Two top university officials — Gary Schultz, the senior vice president for finance and business, and Tim Curley, the athletic director — were charged with perjury and failure to report to authorities what they knew of the allegations, as required by state law. The Penn State board of trustees held an emergency meeting Sunday night, after which the university president, Graham B. Spanier, announced that Curley had asked to be placed on administrative leave while he fought the charges and that Schultz had resigned.
By MARK VIERA
Published: November 6, 2011
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — On Saturday, March 2, 2002, according to Pennsylvania prosecutors, a Penn State University graduate student went to visit Joe Paterno, the university’s football coach. He had a horrific story to tell: the night before, the graduate student had witnessed one of Paterno’s former coaches sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in the football facility’s showers.
Paterno, according to the prosecutors, did not call the police. Instead, the next day, he had the university’s athletic director visit him at his home, a modest ranch house just off campus in State College. According to prosecutors, Paterno told the athletic director of the report regarding the former coach, Jerry Sandusky.
The authorities then say nothing about what, if anything, Paterno did in the subsequent days or weeks. They do not say whether he followed up on the allegation or whether he ever confronted Sandusky, a man who had worked for him for 32 years and who, even after retiring, had wide access to the university’s athletic facilities and students.
What prosecutors do contend in detail is that Sandusky went on to abuse at least one and perhaps any number of other young boys after Paterno and other senior officials at Penn State were told of an assault in 2002.
Sandusky, 67, was arrested Saturday and charged with 40 counts of sexually abusing children over 15 years, including his time as an assistant at Penn State. He was specifically accused of having assaulted the young boy in 2002. All the accusers were boys Sandusky had come to know through a charity he founded, the Second Mile, for disadvantaged children from troubled families.
On Sunday, Paterno issued a statement insisting that the graduate assistant had not told him of the extent of the sexual assault that he said he witnessed, only that he had seen something inappropriate involving Sandusky and the child.
“As Coach Sandusky was retired from our coaching staff at the time, I referred the matter to university administrators,” Paterno said in the statement.
“I understand that people are upset and angry, but let’s be fair and let the legal process unfold,” Paterno said.
Paterno’s son Scott said in an interview Sunday that Paterno never spoke to Sandusky about the allegation, and that he never seriously pursued the question of whether any action had been taken by the university or any other authorities against Sandusky.
“From my imperfect recollection, once he referred it off, I do not believe he had a second conversation about it,” Scott Paterno said of his father and how he handled any follow-up on the allegation. He added: “The appropriate people were contacted by Joe. That was the chain of command. It was a retired employee and it falls under the university’s auspices, not the football auspices.”
The university’s athletic director, Tim Curley, and another senior administration official have been charged with lying to a grand jury about what they had been told about Sandusky’s conduct, and they are expected to surrender to the authorities Monday morning. Their lawyers have maintained they will be exonerated. Sandusky, through his lawyer, has maintained his innocence.
It appears prosecutors believe that Paterno, whatever his personal sense of obligation to inquire or act further, met his legal requirement in reporting the graduate student’s allegation to his direct superior, Curley.
Under state law, if a staff member at a school makes a report of possible sexual abuse of a child, it is the responsibility of “the person in charge of the school or institution” to make a report to the state’s Department of Public Welfare. According to prosecutors, neither Curley nor the president of Penn State, Graham B. Spanier, who had been told by Curley of the complaint against Sandusky, made such a report to child welfare authorities.
Of course, there was nothing preventing Paterno from doing more, and some sexual abuse experts and those who have represented young sex victims over the years have begun questioning why he did not take more immediate, aggressive action....
CLICK ON LINK BELOW FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/sports/ncaafootball/in-penn-states-sex-abuse-case-a-focus-on-how-paterno-reacted.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=globaleua28
UK Daily Mirror:
ReplyDelete"A drained Kim Kardashian emerges from Kris Humphries's Minnesota home after two-hour counselling session with pastor who married them
*Couple trying to get closure on failed marriage
*Reality star accompanied by Pastor Joel Johnson
*Paces porch making phone call and looks stressed
By Amelia Proud 6th November 2011
Kim Kardashian has emerged from the home of her estranged husband Kris Humphries, where the couple are having crisis talks.
Still dressed in practical flight wear, Kim looked drained as she left the lavish lakeside property with Pastor Joel Johnson, who presided over their nuptials in August.
Kim and Kris spent around two hours holding crunch talks to get closure on their failed relationship before Kim headed to the airport.
Kris could be seen in the doorway as Kim and Pastor Johnson, her hometown minister, left the property.
Earlier, the reality star took a break from discussions to make a private phone call outside the Minnesota house belonging to her husband - who she filed for divorce from after just 72 days of marriage.
She was perhaps calling home to California, and wished for some privacy away from Kris to talk to her family.
It was clearly a serious call, as Kim paced the porch with her handset glued to her ear with a stricken look across her face.
She freed herself from self-imposed house arrest last night and made a midnight dash to see the NBA player.
Apparently feeling 'conflicted over the divorce' the 31-year-old waited until it was dark and then took a flight from LAX to Minneapolis...
And there were no camera crew accompanying them on the journey.
A source told the website: 'Kim has been saying even before she filed for divorce that she wasn't sure about ending the marriage.
'It's definitely not accurate to call this a reconciliation ... or even an attempt at one ... but the door is definitely not shut.
'Kris and Kim will be meeting with the pastor who married them to talk about the marriage, the divorce, and their feelings.
Again, this is not a reconciliation but we're told Kim wants to make sure she and Kris have closure and talk everything out.'
Kim had placed herself under house arrest at a secret location to attempt to ride out the fallout from her divorce decision..."
On the news microcosm it's about Kim Kardashian while on the macrocosm it's about the Greek collapse, or is it the other way around, or both, as both Kim and the Greeks go into a tailspin that may bring them down to Earth...:
ReplyDeleteThe New York Times - Europe:
"Normal Life on Pause, and a Sense of Simmering Rage
By LANDON THOMAS Jr. November 6, 2011
...That the Greek economy is in a downward spiral from a relentless program of austerity is well known. In October, Greek manufacturing had one of its sharpest declines ever, and this year overall production is expected to contract by more than 6 percent. What has not yet shown up in the official figures, though, is the extent to which the crisis atmosphere has brought the economy to a virtual standstill.
Auto sales have essentially stopped and are at their lowest level since 1993. People who do have cars have trouble with the expenses of operating them. In the last three months, the number of uninsured drivers increased by 500,000, bringing the total to 1.5 million.
Small shops, in many ways the lifeblood of the Greek economy, which relies on domestic demand, are closing by the day. And the heightened speculation that Greece might have to return to the drachma has sped up the flood of money leaving Greek banks: money to be deposited abroad, stashed at home or in one’s car, and most certainly not spent.
Since January 2010, Greek banks have lost $63.5 billion in deposits — or about 20 percent of annual economic output. But bankers here say that in September and October the numbers rose substantially, with estimates ranging from $13.8 billion to $20.7 billion for just these two months.
Dimitris, a retired truck driver who also did not want to have his full name revealed, recently sent his life savings, about $69,000, to Sweden because, as he put it, “Greece is going bankrupt.”
He has no doubt where the blame lies. “I am impressed that the people have not yet stormed into Parliament and burned the politicians alive — like a souvlaki,” he said.
The vitriol toward politicians is in many ways more intense than the outrage expressed toward the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Politicians here rarely venture out in public, and when they do, even the most obscure member of Parliament is accompanied by at least one bodyguard.
All of it is giving rise to talk that, instead of putting forward another coalition of failed parties and leaders, new people with new ideas outside the political establishment should be brought in.
Among the people mentioned are Lucas D. Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank, and Stefanos Manos, a former economy minister for the New Democracy Party who has long argued that any chance of true reform is hopeless until Greece lays off a large chunk of its inefficient public work force.
Mr. Manos’s latest program is even more controversial. He proposes that as much as $415 billion worth of Greek assets be put into a vast “goody bag,” including plots of land, sites of historical significance and even prized islands, as collateral to secure an immediate loan of about $105 billion from Europe that would be used to buy discounted Greek bonds and pay off debtors. In return, Greece would agree to sell most of the assets in the goody bag within the next 10 years or so and pay back the loan — with a bit left over, he hopes.
“Call me a taboo killer if you will,” he said. “Fire Greek workers, sell Greek islands — politicians here have to overcome their taboos.” And, he added, they have little time to do so. “Everything has stopped here,” he continued. “People are taking their money out of the country. The bomb is ticking.”
For many in Athens, it has already gone off..."
Important ABC video (4 minutes):
ReplyDelete"Eurozone crisis: You ain't seen nothing yet
Posted November 07, 2011 21:33:00
Critics fear the debt crisis in Greece is only the start of worsening economic turmoil in Europe.
Stephen Long"
Reuters:
ReplyDelete"Cain's support dips after sex accusations: poll
By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON | Sun Nov 6, 2011
(Reuters) - Allegations that Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain sexually harassed women in the 1990s have begun to damage his bid for the White House, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The poll showed the percentage of Republicans who view Cain favorably dropped 9 percentage points, to 57 percent from 66 percent a week ago.
Among all registered voters, Cain's favorability declined 5 percentage points, to 32 percent from 37 percent.
The survey represents the first evidence that sexual harassment claims dating from Cain's time as head of the National Restaurant Association have taken a toll on his presidential campaign.
A majority of respondents, 53 percent, believe sexual harassment allegations against Cain are true despite his denials. Republicans were less likely to believe they are true, with 39 percent thinking they are accurate.
"The most striking thing is that Herman Cain is actually seeing a fairly substantial decline in favorability ratings toward him particularly among Republicans," said Ipsos pollster Chris Jackson.
The 65-year-old Cain, a former pizza company executive with no experience in political office, has been running neck and neck with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for the lead in polls of Republicans considering who will be the nominee to face Democratic President Barack Obama next year.
At least three women have accused Cain of sexual harassment from his time as the restaurant industry's top lobbyist. Cain has given conflicting accounts of the cases since the news broke a week ago by news website Politico. He insists the claims were baseless and that he was wrongfully accused.
But a woman who received a cash settlement from the restaurant association in response to her harassment claim rejected Cain's denials on Friday. She said through her lawyer that she was the victim of a "series of inappropriate behaviors and unwanted advances" by Cain in 1999.
The allegations have received wide attention. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found more than 80 percent of respondents have heard of them. Republicans are the most aware, at 88 percent, while independents the least aware, at 64 percent.
OPPONENTS SPEAK OUT
One of Cain's Republican presidential adversaries on Sunday called for more information on the allegations.
"It has got to come out in total," Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "Legitimate questions have been raised and that information has to come forward."
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said on "Fox News Sunday" that the media went too far in covering the allegations, distracting voters from more important issues.
"The media blew this way out of proportion," Paul said. "There are a thousand stories out there and I think that dilutes the real debates, because (Cain's) views on foreign policy for instance are dramatically different than mine."
Four in 10 poll respondents said the harassment issue had made them less favorable toward Cain. About one in three Republicans, or 35 percent, said the controversy had made them less favorable toward Cain.
Jackson said it may well be that the wave of support that carried the conservative Cain to the top of the Republican field was now cresting.
"I think he is probably cresting now. I think this week, last week, were sort of the high-water mark," he said.
The poll found that Romney, who is more a candidate of the Republican establishment, has a favorability among Republican voters of 63 percent, while rival Rick Perry, the Texas governor, is viewed favorably by 47 percent..."
It's been many months now and ex rabbi Leib Tropper's trail seems to have gone cold.
ReplyDeleteMost notably, Tropper stopped posting to his nutty "כבוד התורה" blog on Friday, June 24, 2011 with a post about "Parashat Korach" -- how apt -- and nothing, zip, zilch, nada on it since then.
On that blog Tropper had previously announced the self-publication of "halachic works" based on his father edited by Leib Tropper himself -- can't keep a good man down as he lunges to re-write the halachos of Yiddishkeit to suit himself!
Otherwise, goornisht!
Hey, as that famous "wabbit" used to wonder: "What's up doc?"
A couple of months ago there were a flurry of postings about Tropper to various "professional networking" blogs seemingly to spread the "good word" about the ex rabbi Tropper. One such site, Linked-In even had Tropper placed in San Diego of all places, see it for yourself if you don't believe it:
"Linked In:
Leib Tropper
Independent Higher Education Professional
Greater San Diego Area
Higher Education.
So who knows, Tropper may well be hanging out in sunny southern California where gurus prey on innocents and where anyone can remake and recreate a new life.
If anyone has hard-core news please let us know about the exact whereabouts and current activities of the former disgraced head of the the EJF, Kol Yaakov yeshiva...the life you thereby save from tricky Tropper's treacheries may be your own!
Dovid weinberger-Rockaway/Lawrenc
ReplyDelete"if you do counciling, you have access to women, that's the way to go.
Dovid Weinberger is teaching seminary girls at that new place in Far Rockaway started by Rebbitzen Feiner in her husband's White Shul.
ReplyDeleteTropper must be a chosid of the music from Van Halen / Dovid Lee Roth
ReplyDelete"I wish they all could be California girls"
Regarding Dovid Weinberger...there has been a kolo d'lo pasik about him for years (rumors that persist)...the 5 Towns community has an obligation to investigate - either get rid of him if true, or clear him.
ReplyDeleteThe L.A. Community knew about the Tendlers for some 20 years, they wreaked havoc on the lives of many teen girls and married women, the RCC and their rabbis did nothing!
The fact that he's "teaching" teen girls...makes it urgent!
I wonder what the Rebbe Rav Scheinberg would say about his grandson Weinberger. Maybe even penetration is not abuse if the female is a penuya.
ReplyDeleteRabbi Feiner:
ReplyDeleteYou are obligated to investigate Dovid Weinberger and the accusations against him. I will hold you accountable.
UOJ, the big money behind Feiner's seminary is Alex Edelman from Harborview who hosts the BMG 5 Towns Shabbos.
ReplyDeletehttp://matzav.com/new-seminary-for-girls-in-the-five-towns-and-rockaways-led-by-rebbetzin-aviva-feiner
Machon Basya Rochel has just announced plans to open its new seminary this fall under the leadership of Rebbetzin Aviva Feiner. In response to the needs of our local young women, especially recent high school graduates and those returning from Eretz Yisrael, Machon Basya Rochel will present a unique program of intellectually stimulating and challenging courses with practical application in mind. In Rebbetzin Feiner’s words: “We are looking to enhance each young woman’s commitment to a Torah life as well as her skills in Hebrew textual learning, and view each student as a unique individual with her own personal talents, struggles, and aspirations.”
Since the initial announcement, the response has been remarkable. Young women both here and abroad are expressing interest in joining the seminary. MBR boasts a dynamic and talented roster of faculty and guest lecturers that include, Rabbi Eytan Feiner, Rabbi Dovid Weinberger, Rebbetzin Tehila Jaeger, Mrs. Debbie Greenblatt, Mrs Elisheva Liss, Mrs. Yocheved Shonek and others. Course offerings will include Machsheves Yisrael, Tanach, Halacha and more.
Machon Basya Rochel is seeking students striving to maximize their knowledge, awareness, and commitments as Jewish women at this pivotal time in their lives. An optional mid-year trip to Eretz Yisrael will provide an exciting opportunity to draw inspiration from its Torah personalities and mekomos kedoshim. Other special events, guest speakers, and Shabbatonim will enhance the warm and inviting atmosphere that students experience each day at the seminary.
Rebbetzin Feiner, an internationally recognized lecturer brings years of experience at seminaries in Eretz Yisrael, having taught and guided students for many years at B’not Torah Institute, Bnos Chava, Darchei Bina, and other institutions. She is the co-founder of the highly successful post-seminary Chochmas Nashim learning program in Jerusalem, where she lectured weekly on Tanach. She is currently the Rebbetzin of Congregation Kneseth Israel (”The White Shul”) in Far Rockaway, N.Y. In addition to her many duties at the Shul, Rebbetzin Feiner serves as a kallah teacher, organizes community events, and cooks gourmet for a constant flow of Shabbos and Yom Tov guests. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Queens College and a Masters Degree in Special Education from Johns Hopkins University, and studied in Bnos Chava Seminary in Israel.
It is appropriate that Machon Basya Rochel is named after the mother of Lawrence community member Alex Edelman. A woman of uncommon courage, she was known to have saved many lives during her time in concentration camps. She serves as a role model for young Jewish Women everywhere.
For more information and to request an application email MBRseminary@gmail.com or call 718-355-8900.
There is another 5 Towns seminary called Sh'eefa located in Rabbi Moshe Weinberger's Aish Kodesh shul in Woodmere.
ReplyDeletehttp://sheefa.org/SPEAKERS.html
Dovid Weinberger is a magid shiur there as well!
Thanks, I'm on it!
ReplyDeleteNew member of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah: Hagaon Harav Yosef Paterno, the Nittany Rebbe, the first Hall of Famer (or is it Hall of Faker) to be on the Moetzes.
ReplyDeleteEdelman lives a few blocks outside of the Harborview subdivision but he does daven here sometimes. He means well and I'm sure he had no idea Weinberger would be cruising around for seminary girls when he gave the dedication money.
ReplyDeleteDavid Eytan Feiner is a 39 year old graduate of Ner Yisroel and has a masters in Liberal Farts from Johns Hopkins. He grew up modern orthodox in the 5 Towns, attending HALB. He wants very much to prove he is part of the yeshivish establishment. He went all out for Rubashkin and I would not be surprised if the old boys network at NIRC would press on him to cover up for molesters and womanizers like they have done so well.
ReplyDeleteRabbi Ephraim Frenkel is the director of the seminary inside Aish Kodesh. He is also menahel of Kollel Zichron Ephraim Heschel in Far Rockaway. He is a big talmid of R' Tuvya Goldstein.
ReplyDeleteRabbi Ephraim Frenkel
EFrenkel@sheefa.org
I know some rabbis in Lakewood are on Dovid Weinberger's case but most people in the 5 Towns have never heard anything about him misbehaving. Personally, I don't know a single person.
Sheker vechuziv! UOJ tinks going after Scheinberg's einikil is a vay of getting me.
ReplyDeleteBy The Associated Press
ReplyDeleteHARRISBURG, Pa. -- Two Penn State officials surrendered Monday on charges that they failed to report suspected child-sexual abuse by a former coach and committed perjury in their related grand jury testimony.
Senior Vice President Gary Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley both stepped down from their posts late Sunday, one day after the charges were announced.
On Monday, they appeared in a Harrisburg courtroom, where a judge set bail at $75,000. They weren't required to enter pleas but they had to surrender their passports.
The pair are accused of failing to alert police to complaints that former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky had sexually abused eight boys. They are also charged with lying to a state grand jury investigating the former defensive coordinator.
Curley and Schultz have the unconditional support of university President Graham Spanier, according to a statement released Saturday. Spanier called the allegations "troubling" but predicted the school officials would be exonerated.
(The AP believes that Spanier is under criminal investigation himself after the State Attorney General skirted a question)
---
Brooklyn, NY -- Lawyers for 2 YTT officials were negootiating their surrender Monday on charges that they failed to report suspected child-sexual abuse by a former rebbe and committed perjury in their related grand jury testimony.
Executive Director Yankel Applegrad and Director of Vaad Hahorim Bentzion Schiffenbauer both stepped down from their posts late Sunday, one day after the charges were announced.
On Monday, they were indicted in a Kings County courtroom.
The pair are accused of failing to alert police to complaints that former rebbe and assistant menahel Yudi Kolko had sexually abused one hundred and eight boys. They are also charged with lying to a state grand jury investigating Kolko.
Applegrad and Schiffenbauer have the unconditional support of the "rosh hayeshiva" Lipa Margulies. Margulies called the allegations "lies" and predicted the officials would be exonerated.
(The AP believes that Margulies is under criminal investigation himself after the State Attorney General skirted a question)
Leave it to UOJ to rain on the party whenever someone just wants a little foreplay.
ReplyDeletehttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KnRDPhSYMpI/TrNixaWvVbI/AAAAAAAAAA8/1nZpxMjM2ic/s1600/attia.jpg
ReplyDeleteI thought UOJ was too busy to start picking on all us Ohel employees & associates