was terminated and they then said he was retired early and not fired. Who comes up with this $hit?

 

[PortlandLion]

I love how it was announced that spanier was stepping down and retiring but now they say he was terminated, yet joe was terminated and they then said he was retired early and not fired. Who comes up with this $hit?

People have been known to lie!

 

[OldTiredLion]

People have been known to lie!

Some more than others. After all, it is a Freeh country!

 

[psuro]

I haven't seen a thread on this, but PSU response to Spanier suit is linked. A few take-aways:
The University did not contract with Freeh for him to develop a report with predetermined outcomes.
http://co.centre.pa.us/centreco/media/upload/GRAHAM SPANIER VS PENN STATE MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS POS.pdf

Hmmm....methinks that a very fine legal line was walked with respect to the retention of Freeh. And, methinks in order prepare to walk that fine line, it took time to determine the legalities of this fine line, which means that it took longer than the short time it took to fire Joe, hire Louis and get the report researched, documented, prepared, written and issued.

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

There is no University in the nation that would have thrown its athletic department under the bus..... it's revered and honorable most honorable head coach under the bus as president under the bus like this university did. Incredibly, I think it all stems from the fact the freaking Board of Trustees gave Jerry Sandusky professor emeritus status when he was not deserving of it when the honorable and revered head coach recommended against it they did it anyway because of the boondoggle relationship they had with the Second Mile for their Palm greasing friends. Natural causes transparency? Transparency that includes saying anything you want anytime you want regardless of whether it reverses everything said the short period of time is what kind of transparency? Mitchell needs b**** slapped into a state of consciousness!

 

[canuckhal]

Hmmm....methinks that a very fine legal line was walked with respect to the retention of Freeh. And, methinks in order prepare to walk that fine line, it took time to determine the legalities of this fine line, which means that it took longer than the short time it took to fire Joe, hire Louis and get the report researched, documented, prepared, written and issued.

I wonder if the University at some point will make the argument that Freeh was hired by and reported to Special Committee of the BOT and not the University. PSU seems to be separating the BOT from the University.

 

[WeR0206]

I wonder if the University at some point will make the argument that Freeh was hired by and reported to Special Committee of the BOT and not the University. PSU seems to be separating the BOT from the University.

They certainly are trying to have their cake and eat it too.

I don't know how they could possibly claim Peetz didn't disparage Spanier when she held a press conference hrs after the freeh report was released and she spoke as chair of the psu bot. She didn't stipulate she was speaking personally she appeared under official capacity for PSU and her and Frazier then said terrible things about CSSP.

These scumbags LOVE to try and have it boths ways. Freeh's report was comprehensive and complete but also an opinion. Yeah right.

 

[psuro]

They seem to be walking a very fine legal line throughout this process. The truth would have been much easier to deal with.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

There is no University in the nation that would have thrown its athletic department under the bus..... !

This is the over-arching and inescapable truth of the entire fiasco, no matter who else did right, who did wrong, who ends up bankrupted or imprisoned. There are no do-overs, and this was an irretrievable miscalculation, unfixable and permanent.

 

[lionlurker]

Nonsense, VEB. This whole thing was forgotten by everybody back in 2014.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

This is the over-arching and inescapable truth of the entire fiasco, no matter who else did right, who did wrong, who ends up bankrupted or imprisoned. There are no do-overs, and this was an irretrievable miscalculation, unfixable and permanent.

Your opinion may change as the trials progress.

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Your opinion may change as the trials progress.

I suppose so, if it's proven that Spanier, Curley, and Schultz all got together and said "Hey, this child abuse racket is really helping our bottom line, let's make sure it continues."

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

I suppose so, if it's proven that Spanier, Curley, and Schultz all got together and said "Hey, this child abuse racket is really helping our bottom line, let's make sure it continues."

Thank you for portraying your position so eloquently.

 

[canuckhal]

The piece missing by PSU is that the charges against Spanier were in large part due to Baldwin's flip. I would imagine that Spanier's lawyers will argue that Baldwin was representing Spanier and not the University solely. That throws a wrench into argument number 5 above.

 

[indynittany]

....3) Separation agreement only applies to University, not Freeh. The University did not contract with Freeh for him to develop a report with predetermined outcomes......

I don't believe this for a minute.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

I haven't seen a thread on this, but PSU response to Spanier suit is linked. A few take-aways:
1) States that Spanier was terminated
2) With the release of the Freeh Report and revelations (emails and Spanier kept board and University in the dark about said emails) and criminal proceedings (Spanier charged), Masser, Frazier, Peetz et al. did not violate the separation agreement because they spoke truthfully about ongoing and forthcoming investigations, and their own experiences during those investigations (provided their opinions, which are not necessarily reflective of the University)
3) Separation agreement only applies to University, not Freeh. The University did not contract with Freeh for him to develop a report with predetermined outcomes.
4) Once Spanier was criminally charged, he was put on paid leave of absence as per Employment Agreement, which appears to trump separation agreement or at least separation agreement does not cover such circumstances.
5) PSU does not have cover legal fees going forward but only pertaining to Grand Jury and his termination. Thus, do not have cover criminal proceedings legal fees and certainly not Spanier's PR bills.
6) PSU never violated separation agreement.

Should get interesting as to how this moves forward.
http://co.centre.pa.us/centreco/media/upload/GRAHAM SPANIER VS PENN STATE MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS POS.pdf

Doesn't #4 contradict #1 or is it possible to be both terminated and put on paid leave at the same time?

 

[Talpsu]

I wonder if the University at some point will make the argument that Freeh was hired by and reported to Special Committee of the BOT and not the University. PSU seems to be separating the BOT from the University.

actually now that you say it. Im pretty sure that argument actually did come up in one of these legal battles. I think it may have been the corman one when he wanted to add PSU to the defendants. Thats the beauty of all these lawsuites. All the scum cant keep their stories straight and are trying to argue with the issue at hand but have no regard for what they previously said or how what they say can be used later.

 

[91Joe95]

I don't believe this for a minute.

PSU paid freeh. Good luck with the argument freeh was actually separate and not officially representing psu. Then there is the conclusion already in the retaining contract. Then there are the emails from Frazier to freeh telling him what he liked.

 

[canuckhal]

Doesn't #4 contradict #1 or is it possible to be both terminated and put on paid leave at the same time?

According to PSU, Spanier was terminated as President but remained as faculty per his separation agreement. Later, when he was charged criminally, he was placed on paid leave per Employment Agreement. That is why he lost his admin support and office space. No contradiction.

 

[canuckhal]

PSU paid freeh. Good luck with the argument freeh was actually separate and not officially representing psu. Then there is the conclusion already in the retaining contract. Then there are the emails from Frazier to freeh telling him what he liked.

PSU has also claimed that Freeh was acting as counsel and thus can invoke attorney client privilege. That didn't work out so well.

 

[indynittany]

PSU paid freeh. Good luck with the argument freeh was actually separate and not officially representing psu. Then there is the conclusion already in the retaining contract. Then there are the emails from Frazier to freeh telling him what he liked.

Of course he was representing PSU, but not as it's attorney. If I hire Freeh to mow my lawn, does that give us attorney client privilege?

 

[chizco]

Of course he was representing PSU, but not as it's attorney. If I hire Freeh to mow my lawn, does that give us attorney client privilege?

If you hire louie to mow your lawn, he'll probably crash into your tree with the lawnmower.

 

[PCLion]

I haven't seen a thread on this, but PSU response to Spanier suit is linked. A few take-aways:
1) States that Spanier was terminated
2) With the release of the Freeh Report and revelations (emails and Spanier kept board and University in the dark about said emails) and criminal proceedings (Spanier charged), Masser, Frazier, Peetz et al. did not violate the separation agreement because they spoke truthfully about ongoing and forthcoming investigations, and their own experiences during those investigations (provided their opinions, which are not necessarily reflective of the University)
3) Separation agreement only applies to University, not Freeh. The University did not contract with Freeh for him to develop a report with predetermined outcomes.
4) Once Spanier was criminally charged, he was put on paid leave of absence as per Employment Agreement, which appears to trump separation agreement or at least separation agreement does not cover such circumstances.
5) PSU does not have cover legal fees going forward but only pertaining to Grand Jury and his termination. Thus, do not have cover criminal proceedings legal fees and certainly not Spanier's PR bills.
6) PSU never violated separation agreement.

Should get interesting as to how this moves forward.
http://co.centre.pa.us/centreco/media/upload/GRAHAM SPANIER VS PENN STATE MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS POS.pdf

Sad ending as Spanier did many good things.

He was always focused on making the University better: academics, the campus, athletics and of course replacing Joe.

You have to say he was loyal … until “dismissed”.

 

[BobPSU92]

Sad ending as Spanier did many good things.

He was always focused on making the University better: academics, the campus, athletics and of course replacing Joe.

You have to say he was loyal … until “dismissed”.

Spanier will get the last laugh.

 

[marshall23]

With the recent appeal lost by the Commonwealth, the rest of the charges against GS2 and TC will likely be dropped soon. Fina's comments during the JS trial adds to speculation that there never was intent to try them anyway. I find it hard to believe that pulling Baldwin into the mess was not intended to act as an excuse to dismiss charges. If there were mountains of evidence against these administrators, as we have been cautioned by some, they would have been tried and convicted years ago. I don't buy for one minute the delays of 4 years are the providence of defense motions. How'd that work of Jerry?
Flipping their lawyer and charging ex post facto was indeed an indication of Fina's desire to keep GS2 and TC silent during the JS Trial. He said, he said is a very difficult sale when it comes to perjury charges as well. All of these moves by Kelly, Fina and OAG stormtroopers is easier to understand now that we see how things worked behind the scenes with judges and prosecutors.

 

[Misder2]

With the recent appeal lost by the Commonwealth, the rest of the charges against GS2 and TC will likely be dropped soon. Fina's comments during the JS trial adds to speculation that there never was intent to try them anyway. I find it hard to believe that pulling Baldwin into the mess was not intended to act as an excuse to dismiss charges. If there were mountains of evidence against these administrators, as we have been cautioned by some, they would have been tried and convicted years ago. I don't buy for one minute the delays of 4 years are the providence of defense motions. How'd that work of Jerry?
Flipping their lawyer and charging ex post facto was indeed an indication of Fina's desire to keep GS2 and TC silent during the JS Trial. He said, he said is a very difficult sale when it comes to perjury charges as well. All of these moves by Kelly, Fina and OAG stormtroopers is easier to understand now that we see how things worked behind the scenes with judges and prosecutors.

I agree completely.
Someone else had to be blamed for allowing his activities. Blaming CSS satisfied that need AND prevented them from testifying as to the vagueness of the 2001 incident. Simple plan

 

[psuro]

I agree completely.
Someone else had to be blamed for allowing his activities. Blaming CSS satisfied that need AND prevented them from testifying as to the vagueness of the 2001 incident. Simple plan

And, I go back to my earlier comment - to do this takes some planning, which takes time - more than what it took from the "leaked GJ presentment" to the Freeh Report.

 

[marshall23]

And, I go back to my earlier comment - to do this takes some planning, which takes time - more than what it took from the "leaked GJ presentment" to the Freeh Report.

Agreed. The Commonwealth had active conspirators on the BOT as well as with Baldwin.

 

[indynittany]

Sad ending as Spanier did many good things.

He was always focused on making the University better: academics, the campus, athletics and of course replacing Joe.

You have to say he was loyal … until “dismissed”.

Spanier and his liberal ilk are why tuition costs have gone through the roof. However, in this instance his loyalty to Joe, Tim and Gary cost him his job. I will always respect him for that and I hope he becomes a very wealthy man when all is said and done.

 

[Aoshiro]

Spanier and his liberal ilk are why tuition costs have gone through the roof. However, in this instance his loyalty to Joe, Tim and Gary cost him his job. I will always respect him for that and I hope he becomes a very wealthy man when all is said and done.

The conservative ilk have steadily reduced the inflation-adjusted, per student appropriation to Penn State. If you don't think that affects tuition you need to take remedial math.

 

[kgilbert78]

If you hire louie to mow your lawn, he'll probably crash into your tree with the lawnmower.

Can you imagine the possibilities if Louie was hired to mow Demlion's lawn.... Especially if he had to move the boat or cut down a tree??

 

[kgilbert78]

The conservative ilk have steadily reduced the inflation-adjusted, per student appropriation to Penn State. If you don't think that affects tuition you need to take remedial math.

Let's be real here--*all* of the PA politicians over the last 30 years or so have steadily decreased the appropriation to PSU--liberal and conservative. It's money they can use for their own pet projects.

There *has* been an arms race in facilities at many places--and modern students expect more. Some of that is justified (better computing etc.) But some of the newer dorms are better than places I lived after I was out in the working world (not just PSU, either).

 

[Tweedbear]

Infylion is typical low tax no tax conservative. They ignore the problem and any possible solution with the mantra low taxes create jobs. Demand for product creates jobs. If you don't make a profit the lowest taxes in the universe will not help.

We ignore infrastructure problems until they become a disaster and the replacement cost is way more than the repair and maintenance cost would have been. Tack on 8-10 years of inflation and the cost goes out of sight. We pay more for less.
When you eliminate services and maintain a tax level you have effectively raised taxes. The taxpayer is receiving less service for the same taxes.

 

[indynittany]

The conservative ilk have steadily reduced the inflation-adjusted, per student appropriation to Penn State. If you don't think that affects tuition you need to take remedial math.

This is a national problem, not just a PSU one. In the mid 70's, PSU cost me no more than $3,000 a year, including room and board. Today the name of the game is to grab as much as you can of an unlimited amount of borrowed money. By liberal standards, Spanier played the game better than anyone. Now with student loan debt well over $1 trillion, much of which will never be repaid, the higher ed bubble is breaking.