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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPaterno Won Sweeter Deal Even as Scandal Played Out (won=blackmailed some for)
In January 2011, Joe Paterno learned prosecutors were investigating his longtime assistant coach Jerry Sandusky for sexually assaulting young boys. Soon, Mr. Paterno had testified before a grand jury, and the rough outlines of what would become a giant scandal had been published in a local newspaper.
That same month, Mr. Paterno, the football coach at Penn State, began negotiating with his superiors to amend his contract, with the timing something of a surprise because the contract was not set to expire until the end of 2012, according to university documents and people with knowledge of the discussions. By August, Mr. Paterno and the universitys president, both of whom were by then embroiled in the Sandusky investigation, had reached an agreement.
Mr. Paterno was to be paid $3 million at the end of the 2011 season if he agreed it would be his last. Interest-free loans totaling $350,000 that the university had made to Mr. Paterno over the years would be forgiven as part of the retirement package. He would also have the use of the universitys private plane and a luxury box at Beaver Stadium for him and his family to use over the next 25 years.
The universitys full board of trustees was kept in the dark about the arrangement until November, when Mr. Sandusky was arrested.
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In the end, the board of trustees bombarded with hate mail and threatened with a defamation lawsuit by Mr. Paternos family gave the family virtually everything it wanted, with a package worth roughly $5.5 million. Documents show that the board even tossed in some extras that the family demanded, like the use of specialized hydrotherapy massage equipment for Mr. Paternos wife at the universitys Lasch Building, where Mr. Sandusky had molested a number of his victims.
The details of Mr. Paterno and his familys fight for money seem to deepen one of the lasting truths of the Sandusky scandal: the significant power that Mr. Paterno exerted on the state institution, its officials, its alumni and its purse strings.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/sports/ncaafootball/joe-paterno-got-richer-contract-amid-jerry-sandusky-inquiry.html?_r=1
He knew the shitstorm was coming. He wanted everything he could get. I'll bet they had lawyers working overtime to find ways to shield their money from lawsuits. BTW the Patern's have a 3.2M beach house. And he was such a simple man.
I hope lawsuits wring every penny out of them.
They fight for every penny while who knows how many victims never got help.
ASSHOLES!
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)Because he knew Paterno could have him fired.
This is not a case of a good man making a very bad decision...Paterno was a very bad man.
obamanut2012
(26,080 posts)obamanut2012
(26,080 posts)Either as part of the OP or as a separate reply within the thread.
Yet another reason to suspend the program.
myrna minx
(22,772 posts)Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)be dragged through the dirt and his "legacy" destroyed forever.
May his family, with their ill-gotten gains, be forced to run from the law for the rest of their privileged lives.
Baitball Blogger
(46,735 posts)One day we'll look back and realize that there was an entire core of leaders who felt they could get away with someone as bad as pedophilia, simply because they had social rank and $$. And yes, they are adept at portraying themselves as humble people who are getting picked on, when they have 3.2 M beach houses.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,321 posts)They put out that press release claiming innocence for the piece of shit Paterno, when they've made millions off the cover-up. Get back every penny, give it to the victims, and then the world should shun the family. They have no shame.
Ruby the Liberal
(26,219 posts)Nothing suspicious about that.
On a brighter note, bring on the lawsuits. Let no account go untapped.