Lambs & Wolves

THE LAMBS AND THE WOLVES

Dr. Charles E Hill Ed.D

Professor Emeritus, The College ol New Jersey

“Naming incites to money crimes like great poverty or great wealth. ' Mark Twain

INTRODUCTION

There is credible documentation for charges that many Pennsylvania officials, past and present, are unethical and in too many cases, corrupt. Governors, attorneys generals, judges, police, and FBI agents have been called into question. These revelations have serious implications for all who seek reforms at the Milton Hershey School. The situation in Hershey also helps to explain the Sandusky case in State College, Pennsylvania. In both cases, at risk children are likened to lambs because they are without powerful advocates to protect them from a harmful environment.

By now most of us are aware that LeRoy Zimmerman, former PA. Attorney General, is accused of corruption in the book by Keisling and Kearns entitled The Sins of Our Fathers. Yet, incredibly, LeRoy Zimmerman served from 2006 until December 2011, as Chairman of the $8 billion Hershey Trust left by philanthropist Milton S. Hershey for the education and care of needy children. PA Attorneys General are legal guardians of the Milton Hershey Trust; they have legal standing and authority to investigate and remedy the many problems at the Milton Hershey School. However, PA Attorneys General have been notably derelict in their oversight duties.

Documents indicate that cronies of Zimmerman, including former governor Tom Ridge, have been appointed to lucrative positions on the various Hershey Boards. Instead of protecting the Hersheys’ Trust for needy children these politicians are spending Trust money for their own purposes. Large sums of money and the unabated power of these well-connected politicians have provided fertile ground for improper use of the Hersheys’ legacy. The Hershey Trust for needy children has been turned into an entitlement program for the rich and sometimes famous. The interests of the Hersheys’ children are not being protected and they and their advocates have virtually no recourse. 

Financial irregularities and other wrong doing seem all too common in Hershey. While construction of new student homes and admission of more needy children to fill them were recently put on hold, MHS Trustees conducted inappropriate real estate deals to benefit themselves. Other wasteful expenditures included $ millions in compensation for Trustees and high salaries for MHS administrators lacking the necessary childcare competencies to be effective leaders. Meanwhile, the self-dealing Trustees and administrators disregarded the safety and well being of the students at MHS ( refer to www.philly.com to read Bob Fernandez‘s article in the Philadelphia Inquirer Child Porn Case led to Hershey School).

Indeed, the PA Office of the Attorney General has for years publicly claimed to be investigating the mismanagement and financial irregularities at MHS, yet the epic dysfunction and misuse of Trust assets there continues unabated. Child care advocates, including a group called Protect The Hersheys’ Children, and other concerned MHS alumni, have repeatedly requested the PA Attorneys General conduct a meaningful investigation of dysfunction at MHS, but to no avail. The records of the elected Attorneys General provide insight into the causes of their failure to conduct a proper investigation of Hershey Trust irregularities. The insights also include their failure to prosecute the Sandusky case in State College, Pennsylvania.

ELECTED PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEYS GENERAL

LeRoy Zimmerman served as AG from 1981 to 1989. He was the first elected AG in PA. As AG, Zimmerman failed to investigate and charge Charles Koons, a pedophile in Hershey who was accused of molesting an MHS student in the 1980s. Koons remained free to harm more children until his 2008 arrest and conviction for sex crimes-- almost twenty years after he was first accused.

Zimmerman joined the MHS charity in 2002 with the support of then Attorney General Mike Fisher and became chair of several Hershey related Boards in January 2006. He chaired the Board of Managers of the Milton Hershey School and The Hershey Entertainment and Resort Company and he was a Board member of the Milton Hershey Foundation. According to IRS tax filings Zimmerman was compensated $500,000 through director fees on Hershey related boards in 2009. Compensation of this magnitude is uncommon for charitable boards and must be considered highly irregular for members of the Hershey Trust board.

During Zimmerman’s tenure as Hershey Trust Chairperson, Robert Reese, former president of the Hershey trust company and former member of the MHS Board of Managers, described widespread financial irregularities at the Hershey Trust in a Dauphin County court petition on February 8, 2011. Mr. Reese is financially connected to the peanut-butter cup fortune.

Mr. Reese’s 19 page court filing alleged that the Hershey Trust Board, led by LeRoy Zimmerman, used charitable assets illegally for free rounds of golf, spa treatments, limousine rides and excessive compensation. Reese claimed in court papers that Board members earned six-figure annual compensation for working an average of five hours per week. This Board also authorized a $67 million renovation to the exclusive Hotel Hershey, smugly referred to by Board members as “Zimm’s Palace.” These same Board members stay there for free, enjoying amenities fit for royalty. 

Twelve million dollars of Trust money, meant for needy children, was used by Board members to purchase the Wren Dale Golf Club so they could have free golf outings. The Trust Board paid far more for this golf club than it was worth, providing a financial bailout for cronies who had invested poorly in this property. Mr. Reese, as a Board insider, publicly proclaimed in his court petition the Hershey Board’s wrong doing which outsiders had been alleging for years. Robert Cavanaugh, MHS alumnus, Hershey Board member since 2002, and new Trust Board chairman, helped to make all of these asset misuse decisions. Cavanaugh, already a wealthy individual, was paid $300,000 in 2008 for being on two Hershey Boards according to IRS documents. He should also be held accountable for his role in these financial irregularities.

Mr. Reese was quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer on February 11, 2011 as saying “he believed he had to file the court petition to protect the Hershey charity and that he had a legal duty to do so.” This protection is exactly what the PA Attorneys General are required to do by statute, but they have failed miserably at this responsibility. Although Mr. Reese later dropped his court petition, the allegations he filed in the Dauphin County court will continue to provide legal justice system investigators with vital information pertaining to alleged Trust Board irregularities. 

Reese claimed that failing eyesight prevented him from reading the myriad legal documents presented to the court by Trust lawyers. Apparently Reese decided he could not continue in the face of this withering barrage of legal paperwork from the high-powered lawyers hired to defend the managers of the $8 billion Trust.

Ernie Preate was AG from 1989 until 1995; His term ended prematurely when he was indicted on Federal charges for mail fraud and corruption. He served a sixteen month prison sentence in Duluth, Minnesota.

Tom Corbett served his first term as AG from 1995 to 1997. He was appointed PA Attorney General following the resignation of AG Preate. In late 1996, AG Corbett learned of an ongoing sex ring in York, PA involving Republican State Senator Dan Delp and dozens of other VIPs. According to York city officials, “AG Corbett intentionally crippled or otherwise bungled that investigation,” as documented by http://www.yardbird.com/tv_police_ch...e_sex_ring.htm and http://www.yardbird.com/tv_town_offi...e_sex_ring.htm.

Mike Fisher served as AG from 1997 to 2004. One of AG Fisher’s inappropriate activities led to his admission that he used improper pressure, in violation of his fiduciary duties, on Lincoln University officials to get them to approve moving the Barnes art collection to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (see The Art of the Steal, a 2009 documentary film). More importantly, he failed to investigate and prosecute pedophile Charles Koons even though his molestation of an MHS student had been reported to authorities in the late 1980s. Fisher further exacerbated dysfunction at MHS by his failure to replace self-serving Trust Board members with child care experts. Instead he continued the tenure of some Board members who were part of the problem and appointed non-child care experts to replace those removed from the Board. 

Mike Fisher was also the Attorney General when the inappropriate behavior of Jerry Sandusky, alleged State College, PA pedophile, was first reported by the victim’s mother to Penn State University police in May 1998. The Sandusky complaint was then referred to Ray Gricar, DA of Centre County, PA. Gricar initially assigned the case to Assistant DA Karen Arnold. Gricar took the case from Arnold after two or three days, saying he was going to handle it personally. No charges were filed by Gricar or Fisher against Sandusky. Ron Schreffler, Penn State police department investigator, helped produce a report about the 1998 Sandusky incident that was referred to Gricar. That report, although highly sought after, is missing. In fall 2000 and in March 2002, more incidents of sexual misconduct by Jerry Sandusky were reported. No charges, indictments, or arrests were made.

Jerry Pappert served as AG from 2004 to 2005. Pappert completed the unexpired term of Mike Fisher who was appointed to the US Court of Appeals. No charges were filed against Koons in Hershey or Sandusky in State College during Pappert’s term as AG.

Tom Corbett was elected PA AG in 2005 for his second term and he served as AG until 2011. On March 31, 2005, AG Corbett and DA Gricar held a press conference to announce the largest drug bust they had ever conducted in Centre County. Gricar pointed out that heroin and cocaine were problems that had been increasing throughout Pennsylvania. Two weeks later, Ray Gricar vanished and is still missing. His computer, with the hard drive torn out, was found in the Susquehanna River. There has been no serious investigation by the PA Attorneys General to find out what happened to Ray Gricar. Gricar’s replacement Michael Madeira cited a personal conflict of interest between himself and Jerry Sandusky so he referred the pedophile complaint to AG Tom Corbett in March 2009. Corbett did not prosecute the Sandusky case, apparently because of his political aspirations ( http://www.yardbird.com/joe_paterno_takes_the_fall.htm ).

On September 14, 2009 Corbett announced he would run for governor of PA. The “bonus gate” scandal became the core of Corbett’s political campaign. The Harrisburg Patriot News portrayed him as a corruption-fighting crime buster, rooting out state employed Democrats who were alleged to have either authorized or received state bonus checks for political activities--in violation of PA law. 

While AG Corbett was indicting his Democratic adversaries for “bonus gate” related activities, he was reportedly using his Republican AG staff for essentially the same kinds of politically motivated duties. William Keisling, ( http://www.yardbird.com/joe_paterno_takes_the_fall.htm ), alleges that a Republican deputy AG received a $20,000 bonus for his help getting Corbett elected governor. Additionally, when one of Corbett’s bonus gate targets was acquitted, AG Corbett diverted all his agents to perform background checks on approximately 350 potential “bonus gate” jurors because he suspected jury tampering. Corbett apparently feared he wouldn’t get elected if his image as crime fighter were besmirched by acquittals. Fair-minded people in both parties condemned Corbett’s crime busting as political persecution. Nevertheless, on November 10, 2009, Corbett the self proclaimed crime fighter, was elected governor of Pennsylvania.

On November 10, 2010, the Sandusky scandal resurfaced in State College. AG Office Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and Drug Control agent Anthony Sassano, conducting a narcotics investigation, found telephone records that revealed the Sandusky pedophile investigation that had stalled within the AG’s Office. Also in November, investigators in the AG’s office researching the 1998 and 2002 pedophile complaints recognized that the one person who had crucial information about the Sandusky pedophile investigation(s), former DA Ray Gricar, had been missing for more than five years. There was no evidence of a serious investigation into Gricar’s disappearance or of an extensive effort to find him. Likewise, there was also no record of an investigation at State College by the Attorney General’s office. Although Penn State graduate assistant Mike McQueary reported seeing Sandusky sodomizing a child in March 2002, McQueary was never questioned by University police or any other investigators, state or local, until he testified to a PA Grand Jury in December 2010.

In November 2011, thirteen years after Sandusky’s sexual contact with a child was first reported and the complaint was reported to DA Gricar, Jerry Sandusky was charged with pedophile crimes. The failure of Attorneys Generals and others within the criminal justice system to indict Charles Koons in Hershey and Jerry Sandusky in State College resulted in unfathomable harm to Commonwealth children.

According to http://deadspin.com/5859802 Tom Corbett is connected financially to the Second Mile charity. Second Mile Board members contributed over $200,000 to Corbett’s gubernatorial campaign in 2009-10. Past and present board members of Sandusky’s charity and their businesses or families are reported to have given $641,481 to Corbett’s various campaigns. In 2010 Corbett approved a $3million state grant for Second Mile to build an expansive new facility. The construction contract for this project was awarded in an obvious conflict of interest to Robert Poole, Second Mile’s long time board chairman and Corbett campaign contributor. This seems to be one more reason Corbett delayed his investigation of Sandusky in 2009 and 2010. With his campaign for governor drawing near, Corbett apparently wanted to avoid damaging a major source of University income, the nationally ranked Penn State football program, and to avoid creating major problems for campaign donors associated with the Second Mile charity. For the record, the grant was put on hold after word of Sandusky’s behavior became more widely known.

William Ryan served as acting PA Attorney General from January 18, 2011 until May 23, 2011. Ryan was passed over for AG and is said to have told his staff “he would make no major changes or decisions until the permanent AG was sworn in.” However, as a politically free AG, he assigned additional state police and AG agents to the Sandusky case. Ryan’s responsible behavior may have prevented Corbett from nominating him for the AG’s position.

Linda Kelly was nominated by Corbett and confirmed by the PA Senate to become PA AG on May 23, 2011. She will complete Governor Corbett’s unfinished term as AG. Wikipedia says that Kelly promised she would not run for AG in 2012. We already know that LeRoy Zimmerman’s son-in-law, David Freed, is the Republican party’s nominee for AG.

Because of Kelly’s ongoing investigation into alleged wrong doing by the Hershey Trust board, Freed’s election would create a major conflict of interest. Freed’s father in law and former AG, LeRoy Zimmerman, chaired the Trust Board from 2006 to 2011. Because Zimmerman played a significant role in Trust Board transactions, he should be held accountable for his part in alleged Trust irregularities, especially the purchase of the Wren Dale Golf Club. Freed claimed “this (conflict of interest) is a manageable problem.” If there are issues pending from AG Kelly’s investigation involving the conduct of his father-in-law, Zimmerman, he would recuse himself and hand the case over to a special prosecutor. 

Freed’s idea of using a special prosecutor sounded appropriate although Pennsylvania law might not permit it. A relevant article in the York Daily Record published on7/22/08 described a time when the Democrats thought it necessary for Republican AG Corbett to appoint a special prosecutor to avoid a conflict of interest, but were told it wasn‘t lawful to do so. At that time Democratic AG candidate, John Morganelli, urged AG Tom Corbett to appoint a special prosecutor in a case accusing House Democrats of campaigning with public resources. Corbett’s spokesman, Kevin Harley said, “State law does not allow it (appointment of a special prosecutor), and it’s obvious John Morganelli doesn’t understand the law.” Apparently David Freed doesn’t think the special prosecutor law cited by Harley applies to Republicans. Nevertheless, David Freed as AG is not likely to do a credible job investigating his father-in-law’s failures as AG or as a member of the various Hershey Boards.

Freed apparently thinks he is a shoo in to become PA’s next elected AG because he is the son-in-law of LeRoy Zimmerman and he can count on support from all Zimmerman’s political cronies, especially those who have already made patronage and financial deals with his father-in-law. Republicans have held the AG office since 1981 and that isn’t likely to change. Anonymous sources believe former Democratic Governor Ed Rendell will grease the skids within his party so Freed gets elected and Zimmerman will help Rendell get appointed to the cash cow Hershey Boards. If this happens, there will be bipartisan access to the $8 billion Hershey Trust. Bipartisan access will make it even less likely that those with legal standing will investigate the Hershey Trust irregularities or the behavior of Zimmerman and Corbett while they served as Attorneys General.

SUMMARY

Sadly, these Pennsylvania Attorneys General have a shameful record of protecting the beneficiaries of the Hersheys’ $8 billion legacy, the at risk children who can be characterized as the lambs. Certainly, the at risk children of the Second Mile charity can also be considered lambs. Koons and Sandusky fall into the obvious wolf category, but what about the guardians who look the other way when the lambs are attacked? Not exactly the good shepherds.

LeRoy Zimmerman, whose character is called into question in The Sins of Our Fathers, should have never been head of the Hersheys’ Trust. Zimmerman, Fisher and Corbett, in their roles as PA Attorneys General, failed to file charges in a timely way against pedophiles Charles Koons and Jerry Sandusky. The connections between Koons, Sandusky and the PA AG’s office are easily made by anyone willing to read the available documentation. The failure of AGs to take appropriate action against Koons and Sandusky resulted in harm to innumerable children in Hershey and State College, Pennsylvania.

There is significant evidence indicating that former AG Zimmerman has benefited directly from money meant for at risk children in Hershey. Zimmerman’s money from the Hersheys’ legacy has been in the form of astronomical compensation for minimal service on the various Hershey boards and free use of Trust venues and amenities. The AG regulated Hershey boards and apparently the Second Mile Charity’s Board have been cash cows for unscrupulous politicians and their cronies.

Overwhelming documentation supports the contention that Pennsylvania officials have abetted crony misconduct for years resulting in harm to at risk children. Childcare advocates have sought remedies in the courts and elsewhere for years -- all to no avail. The investigations sought by childcare advocates into the dysfunction and asset misuse in Hershey have gone nowhere. MHS Alumni sponsored reform gains, won in the Pennsylvania Appellate Court, were reversed by the politically connected and patronage-motivated Pennsylvania Supreme Court. At risk children in Hershey, State College and other communities in Pennsylvania continue to be harmed because of the willful neglect of those charged with their care. Their advocates’ pleas for help continue to fall on the deaf ears of State officials who have abdicated their legal authority and obligation to remedy this harm to children. Childcare advocates have no one in a position of authority to appeal to for help in Pennsylvania.

CONCLUSIONS

1. Political corruption in Pennsylvania has continually trumped all efforts by childcare 
advocates to remedy the ongoing harm to the Commonwealth’s at risk children.

2. Attorneys General in PA have not done proper investigations of the Hershey Trust 
abuses for these reasons:

To paraphrase an old saying, corrupt politicians won’t soil the place where they eat.

Hershey is a Republican stronghold and the Milton Hershey Trust, worth an estimated $8 billion, has provided vast financial opportunities for unscrupulous politicians and their shills. Politicians have viewed service on the various Hershey Boards as a source of fast and easy cash, so appointments to these boards are highly sought after patronage positions. 

Hershey has long been a playground for rich, self aggrandizing Republicans. Several governors, including Tom Ridge, have held their inaugural balls in Founders’ Hall on the campus of the Milton Hershey School.

Republicans have filled most Hershey board positions and all have received obscene amounts of compensation for their questionable service.

3. The problems in Hershey are much more profound than that of individual corruption. 
Hershey Boards lack transparency and proper state enforced accountability. Some 
Board members are former state officials who dole out largesse to garner support and 
consolidate their power. A mixture of repression of the truth, patronage, and illicit 
financial rewards have kept this group in power for decades.

4. The only way to solve the corruption and mismanagement problems in Hershey and 
State College is through the enforcement of real rule of law which has been abdicated 
by Pennsylvania officials. A dramatic shift in the structure of state power and its 
control of charities must take place if further harm to needy children is to be prevented. 
Individual lawsuits and Federal investigations resulting in indictments are needed to 
change the corrupt political paradigm in Pennsylvania.

Sandusky Case Timeline and Principals

THE ACCUSED

Jerry Sandusky: The 68-year-old former defensive coordinator for Pennsylvania State University’s football program now charged with 52 counts of sexual abuse. Prosecutors allege Sandusky molested at least 10 boys he met through the Second Mile, the charity he founded for underprivileged youth in 1997. The former coach has denied the charges.

THE ACCUSERS

Victim 1: The Clinton County youth, now 18, whose allegations launched the attorney general’s investigation into Sandusky. Says the former coach took him out of classes, called him frequently, and molested him several times between the ages of 11 and 14.

Victim 2: The youth at the center of the most explosive allegations against Sandusky. Then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary says he saw Sandusky raping the boy — who appeared to be about 10 — in February 2001 in the university’s football locker-room showers. Prosecutors do not know his identity. He would now be about 21.

Victim 3: A 25-year-old man who maintains Sandusky often showered with him and touched him inappropriately when he was between the ages of 12 and 14.

Victim 4: A now 28-year-old man who claimed he was molested on Penn State’s campus, at nearby hotels and on trips with the football team. He often slept in Sandusky’s home and attended football games when he was between 12 and 17 years old. Was listed as part of Sandusky’s family party for the 1998 Outback Bowl and the 1999 Alamo Bowl.

Victim 5: Now 22, claims that Sandusky showered with him when he was 12 or 13 and touched him inappropriately.

Victim 6: The now 25-year-old man, whose experience with Sandusky launched a 1998 investigation by university police. When he was 11, he claimed Sandusky touched him inappropriately in a football locker-room shower. That case was closed after investigators determined they could not prove abuse had occurred.

Victim 7: A 26-year-old man who testified that Sandusky stuck his hands down the waistband of his pants on several occasions while they were riding in the former coach’s car. The boy was between 9 and 11 at the time.

Victim 8: An approximately 11- to 13-year-old boy who was allegedly seen by a Penn State janitor receiving oral sex from Sandusky in November 2000 in the football locker-room showers. Prosecutors do not know his identity. He would now be between 23 and 25.

Victim 9: Currently 18, he testified that Sandusky forced him to perform oral sex and penetrated him on several occasions during sleepovers in the coach’s basement. He was 12 to 15 years old at the time. Contacted authorities after Sandusky’s initial arrest.

Victim 10: A 25-year-old man who says Sandusky engaged in oral sex and touched him inappropriately on several occasions between the ages of 10 and 12. Contacted authorities after the coach’s initial arrest.

THE LEGAL PARTICIPANTS 

Joseph Amendola Sandusky’s outspoken and colorful attorney, who has raised eyebrows as much for his unorthodox decision to make his client available for pretrial media interviews as for his willingness to spend hours briefing the news media outside the Centre County Courthouse. Began his career in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Now, a solo practitioner in State College.

Joseph E. McGettigan III The deputy attorney general leading the state’s case. He joined the office last year, after leaving his job as Philadelphia’s first assistant district attorney. Has previously worked in the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Judge John M. Cleland: A senior judge from McKean County appointed to handle Sandusky’s trial after all local judges recused themselves. A former Superior Court justice, Cleland also led the state investigative panel that handled the Luzerne County cash-for-kids judicialcorruption scandal.

THE WITNESSES

Mike McQueary A currently suspended assistant Penn State football coach who, as a graduate assistant in 2001, said he saw Sandusky with a boy in the locker-room showers. His story and his actions after have made him a lightning rod for criticism. His attorney placed a bookmark for a suit against the university as a whistle-blower.

Tim Curley Penn State’s athletic director, on leave as he fights charges of perjury and failing to report abuse. Prosecutors allege he did not alert authorities after learning of allegations against Sandusky and lied about the  statements made by Mike McQueary to a grand jury last year.

Gary Schultz Penn State’s former vice president for finance and business, who retired after his arrest on charges of perjury and failing to report abuse. Prosecutors allege he did not alert authorities after learning of allegations against Sandusky and then lied about remarks made by Mike McQueary to a grand jury. His former purview included the university police department.

Joe Paterno Penn State’s lauded longtime head football coach brought down by his response to allegations against Sandusky. Though he was not criminally charged, the university’s board felt he did not do enough to alert outside authorities and removed him as head coach shortly after Sandusky’s arrest. He died in January from complications of lung cancer.

TIMELINE OF THE CASE

1969: Jerry Sandusky starts his coaching career at Penn State as a defensive-line coach.

1977: Sandusky starts the Second Mile, first as a group foster home for underprivileged boys. It grows into a charity dedicated to children with absent or dysfunctional families.

1994: Boy identified as “Victim 7” meets Sandusky through the Second Mile at age 10.

1994-95: Boy identified as “Victim 6” meets Sandusky at the Second Mile picnic at age 7 or 8.

1995-96: Boy known as “Victim 5” meets Sandusky through the Second Mile at 7 or 8.

1996-97: Boy known as “Victim 4” meets Sandusky through the Second Mile at age 12 or 13. 1997: Boy identified as “Victim 10” meets Sandusky through the Second Mile at age 10.

Jan. 1, 1998: “Victim 4” is listed, along with Sandusky’s wife, as a member of Sandusky’s family party for the 1998 Outback Bowl.

May 3, 1998: Sandusky allegedly takes “Victim 6” to the Penn State football locker-room showers when he is 11. His mother reports the incident to university police, who investigate. Officers eavesdrop on conversations between the mother and Sandusky, who allegedly says, “I wish I could get forgiveness … I wish I were dead.” No criminal charges are filed after then-Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar closes the case.

June 1999: Sandusky retires from Penn State; maintains emeritus status.

Dec. 28, 1999: “Victim 4” is listed, along with Sandusky’s wife, as a member of Sandusky’s family party for the 1999 Alamo Bowl.

Summer 2000: Boy identified as “Victim 3” meets Sandusky through the Second Mile.

November 2000: Penn State janitor James Calhoun purportedly observes Sandusky performing oral sex on an 11- to 13-year-old boy identified as “Victim 8” in the football locker-room showers. He reports it to his supervisor.

Feb. 9, 2001: Mike McQueary, then a Penn State football graduate assistant, allegedly observes Sandusky and a 10-year-old boy, identified as “Victim 2.” in the shower for 2 3 second glances. McQueary tells his father, Dr. Jonathan Dranov MD.,  head football coach Joe Paterno, and later athletic director Tim Curley and university vice president Gary Schultz. Outside authorities are never notified. Curley reports the incident to Jack Raykovitz at the Second Mile and supends Sandusky’s locker-room privileges with kids. 

2005: Boy identified as “Victim 9” meets Sandusky through the Second Mile at age 11 or 12. 2005-06: Boy identified as “Victim 1” meets Sandusky through the Second Mile at age 11 or 12. He later claims Sandusky abused him over a period of three years starting in 2006. 

2006-09: “Victim 9” spends several nights at Sandusky’s home in a bedroom in his basement; maintains he was abused on numerous occasions.

Spring 2008: “Victim 1’s” mother reports a sexual assault. Sandusky is barred from a Clinton County high school that the boy attends. and early in 2009: The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, under Tom Corbett, launches an investigation into “Victim 1’s” allegations that takes until Nov 5 of 2011 to result in charges by the Grand Jury almost 3 years later. 

September 2009: Sandusky retires from day-to-day involvement with the Second Mile, saying he will spend more time with family and handle personal matters.

Nov. 5, 2011: Sandusky is arrested, charged with molesting at least eight boys over a 15-year-period, and released on $100,000 bail after being arraigned on 40 criminal counts.

Nov. 9, 2011: Penn State’s board of trustees ousts Paterno and university President Graham Spanier amid growing criticism brought on by the outrageous misrepresentations in the Grand Jury Presentment by AG Linda Kelly and perjury charges against Curley and Schultz over alleged differences in the memories of Mike McQueary and Tim & Gary about what was said in a 10 to 15 min meeting a decade in the past. 

Nov. 13, 2011: Second Mile CEO Jack Raykovitz resigns amid the scandal that has engulfed the charity. And the public is still not privy what Jack Raykovitz did with the knowledge of the 98 and 01 shower incidents. 

Nov. 14, 2011: In an interview with NBC’s Bob Costas days after his arrest, Sandusky says: “I enjoy young people. I love to be around them, but no, I’m not sexually attracted to young boys.”

Dec. 3, 2011: In an interview with the New York Times, Sandusky characterizes the roughhousing and wrestling he frequently did with youths he took under his wing as “precious times.” He denies sexual contact with children.

Dec. 7, 2011: Sandusky is arrested again as prosecutors add two more alleged victims — “Victim 9” and “Victim 10” — to their case. He is released on a $250,000 bond and confined to his home under monitoring.

Dec. 13, 2011: Sandusky waives his preliminary hearing in Centre County and vows to fight the charges.

May 25, 2012: The Second Mile, citing a severe drop-off in donations and volunteer support, asks court permission to shut down and transfer its assets and programs to a Texas-based charity Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky goes on trial on Tuesday on 52 counts of child sexual abuse involving 10 boys over a 15-year period.

ANOTHER REPORT CONCERNING THE VICTIMS 
Here are details from grand jury reports about the boys Sandusky is alleged to have abused and on the former coach's alleged behavior. The boys are known in court documents as Victims 1 to 10.

VICTIM 1 - The boy alleges Sandusky indecently fondled him and they performed oral sex on each other. He was 11 or 12 when he met Sandusky in 2005 or 2006 through the Second Mile, a charity Sandusky founded to help at-risk children. An elementary-school wrestling coach discovered Victim 1 and Sandusky having physical contact in a weight room in 2006 or 2007.

VICTIM 2 - Mike McQueary, then a graduate assistant, said he saw Sandusky with a boy about 10 years old on February 9, 2001, in a Penn State shower room. The date was originally reported as 2002 but prosecutors amended it. The incident was not reported to police or child welfare services. The boy has not been identified. Gary Schultz, the former vice president for business and finance, and former Athletic Director Tim Curley face charges of perjury due to differences in their recollection of a 10 to 15 min conversation with Mike McQueary a decade in the past. 

VICTIM 3 - Met Sandusky through the Second Mile in 2000, when he was in seventh or eighth grade. He testified that Sandusky bearhugged him and initiated physical contact in showers. Sandusky touched his genitals through athletic shorts when he slept over at the older man's home.

VICTIM 4 - Testified he repeatedly underwent involuntary sexual intercourse and indecent assault. The assaults allegedly took place on campus, at Toftrees, a resort where the football team stayed before home games, and at bowl games in 1998 and 1999. Sandusky initiated physical contact through a "soap battle" in a shower. The boy was lavished with gifts.

VICTIM 5 - Testified that he met Sandusky through the Second Mile in 1995 or 1996, when he was 7 or 8. He said Sandusky allegedly took the victim's hand and placed it on his genitals in a locker room shower.

VICTIM 6 - Met Sandusky through the Second Mile in 1994 or 1995, when he was 7 or 8 years old. Sandusky lathered the boy with soap and bearhugged him in football showers in 1998. The boy's mother reported the incident to university police. It was thoroughly investigated by police and child services but no criminal charges were filed. The mother confronted Sandusky while police eavesdropped, and Sandusky told her: "I wish I were dead."

VICTIM 7 - Testified he met Sandusky through the Second Mile in 1994 when he was about 10. Sandusky bearhugged him and cracked his back, showered with him, and put his hand on the boy's thigh.

VICTIM 8 - A janitor saw Sandusky performing oral sex on a boy in a football locker room in fall 2000, another employee has testified. The incident was not reported. The boy's identity is unknown. The janitor has dementia and is incompetent to testify.

VICTIM 9 - Met Sandusky after he started attending Second Mile activities in 2004. He stayed overnight in the Sandusky home several times between the ages of 12 and 15. He described a pattern of sexual assault over a period of years, including oral and anal sex. Sandusky gave the boy gifts and money.

VICTIM 10 - He became involved with the Second Mile in 1997 at age 10. He testified that he and Sandusky performed oral sex on each other, and Sandusky bought him gifts and took him to football games.

ANOTHER STORY LISTS THE VICTIMS AND CHARGES THIS WAY

Victim 1, According the grand jury report, he was was 11 or 12 when he met Sandusky in 2005 or 2006. During 2007, he spent several nights at the Sandusky home, where he was abused 20 or more times, he testified. He is now 17 or 18 years old.

Victim 2, According to the grand jury report, he is the child involved in the alleged 2002 incident which Mike McQueary witnessed in the showers of the Lasch football building. The boy's age is unknown, and according to the report, has never been identified. Sandusky's defense team believes they have located him and that he will testify. The date was later changed to Feb 9 2001 

Victim 3, According to the grand jury report, he was 13 in 2000 when Sandusky allegedly abused him in the showers at a local gym by touching and hugging him. The abuse happened several times, the grand jury states, and he is reported to have been been a friend of Victim 4. Victims 3 is now 24, the report says.

Victim 4, According to the grand jury, he was 12 or 13 when he met Sandusky in 1996 or 1997. He was sexually abused by Sandusky at the Toftrees Golf Resort, where Penn State stays the night before a home football game, it's alleged. Sandusky also abused Victim 4 at the 1998 Outback Bowl and 1999 Alamo Bowl, where he was listed as a family member in Sandusky's party, the report states. The report says he is now 27 years old.

Victim 5, The grand jury alleges he met Sandusky in 1995 or 1996, when he was 7 or 8 years old. The alleged abuse took place in 1996 or 1997 in the showers of the football locker room, the report states. Victim 5 is now 22, the report states.

Victim 6, According to the grand jury, he called an episode in 1998 at age 11 when Sandusky approached him in the shower, grabbed him around the waist and said, "I'm going to squeeze your guts out." Victim 6's mother reported the incident to police but no charges were filed and the case was dropped. Victims 6 is now 24 years old, the grand jury report states. This incident was thoroughly investigated by police and child services. 

Victim 7, According the grand jury report, he met Sandusky in 1994 at age 10. He is now 26. Victim 7 testified he had a blurry memory of some of alleged contact between him and Sandusky in the locker room showers. The report states he had not had contact with Sandusky for nearly two years but was contacted separately by Sandusky, his wife and a family friend in the weeks leading up to his appearance before the grand jury. He did not return these missed calls, the report states.

Victim 8, His age is unkown, but he was seen in the showers with Sandusky by a janitor in the fall of 2000, the grand jury alleges. Various sexual acts were reported to have taken place, but Victim 8 has not been identified. The janitor now suffers from dementia. 

Victim 9, was 11 or 12 years old when alleged abuse by Sandusky took place, according to the grand jury report. He had been an active member of The Second Mile between 2004-08 and reported to have been abused by Sandusky in the basement of the Sandusky home more than a dozen times. He testified his scream for help went unanswered even when he knew Sandusky's wife was upstairs. He is now 18, the report states.

Victim 10, According to the grand jury report, he was 10 years old in 1997 when he first met Sandusky. Victim 10 testified that Sandusky submitted him to touching and attempted sexual acts in the fall of 1997. He is now 23 or 24 years old, the report states.

Freeh Exhibits, Testimony and other references

The Philly 2nd Mile Connection story

The Philadelphia Second Mile Connection in Relation to Joe Paterno.

 By Traci L.Hann

Greg’s story. Greg Bucceroni was the typical American boy whose parents were separated. Being that his mom was forced to work two job and his sister was in charge of he and his younger brother, this left young Greg to do as he pleased. And he did, on the streets of Philadelphia. During the years 1975-1978 Greg was simply running errands or doing small odd jobs for the South Philly mafia under Angelo Bruno and Harry Riccobene. The mobsters favored the half-Italian lad so they used him to their advantage.

During this time Greg also met businessman Ed Savitz.

     At first Savitz’s behavior mirrored that of Jerry Sandusky’s. Savitz would take young Greg to movies, Penn State and Eagles football games, buy his junk food at these events, which lead into more elaborate things. Like alcohol and drugs. The touchy-feely side of Savitz soon emerged. At first it was just nude swimming. That progressed into giving the young man massages and physically molesting him. There were other sick and degrading things Savitz perpetuated on the young Greg that involved every one of Greg’s bodily fluids imaginable but not to Greg, upon himself. This man was truly sick.

The following interview is in relation to Greg and the Second Mile foundation and Joe Paterno. As you know, the Second Mile founder, Jerry Sandusky was found guilty on 45 counts of child sexual abuse charges. Join me in exploring the Philadelphia-State College connection that does indeed remove suspicion away from beloved football coach and philanthropist Joseph Vincent Paterno.

T:Can you recall details of what was told to you on ‘how to act’ when Joe Paterno was going to be at Second Mile activities?

Greg: There was a neat kind of arrangement, non-sanctioned by Penn State University. Sandusky would get the South Philly Boys Club tickets to the Penn State games, and Ed Savitz would get the Second Mile boys tickets to the Eagles games. Sandusky would also request that some of us be brought up to his charities events…

     So if they thought that Joe Paterno would be at these functions, they would read us the riot act on the way up. We were to be on our best behavior. I didn’t know who Joe Paterno was, I never met him officially, didn’t know who he was. I actually thought Joe Paterno must look like Bruno Samartino, the wrestler because all these guys who were powerful guys, were terribly scared of him and they didn’t want him to know, so I didn’t know who Joe Paterno was until I seen a documentary of him in the 1990’s. But I never officially met him, they told me he was at events that we were at and not to embarrass and humiliate them, by acting inappropriately. What they meant was by not being drunk or cursing or fighting or saying things that were obnoxious. And they warned us a couple times. They did not want Joe Paterno to find out anything-NOTHING. After awhile 1978-1979 they stopped bringing the busloads up from the South Philly boys club. There were a handful of kids; they were still getting in trouble one way or another. So they stopped doing that in 1978. The next time they went up, they would only take certain kids.

T:How did these pedophiles manage to conceal the fact that they were exchanging nude photos of you and others at these functions when Joe was around? Or didn’t they act that way when he attended?

Greg: Well if he was around, if it was mentioned that he was around, or thought that he was around, they wouldn’t do it. Period.

When Paterno wasn’t around they would exchange them sometimes. Conversation would be like, “I want to meet this kid, or that kid”. That’s how that was it was-very discreet.

But if Paterno were around, they wouldn’t show pictures at all. Now what would happen if Paterno was at the event, (if they had prior knowledge) after the event or before the event they would meet somewhere else, like go to a coffee shop or somewhere a 7-11 or something and we would meet there and then they would talk about it at the parking lot or off to the side but if Paterno was there they would not do that at all.

T:Was the atmosphere at the fundraisers/activities more tense when Joe attended and did Sandusky and the others have a hard time acting “normal”?

Greg:

Actually no. It was probably tense for them but they acted almost like, they didn’t act perverted, or like sexual; they just went out there socializing. It was almost like they could’ve been actors, because if Paterno was I never officially met Paterno, I knew his name I know how the body language was when he was around and how their behavior was when he was around versus when he wasn’t. I don’t know if u remember Bruno Samartino or not, that’s who I though Joe Paterno must have looked like because these guys were all kind of scared of him. I though he must be a big animal! Because Savitz, Rappaport and Ward, these guys thought they were above the law, and they were bold and didn’t give a (expletive). Now all of a sudden, we’re up in St.College they’re on their best p’s and q’s they’re acting almost like nothings going on. But they’re not acting like anything sexual.

    

T:In the Victor Thorn interview you mentioned you felt safe when Paterno was around because you knew that nothing bad was going to happen while he was there. Describe how you felt the moment he left an activity/fundraiser…

Greg:He never left an event, when he was there, he was there for the entire thing. I can’t answer that question because if he showed up, I didn’t know whom he was but they (meaning Savitz and the other leaders) were on their best behaviors for the remainder of the event. Whether it was a sporting event or a fundraiser for Second Mile. So my guess was Paterno was there the whole entire time, because they were on their best behavior as well.

T:Did it come as a shock to you when the Board of Trustees removed Joe from his position as head football coach?

It did come as a great shock to me when Paterno was blamed as a pedophile enabler. 1977-1980 Savitz, Sandusky and others didn't want Paterno to find out what they were doing to us kids. These pedophiles went to great lengths in concealing the molestations from Joe Paterno.

                        Epilogue

What happened to Greg Bucceroni and Ed Savitz? In a burst of anger Greg punched Savitz in his face in 1980 over money being thrown at him, rather than handed. Savitz was paying him to “recruit” other boys and when Greg and his friend jumped to the head of the line to receive their money and get out of his place, Savitz became impatient with him and just through the money in his face. Bucceroni and his friends along with Savitz rumbled out in the streets much to the horror of the wealthy neighbors. Someone called the police. Greg did tell the police of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his abuser for the past four years. The police not buying his story cut him loose and Savitz didn’t press charges, only took out a restraining order.

Greg continued to work for the mob but in New York and Philadelphia after leaving Savitz’s grasp. He was involved with both the Gambino’s and Lucchese crime families. His work for the Gambino’s included some violence involving the illegal porn establishments before leaving the organized crime world forever and joining the U.S. Army.

Greg Bucceroni resides in Philadelphia and is a school policeman for a charter school. He has volunteered as a victims advocate for the City of Philadelphia since 1985. Also, Greg volunteered as a Youth Aid Panel member for the district attorney’s office for juvenile offenders for 12 years.

For Eileen Morgan - The origins of Monotheism: The covenant of the Melchizedek with Abraham

The first of two references in the Bible to Melchizedek occurs after Abraham went to war against a confederation of kings. Before reviewing our first scriptural reference, note that this priest in the book of Genesis, chapter 14, was the king of Salem. The word Salem, as defined by Strong's Concordance number #H8004, means peace. This makes Melchizedek the "King of Peace" (Hebrews 7:2).

The first scripture referring to this priest is in the book of Genesis chapter 14, near the middle of the chapter: "Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.'" (Genesis 14:14, 16-18, NKJV throughout)

The second reference to this priest of God is in the book of Psalms: "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool . . . The Lord has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.' " (Psalm 110:1-4)

Did Jesus say He was NOT inherently GOOD?

Jesus said no one, including Himself, is inherently good [righteous]: ". . . 'Why do you call Me good? NO ONE IS GOOD BUT ONE, that is, God.'" (Matthew 19:17). Melchizedek was the epitome of righteousness, and since no human is inherently righteous, it is evident that he could not be human. If he had been human, he would have been the same as Aaron or anyone else, i.e. a sinner. As the King of Righteousness, he was the image of God's Spirit (Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3). He is also in Psalm 10:4.

Malachi refers to Melchizedek indirectly when he said that the SUN of Righteousness would arise with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2). Malachi did not use the term "SON" for him because that would have suggested that Jesus was in some way a son or a descendant of the priest. This would have implied that the One who became Jesus Christ in the flesh was someone other than the king of Salem.

In Hebrews 7, the apostle Paul makes some startling statements about Melchizedek. He says: "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him . . . first being translated 'king of righteousness,' and then also king of Salem, meaning 'king of peace,' without father, without mother, with genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life . . ." (Hebrews 7:1-3). Paul made some amazing statements concerning this priest because he was emphasizing his deity. The One who became Jesus Christ is the father of all life except for one human life - His own. The Most High God is the Father of Jesus Christ the Savior (Luke 1:32).

SO WE FIND MELCHIZEDEK MENTIONED PROMINENTLY IN THE BIBLE 

BUT WHAT DO WE KNOW OF THE MELCHIZEDEK TEACHINGS?

First and foremost Melchizedek teachings were responsible for the rise of MONOTHEISM across the EARTH – in particular in the covenant with Abraham and the Judeo Christian Tradition. But Melchizedek is also referenced in Oriental religious traditions and scripture. 

 These ideas of monotheism matured all over the world not long after the appearance of Machiventa Melchizedek at Salem in Palestine. But the Melchizedek concept of Deity was unlike that of the evolutionary philosophy of inclusion, subordination, and exclusion; it was based exclusively on creative powerand very soon influenced the highest deity concepts of Mesopotamia, India, and Egypt.

(1052.2) 96:0.2 The Salem religion was revered as a tradition by the Kenites and several other Canaanite tribes. And this was one of the purposes of Melchizedek’s incarnation: That a religion of one God should be so fostered as to prepare the way for the earth bestowal of a Son of that one God. Michael could hardly come to Earth until there existed a people believing in the Universal Father among whom he could appear.

(1052.3) 96:0.3 The Salem religion persisted among the Kenites in Palestine as their creed, and this religion as it was later adopted by the Hebrews was influenced, first, by Egyptian moral teachings; later, by Babylonian theologic thought; and lastly, by Iranian conceptions of good and evil. Factually the Hebrew religion is predicated upon the covenant between Abraham and Machiventa Melchizedek, evolutionally it is the outgrowth of many unique situational circumstances, but culturally it has borrowed freely from the religion, morality, and philosophy of the entire Levant. It is through the Hebrew religion that much of the morality and religious thought of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Iran was transmitted to the Occidental peoples.

1. Deity Concepts Among the Semites

(1052.4) 96:1.1 The early Semites regarded everything as being indwelt by a spirit. There were spirits of the animal and vegetable worlds; annual spirits, the lord of progeny; spirits of fire, water, and air; a veritable pantheon of spirits to be feared and worshiped. And the teaching of Melchizedek regarding a Universal Creator never fully destroyed the belief in these subordinate spirits or nature gods.

(1052.5) 96:1.2 The progress of the Hebrews from polytheism through henotheism to monotheism was not an unbroken and continuous conceptual development. They experienced many retrogressions in the evolution of their Deity concepts, while during any one epoch there existed varying ideas of God among different groups of Semite believers. From time to time numerous terms were applied to their concepts of God, and in order to prevent confusion these various Deity titles will be defined as they pertain to the evolution of Jewish theology:

(1053.1) 96:1.3 1. Yahweh was the god of the southern Palestinian tribes, who associated this concept of deity with Mount Horeb, the Sinai volcano. Yahweh was merely one of the hundreds and thousands of nature gods which held the attention and claimed the worship of the Semitic tribes and peoples.

(1053.2) 96:1.4 2. El Elyon. For centuries after Melchizedek’s sojourn at Salem his doctrine of Deity persisted in various versions but was generally connoted by the term El Elyon, the Most High God of heaven. Many Semites, including the immediate descendants of Abraham, at various times worshiped both Yahweh and El Elyon.

THE MELCHIZEDEK TEACHINGS ON RELIGION AND SCIENCE

The fact of religion consists wholly in the religious experience of rational and average human beings. And this is the only sense in which religion can ever be regarded as scientific or even psychological. The proof that revelation is revelation is this same fact of human experience: the fact that revelation does synthesize the apparently divergent sciences of nature and the theology of religion into a consistent and logical universe philosophy, a co-ordinated and unbroken explanation of both science and religion, thus creating a harmony of mind and satisfaction of spirit which answers in human experience those questionings of the mortal mind which craves to know how the Infinite works out his will and plans in matter, with minds, and on spirit.

(1106.1) 101:2.2 Reason is the method of science; faith is the method of religion; logic is the attempted technique of philosophy. Revelation compensates for the absence of a viewpoint by providing a technique for achieving unity in the comprehension of the reality and relationships of matter and spirit by the mediation of mind. And true revelation never renders science unnatural, religion unreasonable, or philosophy illogical.

(1106.2) 101:2.3 Reason, through the study of science, may lead back through nature to a First Cause, but it requires religious faith to transform the First Cause of science into a God of salvation; and revelation is further required for the validation of such a faith, such spiritual insight.

(1106.3) 101:2.4 There are two basic reasons for believing in a God who fosters human survival:

(1106.4) 101:2.5 1. Human experience, personal assurance, the somehow registered hope and trust initiated by the indwelling thought adjuster. (our personal understanding) 

(1106.5) 101:2.6 2. The revelation of truth, whether by direct personal ministry of the Spirit of Truth, by the world bestowal of divine Sons, or through the revelations of the written word.

(1106.6) 101:2.7 Science ends its reason-search in the hypothesis of a First Cause. Religion does not stop in its flight of faith until it is sure of a God of salvation. The discriminating study of science logically suggests the reality and existence of an Absolute. Religion believes unreservedly in the existence and reality of a God who fosters personality survival. What metaphysics fails utterly in doing, and what even philosophy fails partially in doing, revelation does; that is, affirms that this First Cause of science and religion’s God of salvation are one and the same Deity.

(1106.7) 101:2.8 Reason is the proof of science, faith the proof of religion, logic the proof of philosophy, but revelation is validated only by human experience. Science yields knowledge; religion yields happiness; philosophy yields unity; revelation confirms the experiential harmony of this triune approach to universal reality.

(1106.8) 101:2.9 The contemplation of nature can only reveal a God of nature, a God of motion. Nature exhibits only matter, motion, and animation — life. Matter plus energy, under certain conditions, is manifested in living forms, but while natural life is thus relatively continuous as a phenomenon, it is wholly transient as to individualities. Nature does not afford ground for logical belief in human-personality survival. The religious man who finds God in nature has already and first found this same personal God in his own soul.

(1106.9) 101:2.10 Faith reveals God in the soul. Revelation, the substitute for insight on an evolutionary world, enables man to see the same God in nature that faith exhibits in his soul. Thus does revelation successfully bridge the gulf between the material and the spiritual, even between the creature and the Creator, between man and God.

(1107.1) 101:2.11 The contemplation of nature does logically point in the direction of intelligent guidance, even living supervision, but it does not in any satisfactory manner reveal a personal God. On the other hand, nature discloses nothing which would preclude the universe from being looked upon as the handiwork of the God of religion. God cannot be found through nature alone, but man having otherwise found him, the study of nature becomes wholly consistent with a higher and more spiritual interpretation of the universe.

(1107.2) 101:2.12 Revelation as an epochal phenomenon is periodic; as a personal human experience it is continuous. Divinity functions in mortal personality as the gift of the Father, as the Spirit of Truth of the Son, and as the Holy Spirit of the Universe Spirit, while these three supermortal endowments are unified in human experiential evolution as the ministry of the Supreme.

(1107.3) 101:2.13 True religion is an insight into reality, the faith-child of the moral consciousness, and not a mere intellectual assent to any body of dogmatic doctrines. True religion consists in the experience that “the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” Religion consists not in theologic propositions but in spiritual insight and the sublimity of the soul’s trust.

(1107.4) 101:2.14 Your deepest nature — the divine Adjuster — creates within you a hunger and thirst for righteousness, a certain craving for divine perfection. Religion is the faith act of the recognition of this inner urge to divine attainment; and thus is brought about that soul trust and assurance of which you become conscious as the way of salvation, the technique of the survival of personality and all those values which you have come to look upon as being true and good.

(1107.5) 101:2.15 The realization of religion never has been, and never will be, dependent on great learning or clever logic. It is spiritual insight, and that is just the reason why some of the world’s greatest religious teachers, even the prophets, have sometimes possessed so little of the wisdom of the world. Religious faith is available alike to the learned and the unlearned.

(1107.6) 101:2.16 Religion must ever be its own critic and judge; it can never be observed, much less understood, from the outside. Your only assurance of a personal God consists in your own insight as to your belief in, and experience with, things spiritual. To all of your fellows who have had a similar experience, no argument about the personality or reality of God is necessary, while to all other men who are not thus sure of God no possible argument could ever be truly convincing.