In an explosive grand jury presentment issued Friday afternoon, Allegheny County District Attorney Steve Zappalla describes in great detail how Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin ran her political campaigns for nearly 20 years from her taxpayer funded judicial offices using her taxpayer funded judicial staff. Most incredibly, the illegal activity occurred during her successful 2009 Supreme Court campaign...after the first "bonusgate" arrests in 2008. You can read the entire presentment here.
The law is crystal clear. At no time can judicial staff work on political campaigns, even as volunteers. Period. And, of course, as with all taxpayer offices, at no time are taxpayer funded judicial office space, material or equipment to be used on campaigns:
"And now, this 24th day of November, 1998, the prohibition against political activity by court-appointed employees is hereby reaffirmed..."partisan political activity" shall include, but is not limited to...working at a polling place on Election Day, performing volunteer work in a political campaign, solicitiing contributions for political campaigns..." (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, In Re: Prohibited Political Activity By Court Appointed Employees)
Yet, Friday's grand jury presentment announcing further charges against Orie Melvin's sister, Janine, for directing the Judge's staff to work on the campaigns of her sister, showed blatant disregard for the law. Make no mistake...Janine Orie wasn't a rogue element operating outside the Judge's knowledge.
On page after page of the presentment, grand jury witnesses describe how Orie Melvin directly ordered them to do campaign work, was in the presence of her judicial employees at campaign events, and even used judicial resources for her campaigns herself:
"Sasinoski also described a period of time in 2003 when she overheard Orie Melvin in her chambers on her office telephone soliciting multiple Republican committee people in furtherance of her own campaign for Supreme Court Justice. Sasinoski stated that she knew that the judicial telephone within Orie Melvin's office had been used for these political contacts that she had overheard being done by Judge Orie Melvin because several months later she, Sasinoski, was berated by Janine Orie about the high telephone bills that had been incurred by the office; Janine blamed those high bills on Sasinoski and the other law clerks. As a result of this chastisement, Sasinoski subsequently requested detailed billing records for those phone calls. The records that were received displayed the billing in greater detail and those records reflected that the overwhelming majority of the additional billed calls were from both Orie Melvin's office extension and the additional telephone line that had been installed by the court at the residence of Orie Melvin. Those billing records further indicated calls to telephone numbers across the state during the very same time period in which Orie Melvin had been overheard by Sasinoski as Orie Melvin telephoned various Republican committee people. Sasinoski advised that there were between 280 and 400 committee people, and it was her understanding that Orie Melvin contacted each on of them during that time." (Pages 6 and 7)
When a staff person directly addressed all the illegal activity with Orie Melvin directly, that staff person was summarily fired:
"On a Monday in early December 2003 (after Orie Melvin's failed bid for a seat on the Supreme Court), Sasinoski approached Orie Melvin and told her that the political activities that had occurred in the office in the past need to cease, and that she (Sasinoski) could not do them anymore. According to Sasinoski, Orie Melvin stated, 'Well, if you can't handle it...' then turned to answer an incoming telephone call. Sasinoski then got up and left the office and went back to work...the following day, Sasinoski was directed by Janine to turn in her building ID card and her court ID, and to clear out her desk. When asked why, Janine reportedly advised Sasinoski that she would need to talk to Orie Melvin...and her employment with Orie Melvin ceased at that time." (Page 9 and 10)
Friday's presentment is no different than those issued by gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett in 2008 and 2009 against members of the state legislature. Last October, Pittsburgh television station WPXI ran a report that said Orie Melvin would be arrested for illegally using Senator Jane Orie's state legislative staff for her 2009 Supreme Court race. (WPXI 10/13/10) Now, this detailed expose of Orie Melvin's own staff being illegally used for her campaigns can only mean it is a matter of days before she is finally arrested.
WHAT TOM CORBETT AND FRANK FINA COULD NOT FIND IN SPITE OF IT BEING UNDER THEIR NOSES?
ReplyDeleteTestimony in the grand jury report also claims:
• Orie Melvin ordered a law clerk to research her court opinions in order to foster an endorsement from the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association;
• The justice solicited Republican committee members using her chamber's telephone;
• Janine Orie sent at least three judicial staff members to polling places in Penn Hills and Squirrel Hill to distribute campaign materials for Orie Melvin;
• A week before the 2003 election, Janine Orie ordered Sasinoski to use Orie Melvin expense vouchers to fabricate expense records for Jane Orie to get cash to be used as "street money";
• Staff members prepared campaign materials, including solicitations for contributions and "thank you" letters, using office materials and equipment;
• Janine Orie in 2009 directed Kathy Squires, Orie Melvin's secretary, to delete all campaign files from her work computer.
"My faith will get me through this," Janine Orie said as she left Municipal Court about 8:30 p.m. She was released on her own recognizance.
A message left for Orie Melvin at her Downtown office and to the Attorney General Office and Governor were not returned.
"It's about powerful people taking the public's money and using it to expand and enhance their campaigns," said Chief Deputy Attorney General Frank Fina.
ReplyDeleteThis does not include any powerful people in the senate that have not been investigated by Frank Fina for over 5 years?
The only reason that Smith will have to answer publicly, and under oath, about his clear involvement in the "computergate" scheme is that the defense is calling him as a witness. (Tribune-Review 10/19/11)
Attorney General Linda Kelly prosecution would not go so far as to inconvenience him.
Deputy Attorney General Frank Fina never investigated Smith and allowed Smith's experience to mirror that of every other elected official from both parties when it comes to Corbett's investigation.
Governor Corbett used the Office of Attorney General to prosecute anyone that would challenge Corbett's Candidacy and Agenda, by
If all this illegal campaign activity had occurred in a vacuum that included only those indicted, then this would make sense. However, that simply is not the case.
This investigation may run into the Republican Campaign Donors to Judge Melvin and Tom Corbett from Second Mile Donors.
ReplyDeleteCorbett, Poole, Heims, and Fiore are the ones we really need to hear from - They are staying mum on this and hiring Lawyers to remain mute on this subject.
They have the most to lose.
I would guess that the civil complaints are going to go after their big bucks since the second mile will have nothing left by the time this goes to court. Rumors all over town regarding second mile board members paying off kids to hush up. Only makes sense that the ones with the most money could be involved.
Rumors all over town regarding second mile board members paying off kids to hush up. Only makes sense that the ones with the most money could be involved.
Who was running the Second Mile, the board or Mr. Raykovitz?
For him to make that judgement that the board of directions need not know about Sandusky's behavior may not be criminal but it should be. Mr. Lunsford has experience in law, he could have a valuable resource for this organization.
I am appalled that these wealthy powerful people did nothing to protect our area children.
What if it had been their grandchildren?
I understand what the accusation can to a person's reputation but one always has to put children's safety first and then let the facts sort out.
As a Centre region resident and many of my friends former Second Mile contributor I am appalled and saddened and will certainly call for a FBI Investigation of Corbett Second Mile Campaign Donors to be put under a microscope from now on.
If any Confidential Agreement Payoffs were made to obtain silence, they are Null and Void and should be brought before a Federal Investigation.
Even if the Mother has signed such Agreements, they cannot be prevented from an investigation.
This is what Zappalla should pursue to uncover all the truth and nothing but the truth.
It becomes clearer every day that there was a concerted effort by AG Corbett's Campaign Staff, the University Trustees, and the Second Mile to keep this issue under wraps.
ReplyDeleteThis was done with shared mutual survival in order to keep golden football goose pushing out the golden eggs and not release information before Corbett's election built on campaigning deceit, and cover for Second Mile donations.
The AG, AD, Second Mile, Governot, and the local economy, all depend upon these inter-connected relationships.
Sad beyond description. Time to demand an FBI US Justice investigation into Second Mile, Corbett's Campaign, and Trustees relationships money trails and tear down to the foundation and rebuild.
Finally, some real traceable and veifiable Second Mile information.
Having a married couple heading up the charity smells.
Nepotism is wrong.
If someone other than Raykovitz' wife received the 2008 report, he or she may have done the right thing, but we know that did not happen.
Does not sound good for Raykovitz and wife or Corbett's Campaign money raisers. "Let's not say too much, this would be bad for our image and fundraising".
It is not like Sandusky was caught shoplifting...he was accused of being a pedophile & predator.
And Second Mile was created by him for his personal trolling with many Donors wanting to be part of it.
Now how much BIG salary were Raykovitz and wife making?
The FBI cannot ask if it was probably another motivation to keep quiet.
Here is a rough idea of salaries...
According to a 2009 tax return, Raykovitz received about $133,000 from The Second Mile that year and Genovese (his wife) received about $100,000.'
Remember that is $133K working part time, by the way...
CYA all around. See nothing hear nothing. Was anyone there aware of the 90's investigation?
If anything this is what the FBI can no longer ignore, someone needs to send it to them.
Ultimately, some officials in Pennsylvania who seem to give a damn and are rightfully outraged.
ReplyDeleteFor far too long it has been pathetic people in power and their online apologists saying they did enough.
Congratulations PSU/PA hierarchy: by waiting long enough to seek justice, you got your billion-dollar endowment,,,,,,,,,
your coach got his record,,,,,,,
you cover up protector Corbett got elected governor,,,,,,
you got promoted from GA to positions coach, etc. etc. etc.
Now all of you are running for the hills and lawyering up, so be it, the thunder is coming before the lighting strike of a reckoning.
One of the former 2nd Mile Board Members, Bradley Lunsford, is a judge and former prosecutor!
ReplyDeletePretty clear that Corbett and the AG's Office has been in bed with the The Second Mile executives and Chairman of the Board.
How can the AG's Office possibly justify not bringing charges for failure to report the matter to DPW (i.e., any of the Child Welfare services they run) regarding the 2002 incident when the fact that Curley told them what happened including the allegation of "inappropriate contact".
The Second Mile was not only broke the law by not reporting to DPW as a Mandatory Reporter regarding the 2002 Incident (keep in mind, the law requires that you contact Chile Welfare agencies to have the matter investigated, not police), but they also likely violated Child Care licenses they held with DPW by failing to report!
CHECK OUT THIS LINK TO BOSTON.COM:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2011/12/19/former_2nd_mile_board_members_we_needed_to_know/
Pa. deputy attorney general cites PSU ‘inaction’:
ReplyDeleteI think it’s a sad, sad, sad day, when you think about all of these victims, and you saw the inaction by a number of supposedly important, responsible adults. And there’s a lot of inaction in this case,” Marc Costanzo, a senior deputy attorney general, said after the preliminary hearing.
http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1791302
Second Mile board: CEO never warned them of Sandusky!
ReplyDeleteBy MICHAEL RUBINKAM, BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press December 19, 2011 10:00AM
Not one thing was said to us,” said Bradley P. Lunsford, a Centre County judge who served on the Second Mile board between 2001 and 2005. “Not a damn thing.”
If more information had been given to board members, they “would have asked the follow-up question: Why? You don’t know? Who knows? Who can we talk to? Has this been reported to the police?” Lunsford said. “I guarantee you there would have been a competition among all those people to be the first to ask the question, ‘Why is he not allowed on campus?’”
A former prosecutor, Lunsford said Raykovitz had an obligation to tell the board. “There are a number of people around that table who have been involved with children’s charities for years and there’s a very good chance that if given accurate information about what the allegation was, there’s a lot of people around that table who could have done something about it.”
One of Raykovitz’s vice presidents said Raykovitz also shared little information with his managers about a 2008 sexual abuse complaint that led to the current criminal charges against Sandusky.
And the head of Clinton County’s child welfare agency, where the 2008 investigation began, said he told Raykovitz’s wife in November 2008 that Sandusky had been spoken to about getting “too close” to children involved with the charity. Gerald Rosamilia said Raykovitz’s wife, Katherine Genovese, who helped run The Second Mile, did not define what was meant by “too close” or give a timeframe.
Charles Markham, retired president of Uni-Marts Inc. and a Second Mile board member from the late 1990s until about 2004, said that Raykovitz never discussed the 2002 case with him personally or at board meetings. “If I’d known anything in 2002, I would have had a hard time keeping it under my hat,” Markham said.
Two other former board members — Larry Snavely, who runs a State College-based higher education marketing firm, and Donald Cross, a retired Centre County school employee — said Raykovitz never mentioned the 2002 allegation. Another former member said he was not told, but asked that he not be publicly identified.
David Woodle, acting CEO, refused to address concerns raised by board members about Raykovitz’s handling of information regarding the 2002 shower incident, saying to do so would be a distraction from the goal of helping serve children.
The board of directors of a children’s charity is responsible for making sure that it operates under reasonable policies and procedures to protect children, according to Daniel Borochoff, president of Chicago-based Charity Watch. Individual board members can face lawsuits for failing in their oversight duties, and The Second Mile insures its board members against such claims.
Raykovitz also is facing questions about his handling of the 2008 complaint. The Attorney General had an obligation to check into Second Mile as well.
She said Raykovitz explained that Sandusky would be taking a break from programs with children but would continue fundraising.
She said she also was unaware of Genovese’s conversation with Rosamilia, and was not aware that anyone at the charity had ever spoken to Sandusky about getting too close to The Second Mile children.
In 2009, when Sandusky left the charity’s board, Raykovitz told the staff that child welfare officials had issued a finding of abuse against Sandusky, Marshall said. But, she added, Raykovitz described it only as a general complaint being pursued by an angry mother who had accused Sandusky of wrongdoing, not a complaint of sexual abuse.
“I thought he would have told me that this was something really bad,” Marshall said. “And he didn’t.”
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/9536795-419/second-mile-board-ceo-never-warned-them-of-sandusky.html
Second Mile board: CEO never warned them of Sandusky!
ReplyDeleteBy MICHAEL RUBINKAM, BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press December 19, 2011 10:00AM
Not one thing was said to us,” said Bradley P. Lunsford, a Centre County judge who served on the Second Mile board between 2001 and 2005. “Not a damn thing.”
If more information had been given to board members, they “would have asked the follow-up question: Why? You don’t know? Who knows? Who can we talk to? Has this been reported to the police?” Lunsford said. “I guarantee you there would have been a competition among all those people to be the first to ask the question, ‘Why is he not allowed on campus?’”
A former prosecutor, Lunsford said Raykovitz had an obligation to tell the board. “There are a number of people around that table who have been involved with children’s charities for years and there’s a very good chance that if given accurate information about what the allegation was, there’s a lot of people around that table who could have done something about it.”
One of Raykovitz’s vice presidents said Raykovitz also shared little information with his managers about a 2008 sexual abuse complaint that led to the current criminal charges against Sandusky.
And the head of Clinton County’s child welfare agency, where the 2008 investigation began, said he told Raykovitz’s wife in November 2008 that Sandusky had been spoken to about getting “too close” to children involved with the charity. Gerald Rosamilia said Raykovitz’s wife, Katherine Genovese, who helped run The Second Mile, did not define what was meant by “too close” or give a timeframe.
Charles Markham, retired president of Uni-Marts Inc. and a Second Mile board member from the late 1990s until about 2004, said that Raykovitz never discussed the 2002 case with him personally or at board meetings. “If I’d known anything in 2002, I would have had a hard time keeping it under my hat,” Markham said.
Two other former board members — Larry Snavely, who runs a State College-based higher education marketing firm, and Donald Cross, a retired Centre County school employee — said Raykovitz never mentioned the 2002 allegation. Another former member said he was not told, but asked that he not be publicly identified.
David Woodle, acting CEO, refused to address concerns raised by board members about Raykovitz’s handling of information regarding the 2002 shower incident, saying to do so would be a distraction from the goal of helping serve children.
The board of directors of a children’s charity is responsible for making sure that it operates under reasonable policies and procedures to protect children, according to Daniel Borochoff, president of Chicago-based Charity Watch. Individual board members can face lawsuits for failing in their oversight duties, and The Second Mile insures its board members against such claims.
Raykovitz also is facing questions about his handling of the 2008 complaint. The Attorney General had an obligation to check into Second Mile as well.
She said Raykovitz explained that Sandusky would be taking a break from programs with children but would continue fundraising.
She said she also was unaware of Genovese’s conversation with Rosamilia, and was not aware that anyone at the charity had ever spoken to Sandusky about getting too close to The Second Mile children.
In 2009, when Sandusky left the charity’s board, Raykovitz told the staff that child welfare officials had issued a finding of abuse against Sandusky, Marshall said. But, she added, Raykovitz described it only as a general complaint being pursued by an angry mother who had accused Sandusky of wrongdoing, not a complaint of sexual abuse.
“I thought he would have told me that this was something really bad,” Marshall said. “And he didn’t.”
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/9536795-419/second-mile-board-ceo-never-warned-them-of-sandusky.html
This is beyond outrage.
ReplyDeleteJustice Orie Melvin has been stealing from taxpayers with an arrogant impunity that makes Wall Street thieves seem like choir boys.
"Do Not Steal", a quaint notion that some of us still find useful. "Equal Justice Under the Law", old fashioned idea that does not seem to apply anymore.
There are so many reasons why this is an outrage. We expect House and Senate members to steal. That' s what they do, like cockroaches do what they do.
A Penna. Supreme Court Justice !!!! No wonder we have kids for cash and LeRoy Zimmerman siphoning money from disadvantaged kids and a rape (or rapes) of a ten year old.
JAIL......
Do you know when Bill DeWeese is scheduled to go to trial?
ReplyDeleteI just read the article from the Boston Globe that you referenced.
ReplyDeleteIt is extremely revealing and crucially important!
This may be the smoking gun that connects Corbett to Second Mile Cover-Up & Complicity.
I strongly recommend that everyone interested in this case read it.
How do we know that Sandusky isn`t just one of a GROUP of pedophiles in the Centre County area...connected to Second Mile?
Corbett made sure it was not investigated by his 10 Person Child's Predator Unit, but used one lone Trooper?
Is anyone looking into the possibility that this has more perps involved than just Sandusky ?
"The report said 626 children were paired with volunteer mentors; 119 participated in Friend Fitness, which paired them with adults for workout programs; ...."
Who were all those children paired with?
Pity we have to go to Boston to find such substantive news. Please all of you bloggers, READ THIS!
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2011/12/19/former_2nd_mile_board_members_we_needed_to_know/
CHECK OUT THIS LINK TO BOSTON.COM:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2011/12/19/former_2nd_mile_board_members_we_needed_to_know/
AND THEN CHECK OUT THIS STORY IN THE POST-GAZETTE:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11331/1192859-143.stm#ixzz1h0lwM8Ik
SORRY LINK WILL NOT GO UP FOR SOME REASON? HOPE THIS WORK IF NOT HERE IS ARTICLE BELOW:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2011/12/19/former_2nd_mile_board_members_we_needed_to_know/
Former 2nd Mile board members: We needed to know
By Michael Rubinkam, Brett J. Blackledge and Mark Scolforo
Associated Press / December 19, 2011
STATE COLLEGE, Pa.—Former board members of Jerry Sandusky's charity say its CEO never told them about a 2002 shower incident that is the focus of child sexual abuse charges against the retired Penn State assistant coach. If they knew Sandusky had been banned from bringing kids on campus, they say they could have taken steps to better protect children a decade ago.
"Not one thing was said to us," said Bradley P. Lunsford, a Centre County judge who served on the Second Mile board between 2001 and 2005. "Not a damn thing."
If more information had been given to board members, they "would have asked the follow-up question: Why? You don't know? Who knows? Who can we talk to? Has this been reported to the police?" Lunsford said. "I guarantee you there would have been a competition among all those people to be the first to ask the question, `Why is he not allowed on campus?'"
Lunsford and four other former board members at The Second Mile point the finger at Jack Raykovitz, a close friend of Sandusky's who ran the charity until resigning following the former coach's Nov. 5 arrest.
A former prosecutor, Lunsford said Raykovitz had an obligation to tell the board. "There are a number of people around that table who have been involved with children's charities for years and there's a very good chance that if given accurate information about what the allegation was, there's a lot of people around that table who could have done something about it."
One of Raykovitz's vice presidents said Raykovitz also shared little information with his managers about a 2008 sexual abuse complaint that led to the current criminal charges against Sandusky.
And the head of Clinton County's child welfare agency, where the 2008 investigation began, said he told Raykovitz's wife in November 2008 that Sandusky had been spoken to about getting "too close" to children involved with the charity. Gerald Rosamilia said Raykovitz's wife, Katherine Genovese, who helped run The Second Mile, did not define what was meant by "too close" or give a timeframe.
Raykovitz defended himself in a telephone interview, saying he acted appropriately at all times. "There have always been steps in place to protect kids," he said.
The grand jury that charged Sandusky with 52 sexual abuse-related counts involving 10 boys said the former coach "found his victims" through The Second Mile and committed many of his offenses inside Penn State football buildings.
The nonprofit had thrived since its creation in 1977 because of Sandusky's prominence as a defensive coach at Penn State, its close ties to university donors and leaders, and its use of Penn State's athletic fields for its camps serving at-risk children. Then-coach Joe Paterno often served as master of ceremonies at The Second Mile fundraisers.
Continued...
Page 2 of 3 --
ReplyDeletePaterno, 84, led Penn State football for more than 45 years until early November, when the sexual abuse charges against Sandusky shook the entire university and claimed the jobs of major college football's winningest coach and the school's president, Graham Spanier.
Now, with The Second Mile's future in doubt, it is unclear whether Raykovitz properly handled the charity's response to the 2002 case.
Penn State athletic director Tim Curley testified that a graduate assistant had told him in 2002 only that he had seen "inappropriate conduct" that made him feel uncomfortable, and nothing of a sexual nature. But Mike McQueary, now an assistant coach, testified to the grand jury that he told Curley he saw what he believed to be Sandusky raping the boy, who he said was about 10.
Curley, who has been charged with perjury and failure to report a sex crime, testified he told Raykovitz of inappropriate conduct and that Sandusky was prohibited from bringing youth onto the Penn State campus.
Asked what Curley told him, Raykovitz cited a Nov. 6 Second Mile statement that referred only to inappropriate conduct: "At no time was The Second Mile made aware of the very serious allegations contained in the Grand Jury report."
The statement also said Curley, who has been placed on leave, told Raykovitz the shower incident "had been internally reviewed and that there was no finding of wrongdoing."
But Lunsford said the charity's board couldn't take action in 2002 that might have prevented other assaults of children "if there's a cover-up from the source."
Even if Raykovitz had only limited information, he still should have acted more aggressively in 2002 when contacted by Curley and should have viewed Curley's ban on Sandusky bringing Second Mile kids to campus as "a red flag," Lunsford said.
As the person in charge, Raykovitz was legally required to provide the board all available information whether he believed it was true or suspected it was false, Lunsford said.
"We still need to know. That's our job," he added. "By not telling us, it essentially rendered us ineffective and we had no chance to help those children."
Informed of Lunsford's comments, Raykovitz said, "He can feel anything he wants to feel."
Charles Markham, retired president of Uni-Marts Inc. and a Second Mile board member from the late 1990s until about 2004, said that Raykovitz never discussed the 2002 case with him personally or at board meetings. "If I'd known anything in 2002, I would have had a hard time keeping it under my hat," Markham said.
Two other former board members -- Larry Snavely, who runs a State College-based higher education marketing firm, and Donald Cross, a retired Centre County school employee -- said Raykovitz never mentioned the 2002 allegation. Another former member said he was not told, but asked that he not be publicly identified.Continued...
Page 3 of 3 --
ReplyDeleteDavid Woodle, acting CEO, refused to address concerns raised by board members about Raykovitz's handling of information regarding the 2002 shower incident, saying to do so would be a distraction from the goal of helping serve children.
The board of directors of a children's charity is responsible for making sure that it operates under reasonable policies and procedures to protect children, according to Daniel Borochoff, president of Chicago-based Charity Watch. Individual board members can face lawsuits for failing in their oversight duties, and The Second Mile insures its board members against such claims.
The Second Mile has been named in two civil complaints, including one that seeks to preserve the charity's assets.
David Marshall, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who represents other accusers, said: "It may have been only Sandusky who laid his hands on these children, but it is clear that a number of other individuals and agencies placed the children in harm's way by knowingly taking actions that allowed the abuse to continue even after they became fully aware of it."
Raykovitz also is facing questions about his handling of the 2008 complaint.
Rosamilia, the Clinton County youth services chief, said he had informed Raykovitz's wife in November 2008 that his office was terminating its relationship with The Second Mile because of an abuse complaint. He said he had not identified the target of that complaint, but that Genovese eventually guessed correctly that it was Sandusky.
Rosamilia, who said he mentioned his conversation with Genovese to investigators working on the current prosecution, also recalled Genovese saying that a member of The Second Mile board planned to speak with Sandusky about staying away from Second Mile events involving children.
Raykovitz said Rosamilia's description of the conversation with his wife is incorrect. He would not elaborate. Attempts to reach Genovese were unsuccessful.
Raykovitz referred questions about what he did in 2008 to a prior statement, which said that when Sandusky told The Second Mile he was being investigated because of allegations made "by an adolescent male," the organization separated him from "all of our program activities involving children." The Second Mile statement makes no mention of the sexual nature of the 2008 complaint.
He said in the interview last week some staff at The Second Mile were informed in 2008 that the complaint was the reason Sandusky was not participating in programs serving children, but only on an "as-needed basis."
Bonnie Marshall, the charity's vice president for development, said Raykovitz described the 2008 complaint to her and other senior staff as a general abuse complaint, not one of a sexual nature.
She said Raykovitz explained that Sandusky would be taking a break from programs with children but would continue fundraising.
She said she also was unaware of Genovese's conversation with Rosamilia, and was not aware that anyone at the charity had ever spoken to Sandusky about getting too close to The Second Mile children.
In 2009, when Sandusky left the charity's board, Raykovitz told the staff that child welfare officials had issued a finding of abuse against Sandusky, Marshall said. But, she added, Raykovitz described it only as a general complaint being pursued by an angry mother who had accused Sandusky of wrongdoing, not a complaint of sexual abuse.
"I thought he would have told me that this was something really bad," Marshall said. "And he didn't."
AP National Writer Jeff Donn and AP researchers Judith Ausuebel and Monika Mathur contributed to this report.
The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate(at)ap.org
Judge Bradley Lunsford needs to be investigated in regard to his connection to perpetuating the continued illegal commitments of children and adults to Centre County's The Meadows Psychiatric Institute.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous. Please contact me about Lunsford and the Meadows. http://PCTAPerryCountyTransportationAuthority.weebly.com I think Lunsford needs to be investigated for keeping adults in the CORRUPT The Meadows UHS Psychiatric Institute. My email is at the bottom of this website of mine. I was illegally involuntarily committed via Holy Spirit Hospital of Camp Hill, PA and illegal held against my will by Dr. Rich man with the help of Bradley Lunsford. I'd like to get a class action lawsuit going. 22 UHS facilities have been shut down throughout the U.S. If Lunsford listened to the highly corrupt audio recording of my mental hearing's in the Meadows I would not have been kept for 20 days. SUICIDAL patients were kicked to the curb after 8-10 days. I guess I had better insurance.
Delete