By Walter Pavlo, Contributor In a NY Times piece, Teresa Tritch wrote about Louis Freeh‘s recently released investigative report of what went wrong when collapsed in October 2011 due a wayward trade strategy on European debt. At the firm’s helm was former Senator and Governor of NJ Jon Corzine who has not been heard from since (save a few congressional hearings where he said little). Freeh’s report summarized that Corzine “knew, or should have known” about weaknesses in the firm’s internal risk controls. Tritch wrote that the report suggests that “Mr. Corzine passive-aggressively let those weaknesses endure, because stronger controls would have put an end to his bigger-is-better trading strategy.” While Corzine was not criminally prosecuted, and most likely never will be, those loose internal controls that were tolerated within the company cost one young man years in prison … Evan Brent Dooley.
Tag Archives: Louis Freeh
Penn State's costs for scandal top $41 million
By Associated Press Penn State has released a document detailing the agreement with former FBI director Louis Freeh to investigate the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, a review that cost the school about $8.1 million, bringing the total costs to $41 million. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at ESPN Headlines
Costs over Sandusky scandal for Penn State top $41 million
Penn State has released a document sought by some of its critics detailing the agreement with former FBI director Louis Freeh to investigate the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, a review that cost the school about $8.1 million.
Including the bill to pay Freeh, Penn State‘s total costs associated with the scandal topped $41 million as of the end of December, the university disclosed Monday on a website.
The monthly financial update provided more itemization for certain costs, including the Freeh report. The update also counted the first of five annual $12 million installments — paid in December — that would ultimately cover the $60 million fine from the NCAA as part of landmark sanctions for the scandal.
Some vocal alumni had called on university leadership to release itemized costs, in part to promote transparency. Those critics had also asked the university to release the letter of agreement, or “engagement letter” with Freeh, that outlined the scope and responsibilities of the former FBI director in leading the internal investigation into the scandal.
The letter from Freeh was signed Dec. 2, 2011 by then-board chair Steve Garban and trustee Kenneth Frazier, who headed the trustees committee to which Freeh reported.
Freeh concluded that Paterno and three school administrators acted to conceal allegations against Sandusky to protect the school’s image. The administrators have vehemently denied the findings.
Paterno died in January 2012. Last month, an exhaustive critique commissioned by his family called Freeh’s findings inaccurate and unfounded, and resulted in a “rush to injustice.”
That review raised new questions about the report and the university’s handling of the findings from the alumni critics, some ex-players and a handful of trustees including the outspoken Anthony Lubrano. In particular, Lubrano has said the school should ask for a refund from Freeh because the investigation was not full or complete
The engagement letter outlined that Freeh’s findings would cover why there were failures to report; who knew about allegations; and how the allegations were handled by trustees, administrators, coaches and other staff.
The report “also will provide recommendations … for actions to be taken to attempt to ensure that those and similar failures to not occur again,” read the letter posted by Penn State.
The school has said the findings were used to improve Penn State operations, and that it was not within Freeh’s scope to review actions or motives of other entities.
Lubrano joined the board in July, eight months after the scandal started. He praised the school for releasing the letter, but said “In my view, pointing to the recommendations is a deflection of the real issue.
“The real issue is that Freeh did not deliver what he was engaged to deliver, what he was paid to provide,” Lubrano said Monday in a phone interview.
School spokesman Dave La Torre said the letter was released after multiple requests from alumni, and that “the board thought it was appropriate to do so.”
He declined comment when asked if the release of the letter might answer questions from critics.
In a statement, the alumni watchdog group Penn Staters for …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Scandal costs for Penn State top $41 million
Penn State has released a document detailing its agreement with former FBI director Louis Freeh to investigate the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, a review that cost the school about $8.1 million.
Penn State‘s total costs associated with the scandal topped $41 million as of the end of December, the university disclosed Monday on a website.
The monthly financial update provided more itemization for certain costs, including the Freeh report.
Some vocal alumni had called on university leadership to release itemized costs, in part to promote transparency. Those critics had also asked the university to release the letter of agreement with Freeh, or “engagement letter,” that outlined the scope and responsibilities of the former FBI director in leading the internal investigation into the scandal.
Penn State: Scandal costs stand at more than $27M
Penn State‘s bill for legal fees, consultants and other costs associated with the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal stands at more than $27.6 million.
An updated figure as of November 2012 was provided this week on a university website. It includes a $13 million price tag for board of trustees communications and the internal investigation into the scandal by former FBI director Louis Freeh.
Freeh’s findings released last summer were the subject of renewed scrutiny this week after Joe Paterno‘s family released an extensive response conducted by its own experts.
Nearly $7.5 million is paying for university legal services or defense. About $4 million is for other legal defense fees including those covering three ex-school administrators facing criminal charges related to the scandal.
Trustee: Penn State should re-examine report
By ESPN.com news services A Penn State trustee has called on the university governing board to re-examine the findings of former FBI director Louis Freeh‘s school-sanctioned investigation into the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at ESPN Headlines
Trustee: Penn St. board should re-examine report
A Penn State trustee has called on the university governing board to re-examine the findings of former FBI director Louis Freeh‘s school-sanctioned investigation into the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.
The critique released this weekend by Joe Paterno‘s family raised “serious and troubling” questions about Freeh’s findings, trustee Alvin Clemens said Monday in a statement.
Former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh was among the experts brought in by the Paterno family to review the Freeh report, which concluded that Paterno and other university officials covered up allegations against Sandusky to spare the university bad publicity. The family’s review said the cover-up claims were inaccurate, were unfounded and equated to a “rush to injustice.”
Freeh has defended his work and stood by his findings. He has called the Paterno family’s review self-serving and a campaign to shape the late Hall of Fame coach’s legacy.
Sandusky, a former assistant coach under Paterno, was convicted of 45 child sex abuse counts. He was sentenced to at least 30 years in prison last fall but still maintains his innocence.
Paterno died in January 2012 at age 85.
The NCAA levied unprecedented sanctions on Penn State less than two weeks after Freeh released his stinging findings in July.
Freeh’s firm was hired by the board of trustees to perform “an independent, full and complete investigation of the Sandusky scandal,” said Clemens, a trustee since 1995. “In addition to questions about accuracy and fairness, there is little question that the Freeh report is less than complete.”
Penn State said Sunday that Freeh was brought in to conduct an independent investigation of the school’s response to the allegations, and not actions of entities unrelated to Penn State. Freeh offered 119 recommendations to strengthen governance and compliance, the majority of which have been implemented, the school said.
Freeh’s report has never been formally discussed by the board as a whole. At the time of its release in July, trustees said they had accepted responsibility for failures of accountability.
University president Rodney Erickson handled talks with the NCAA over the penalties.
The family offered its response to the Freeh report Sunday, attacking what it called …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News