[RayChuang88]

In the end, what happened at Penn State was a case of just one person--Joe Paterno--so dominating a very small town that just about everyone was fearful of offending him. As such, this explains why Jerry Sandusky was able to get away with his abhorrent behavior with near-impunity, mostly because Sandusky was a close family friend of the Paterno family.

[2nd Bn, 11th Mar]

"...so dominating a very small town that just about everyone was fearful of offending him."

I think there's another Pennsylvania example of this...remember John Murtha? He also set himself up as a 'Duke' with Johnstown and environs as his fiefdom.