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One man's quest for answers in the Sandusky/Penn State saga
York Daily Record ^ | 7-28-13 | Frank Bodani

Posted on 07/28/2013 5:29:07 PM PDT by FlJoePa

Ray Blehar earned a mid-life master's degree from Penn State. That gave him a reason to pay closer attention to the fallout of the Jerry Sandusky saga.

He also has 28 years of experience as a government analyst. He's written business reviews, evaluated reports and became used to "telling (people) stuff they don't want to hear" as an inspector general.

All of that helped drive him on a quest the past two years.

Blehar has devoted much of his free time to researching and analyzing documents and reports related to Sandusky and Penn State, including the grand jury presentment, the trial transcript, media reports and government press releases.

It's been a learning process on child-abuse laws, the state's child-protective agencies and how the system is supposed to work.

He's written 60 to 70 blog posts about the ongoing case at his site, notpsu.blogspot.com. He's also produced three extensive reports regarding his believed mishandling of the investigation surrounding Sandusky and Penn State and, thus, the inaccurate conclusions presented.

His interest ramped up after the release of the Freeh Report last July -- not because it led to harsh NCAA sanctions against Penn State and its football program -- but because of how it was written, presented and accepted.

This is, after all, a man who analyzes reports for a living.

Then, what began to stick with him was how the more he researched, the less everything seem to revolve around those deposed -- Joe Paterno, athletic director Tim Curley, vice president Gary Schultz and president Graham Spanier.

And the more it fell back to how child abuse is reported and handled in Centre County and across the state.

And the more it seemed possible that political and financial agendas played into why Sandusky was not charged and brought to justice years earlier.

A cover-up of a completely different kind?

If nothing else, Blehar's exhaustive work provides critical questions that need answers.

"I'm interested in finding the truth, that's all I wanted to do," said Blehar, 52, who lives in Annapolis, Md. "As I learned what happened, I learned how the child-protection system in Pennsylvania is pretty bad. It was, 'Jeez, these kids are not being protected.'"

And so the dual ideas of fixing that system and fixing the blame narrative at Penn State are intertwined.

Part of that problem begins with the nature of the crime. For example, the state Department of Welfare reported that 85 percent of all abuse complaints in a recent year ended up as "unfounded." Sandusky? He enjoyed even better odds of dodging the law, regardless of anyone trying to conceal his behavior. He was a beloved member of the community for his coaching career, for founding a charity and for being a foster and adoptive parent.

"The system is stacked in favor of guys like Sandusky who have built a history," Blehar said.

Blehar also alleges mistakes and possible misconduct in the Freeh Report and the Sandusky prosecution. For one, he discredits the stunning testimony of the Penn State janitor who said one of his own witnessed Sandusky sexually abusing a minor.

Blehar points to wrong employment dates and changed stories as evidence.

* * *

Again, Blehar's research and conclusions at least deserve answers.

And that could happen as a result of Pennsylvania attorney general Kathleen Kane's probe into the Sandusky investigation and federal officials' investigation into The Second Mile. (Blehar said he has turned over information to Kane's office).

Meanwhile, he could care less if some discredit him as a jaded Penn State alum, fan or fame-seeker.

"If I have to burn Penn State to the ground, I will," he said. "If Penn State did something wrong then they should be punished. I don't have any issue with finding fault with Penn State. I think there's a lot of fault at Penn State, just not with the three people they're trying to convict now."

He plans on continuing his blog posts and writing a fourth report sometime in the fall. If he possesses certain skills and job experience, then he feels obligated to use them.

Because the ultimate goal is for children in Pennsylvania to be better protected by a system that needs help.

And that can't happen until the truth about Sandusky, Penn State and so many others is finally discovered.


TOPICS: Education; Miscellaneous; Sports
KEYWORDS: children; ncaa; pennstate; psu
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To: IncPen

MM said - swore - under oath that he never saw any sort of anal intercourse or rape.

How you interpret what he said he heard is up to you. He’s changed his story at least 5 times. Victim #2 says horseplay. Victim #2 is suing PSU based on LATER actions - away from the University. Why isn’t he suing based on MM’s shower scenario?

MM also told his father and his father’s friend - both doctors and both MANDATORY reporters (unlike Joe Paterno) what he saw that night, and told them both THREE times “nothing sexual”.

So sift through all this and continue to blame the ONLY person who did exactly what he was supposed to do under PA law (Joe Paterno).


21 posted on 07/28/2013 6:56:19 PM PDT by FlJoePa ("Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good")
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To: FlJoePa

Paterno’s legacy is what it is 298-136-3. Sandusky will always be included in any conversation about Paterno and Penn State.


22 posted on 07/28/2013 7:05:36 PM PDT by waud
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To: IncPen
Radio interview involving victim #2: Kevin Slaten and John Ziegler

youtube link

23 posted on 07/28/2013 7:11:47 PM PDT by FlJoePa ("Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good")
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To: waud

409 Forever

Anyone that thinks otherwise is just jealous


24 posted on 07/28/2013 7:12:26 PM PDT by FlJoePa ("Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good")
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To: FlJoePa

I’ll give you that one.


25 posted on 07/28/2013 7:13:37 PM PDT by waud
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To: FlJoePa
I can't for the life of me understand why you'd be defending the actions of anyone at Penn State. Sandusky was a known predator.

And again, you're twisting the facts.

I'm not going to track down point by point refutations, and I'm not going to accept your telling me that McQueary was not a mandated reporter, morally or legally.

I'll refer you to this passage of the wiki page on McQueary, and leave it at that:

The university senior vice president and others have been charged with perjury for saying that McQueary had reported only horseplay at the time. A prominent Pennsylvania nephrologist (kidney doctor) says that he was present when McQueary described the incident to his father and the description mentioned hearing but not seeing a slapping sound in the other room, seeing Sandusky put his hand around the child's waist and later emerging wearing a towel.[14] Mike McQueary's testimony for the preliminary perjury trial says that he heard 'two or three' slapping sounds before entering the locker room, and later saw Sandusky with his arms around the child's waist while hearing 'more than one' of the showerheads running and saw that the child's hair 'was wet'; although he did not see any sexual contact of hands or genitals or any evidence of arousal, just from the positions of the bodies he knew it was 'over the line' and 'extremely sexual' and 'some sort of intercourse' was taking place, and that he tried to explain what he had seen to Coach Paterno by using the word 'fondling.'[15]

Paterno can rot in hell, he was no hero.

26 posted on 07/28/2013 7:46:38 PM PDT by IncPen (When you start talking about what we 'should' have, you've made the case for the Second Amendment)
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To: IncPen

A Freeper using wiki. Hmmm...How do you know what MM told Joe Paterno?

Joe (imo) refreshed his conversation with MM before HIS testimony - which lasted 8 minutes - in an effort to try to help put JS in jail. He was an 84 year old man that probably thought he was trying to help.

Joe was also initially praised by AG Linda Kelly for his contribution to the case.

You’re looking at things with 2013 facts (which are still suspect, imo) and applying them to 2001 actions.

That doesn’t seem very fair. In 2001 Joe knew of nothing. He didn’t know of the 1998 incident (Victim #1) because it would have been against the law for him to be informed.

Even so, 1998 was dismissed, done away with - not by PSU, but by state agencies and now missing DA Ray Gricar.

“Paterno can rot in hell?”

Screw you is all I can say to that.


27 posted on 07/28/2013 8:10:11 PM PDT by FlJoePa ("Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good")
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To: IncPen

You do know that the jury did not believe that McQueary saw what he said he saw, especially after he kept changing his story.

And you do know that the jury acquitted Sandusky of that particular charge because McQueary was just not credible.

He was the prosecutor’s Rachel Jeantel.

Well now you do.


28 posted on 07/28/2013 8:42:38 PM PDT by Uncle Chip
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To: Uncle Chip

Prelims tomorrow. No Cynthia Baldwin testimony from what I’ve heard.

We’ll see if there is still an honest judge in the state of PA.


29 posted on 07/28/2013 8:51:21 PM PDT by FlJoePa ("Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good")
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To: Uncle Chip

Read the depositions.


30 posted on 07/28/2013 8:54:50 PM PDT by IncPen (When you start talking about what we 'should' have, you've made the case for the Second Amendment)
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To: IncPen

Read the depositions? Srsly?

Read Ray Blehar and John Ziegler. They have the truth. You DO want the truth, right?

MM was a perfect mark for the OAG. If anyone ever was ever ripe for having his arm twisted, he was it. Do some research. Learn something.


31 posted on 07/28/2013 9:00:03 PM PDT by FlJoePa ("Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good")
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To: IncPen
Read the depositions.

Court testimony supercedes depositions and based on what he testified to in court the jury found Sandusky not guilty of that particular charge.

32 posted on 07/28/2013 9:02:31 PM PDT by Uncle Chip
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To: FlJoePa; Uncle Chip

Clearly you two have an agenda, which appears to include polishing the turd that is Penn State.

Enjoy yourselves.


33 posted on 07/28/2013 9:07:05 PM PDT by IncPen (When you start talking about what we 'should' have, you've made the case for the Second Amendment)
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To: IncPen

I’m sorry — did the truth hurt your feelings — get over it.


34 posted on 07/28/2013 9:09:01 PM PDT by Uncle Chip
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To: Uncle Chip

V2’s (shower/McQueary) own words - before the trial (in the form of letters to the editor at two papers) blow this out of the water anyway. There was no V2! He himself says so. What more do you want to hear?

You try to feed these people information/truth in the form of links, investigations, radio interviews, etc. and they don’t want to hear it.

It’s like they cover their ears and just scream nananananannananana when you confront them with facts.


35 posted on 07/28/2013 9:11:18 PM PDT by FlJoePa ("Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good")
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To: FlJoePa

They are like Trayvon Martin supporters —


36 posted on 07/28/2013 9:18:51 PM PDT by Uncle Chip
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To: FlJoePa

“Mike McQueary was called as a witness in a hearing for three former Penn State officials accused in a cover-up of the scandal. He told the judge that the late Hall of Fame coach had told him that “Old Main screwed up” — referring to university administrators — responding to the allegations against Sandusky.” http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9518784/mike-mcqueary-witness-stand-joe-paterno-said-penn-state-erred

You guys can defend your beloved Penn State all you want. But you’re looking at things through rose colored glasses.


37 posted on 07/29/2013 11:42:56 AM PDT by kingpins10
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To: kingpins10

MM’s testimony wrt V2 (who is an ex-marine that claims nothing ever happened) continues to be all over the map. He simply isn’t credible and is being coached by the prosecution.

As to what else came out of today’s testimony - absolutely nothing that backs up louis freeh’s claims of any sort of cover-up.

MM said today that no one ever told him to be quiet about anything.

Why was this a football problem again? Why was the football program sanctioned for the acts of a retired football coach? Help me out here.


38 posted on 07/29/2013 11:57:07 AM PDT by FlJoePa ("Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good")
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To: FlJoePa

“Help me out here.”

Your posts prove there is no helping you out.. Kirk out.


39 posted on 07/29/2013 12:14:22 PM PDT by kingpins10
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To: kingpins10

Keep heading to espn for your news. Better yet, listen to the steroid addled meathead and the douchebag in the morning on the radio to get it.


40 posted on 07/29/2013 12:16:19 PM PDT by FlJoePa ("Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good")
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