Former Penn State President Graham Spanier charged in “conspiracy of silence;” Gary Schultz & Tim Curley face additional charges
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA (USA) — Attorney General Linda Kelly and Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan announced that criminal charges have been filed against former Penn State University President Graham Spanier, who is accused of conspiring with other top university officials to conceal information about suspected child abuse involving Jerry Sandusky, along with obstructing the criminal investigation into this case, perjury before a grand jury, endangering the welfare of children and other related crimes.
New criminal charges have also been filed against former University Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz and former Penn State Athletic Director Timothy Curley.
Spanier, Schultz and Curley are accused of concealing information about suspected child abuse involving Jerry Sandusky, including on-campus incidents from 1998 and 2001 that were reported and discussed in great detail by those three men. The three are also accused of obstructing the criminal investigation into the case, making false statements before a grand jury, endangering the welfare of children and other related crimes.
“This is not a mistake, an oversight or a misjudgment. This was a conspiracy of silence by top officials at Penn State, working to actively conceal the truth, with total disregard to the suffering of children,” Kelly said.
“I hope the attention this case received will change people’s perceptions concerning child sexual abuse,” said Noonan. “If you are aware of a complaint by a child or if you know that a child is being abused, it is imperative that you report it immediately to law enforcement.”
The grand jury presentment shows in great detail the ways in which the three men conspired to conceal and cover up the truth, according to Kelly.
“The grand jury issued a subpoena in December 2010,” said Kelly, “but pertinent emails and other key evidence were never turned over until April 2012, after these men had left their jobs.”
Notes and documents about the 1998 and 2001 crimes were allegedly kept by Schultz in a file drawer in his campus office. Schultz told staff members that they were never to look in that “Sandusky” file. On November 5, 2011 – the day that original criminal charges were announced against Sandusky, Schultz and Curley – that file was removed from Schultz’s office and delivered to his home.
The existence of Schultz’s file about Sandusky, along with an extensive amount of additional information from Penn State that was beneficial to the investigation, was not disclosed until after Spanier was terminated as President of the University by the Board of Trustees, which then directed university personnel to cooperate fully with the investigation.
Kelly said it is important to remember what was at stake in this case. Spanier, Schultz and Curley failed to do what was legally required of them when the matter first came to their attention. As a result, at least four boys were attacked between 2001 and 2008, including Victim 1, Victim 3, Victim 5 and Victim 9.
Graham B. Spanier, 64, 425 Windmere Drive, State College, is charged with one count perjury and two counts of endangering the welfare of children and two counts of criminal conspiracy, all third-degree felonies which are each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines.
Additionally, Spanier is charged with one count of obstructing the administration of law or other governmental function and one count of criminal conspiracy, both second-degree misdemeanors punishable by up to two years in prison and $5,000 fines, along with one count of failure to report suspected child abuse, a summary offense punishable by up to 90 days in prison and a $300 fine.
Gary Charles Schultz, 63, 636 Rosslyn road, Boalsburg, and Timothy Mark Curley, 58, 201 Meadowlark Lane, Boalsburg, are each charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of children and two counts of criminal conspiracy, third-degree felonies which are each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines. Schultz and Curley are also each charged with one count of obstructing the administration of law or other governmental function and one count of criminal conspiracy, second-degree misdemeanors which are each punishable by up to two years in prison and $5,000 fines.
Kelly noted that Curley and Schultz are currently awaiting trial in Dauphin County court on charges of perjury (one count each) and failure to report under the Child Protective Services Law (one count each). At this time that trial is scheduled to begin in January 2013.
Preliminary arraignments for all three will be scheduled before Harrisburg Magisterial District Judge William C. Wenner.
Kelly and Noonan noted that this remains an active and ongoing criminal investigation and thanked the agents, troopers, investigators and support staff from both the Office of Attorney General and the Pennsylvania State Police for their dedication and professionalism during this extensive effort.
(A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.)
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Editors’ Note: Click here for a copy of the criminal complaint. Potos of the defendants are attached. If you have difficulty viewing the attachments contact the Attorney General’s Press Office at 717-787-5211.
Mike is the owner of Underwater World, having taken over the business in 1978. Mike started diving in 1965 and became certified in 1966. As a YMCA Instructor, Mike taught scuba at Penn State in 1968 and in the military from 1969 – 1972. After leaving the military, Mike became a NAUI instructor, as well as, retaining his YMCA Instructor certification. With over 43 years teaching experience, Mike is the senior instructor at Underwater World. Mike is a NAUI Course Director and is the President of the Delaware Valley Scuba Retailers Association. Mike is also an avid pilot with a commercial, multi-engine, instrument and flight instructor rating. Mike is also into bike riding (as you can see from his photo) and along with Bob Miracle did a bike (bicycle) ride from Valley Forge to Orlando in 2007 and from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC a year later. Mike has one son, Jeff, who is also a Divemaster and a pilot, as well as a sergeant in the Pennsylvania National Guard and after a tour in Iraq is now working as a first officer for Continental Connection..
Nancy came to Underwater World in 1989 to work as a bookkeeper and secretary. Today Nancy’s job has evolved into the huge task of keeping all of us in line. As well as handling all the bookkeeping duties, Nancy now handles the processing of all c-cards, maintaining the instructor files, setting course schedules, co-ordinating with our facility partners, handling travel details, and keeping us from spending too much money. As a sounding board, Nancy gives us the female prospective on things. (That means that she makes us keep the bathroom clean.) No, really. As a women and an occassional diver she is a valuable asset to offset those of us who can sometimes be a little too enthusiastic. With her ever-cheery disposition, Nancy also keeps the morale up and profanity down. Nancy is also the Treasurer for our Scuba Club, the Aqua-Nuts. And her organizational skills have been put to the test organizing the Fall Festivals that we had run at the Adventure Aquarium, the dive club picnic, and the Aquanuts annual Holiday party. Nancy has two sons, Ryan & John.
Tim has been diving since 1999. Since his first dive he has been hooked. If he isn’t working at Underwater World, you can find him at a SCUBA repair seminar, a SCUBA show, or at Dutch Springs diving. Tim has become a real expert and a great source of information about dive equipment, even equipment that we do not sell. He is an Aqualung Master Technician, and there aren’t very many of them around. His technical knowledge of equipment is unsurpassed by anyone in this region. Tim has just recently completed his NAUI Instructor Training Course and is now one of our staff instructors. Tim has led two trips to 
Being the son of Mike, Jeff has been around diving all his life. He has grown up surrounded by some of the most experienced divers around. He has been to Bonaire nineteen times, twelve as a diver, but will unfortunately be oversees with the National Guard during our August 2009 trip. Jeff also was on the 2004 Australia and Papua New Guinea trip where he got to experience diving with the Minke Whales and sharks. Jeff has chosen to begin the leadership courses required to become an NAUI instructor and will be teaching SCUBA courses in the not-too-distant future. Being around the business for so long, Jeff knows how it works and where he can find the answers to help a customer. He will try his hardest to fulfill a customer’s needs and make diving an enjoyable experience for all who are willing to take the plunge. Jeff graduated from Marywood University in Scranton. He was deployed to Iraq during most of 2009 Jeff also holds a commercial pilot license as well as an flight instructor, multi-engine flight instructor, and an instrument flight instructor rating. He is now a First Officer for Continental Connection flying Dash-8s around the Northeast Corridor..
Jeff started diving in 1972 when he took one of Mike’s Scuba courses at Hatboro YMCA. Jeff later became one of Mike’s assistants and is presently the second most senior instructor at Underwater World. Jeff has been an instructor for about 30 years. (Between Mike, Jeff and Bob, they probably have more teaching experience than the entire staff of any, and possibly all, the other dive stores in the area. Jeff has his own heating and air conditioning business, (J.A Smith Heating and Air Conditioning) and is probably the most organized instructor I have ever worked with. Jeff is a NAUI Course Director and was the regional representative for the YMCA Scuba program. Jeff is also a DAN Instructor and teaches most of our First Aid, CPR, and Oxygen Courses. Jeff is also one of our trip leaders and has done a number of trips to the Pacific. Jeff has two sons and is married to Ada Staal, who, herself, is a Scuba Instructor. 
Bob is also one of our long-time instructors. Bob learned to dive in 1977 and became an instructor in 1983. Bob started his “real” career as a profusionist, someone who runs a heart/lung bypass machine. After spending years in the operating room during heart procedures, Bob moved up the chain to become a clinical consultant dealing with pacemakers and implanted cardiac defibrillators. In his diving career, Bob became the most technical diver on our staff. He has made over 50 dives on the Andrea Doria, which lies at 245 feet. He has also dove the USS Norness, the German sub, the U-869, and the wreckage of the Texas Tower, which was a U.S. Air Force early-warning radar platform out in the Atlantic. His deepest dive is 350 feet, on tri-mix, of course. Bob has also been a U.S. Coast Guard approved boat captain since 1987 and still captains some trips on the Dina Dee off new Jersey. Bob has long taught our classes at the Abington High School. He has two daughters, Jamie (a diver), and Lauren. 
Barb was a SCUBA diver for about five years before she became an instructor. Now she is one of the best there is. Her students always have great things to say about her as she turns students in to competent divers. Barb also teaches an excellent 
Ed, Mike’s brother, has been an Instructor for about three years but has been diving since 1974. He teaches the