Unholy Alliance: Corbett, Frazier, and Freeh’s Plot to Take Down Paterno, Spanier and Sandusky – And Help Merck

On November 7, 2011, the Pennsylvania Attorney General filed an indictment alleging retired Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky had sexually abused ten boys over the past 14 years. All the accusers were men at the time of the indictment. Eight showed up at the grand jury (and trial), but two never appeared.

Eight Accusers, No Evidence

One went into hiding, and the other never existed. All the accusers received millions. Frank Report is in the process of showing how all the accusers lied to make millions.

Collusion of Powerful Figures

In this first in a series of articles on the conspiracy of Merck CEO Ken Frazier, former PA Governor Tom Corbett, and former FBI director Louis Freeh, the Frank Report intends to show how these three men planned and executed a plot to destroy Joe Paterno, Penn State President Graham Spanier and others aligned with them. Each of the three men did it for their own reasons.

Since my opinions are my own and not complimentary to Corbett, Freeh, or Frazier, I invite them to contact me.

I will provide them space for rebuttal, or I will willingly correct the record if they can show me that I am wrong. I will not hold my breath, however. I don’t think I am wrong.

I have been calling the eight accusers of Jerry Sandusky liars and perjurers for months and also inviting them to contact me or if they prefer to sue me.  I even offered to debate any one of them over my assertion that they made up their stories of Sandusky’s abuse to collect Penn State millions.

To date, not one of them has contacted me.

A pack of liars collected millions from Penn State due to the collusion of Corbett, Freeh, Frazier, and their useful idiot, Ira Lubert.

For Penn State trustee Ira Lubert, it did not matter what the claim was, it only mattered who the attorney was and how he could influence peddle Penn State money to help himself down the road. I could probably let all this low-life behavior go, except for one thing: Jerry Sandusky is 80. He is innocent and still in prison, and a pack of jackals who conspired to put him there do nothing to get him out. The least I can do is expose the pack.

False Accusations and Disappearances

Yes, the Attorney General indicted Sandusky, and along with him, the corrupt office also indicted Penn State Vice President Gary Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley for allegedly covering up Sandusky’s alleged sexual abuse of an unknown boy (Allan Myers) in the shower room at Penn State a decade earlier.

The AG based this falsehood of a coverup on the notorious liar Mike McQueary, who said he saw a boy in the shower room at Penn State with Sandusky about ten years earlier. As a young man of 23, a Marine named Allan Myers, “the boy,” came forward and said it was all untrue and McQueary was lying. He told the newspapers and the prosecutors and signed a sworn statement saying Sandusky never abused him, in the shower or anywhere else.

Thanks to Frazier, Freeh, Corbett, and Myer’s civil attorney, Andrew Shubin, Myers went into hiding. Thanks to those above, plus Ira Lubert, head of the Penn State settlement committee, Penn State paid Myers $6.9 million, even though he had signed a sworn statement that Sandusky never abused him.

Lubert felt he deserved compensation. After all, he did hide during the trial, so the defense could not call him.

With the indictment, Schultz retired, and Penn State placed Curley on administrative leave pending the outcome of his case.

The AG implicated Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and Penn State President Graham Spanier in the bogus coverup.

The AG later charged Spanier.

Top Leaders Ousted

Two days after the indictment, the Penn State Board of Trustees fired 84-year-old Paterno after 61 years at Penn State and as the winningest college football head coach in history.

Penn State President Spanier resigned after 16 years as president.

With the indictment, Penn State trustees removed the four most able men at Penn State.

They also forever destroyed Penn State’s fundraising. Under Spanier, Schultz, and Curley’s able leadership, fundraising had surpassed $300 million a year. Then Corbett, Frazier, and Freeh desecrated Paterno, a national legend and the pride of Penn State. Donations have fallen to between $10 and $14 million annually.

The cost of the three men’s tomfoolery to Penn State is more than a billion dollars. Frankly, since many donors contributed because of Paterno, they stopped regardless of whether they believed the lies about him.

Corruption and Collusion

Governor Corbett came up with the perfect plan.

Paterno’s reputation had to be forever tarnished, and Spanier must be destroyed, or there could be pushback from their allies.

He partnered with Penn State trustee Ken Frazier to ensure the AG convicted Sandusky, Spanier, Schultz, Curley, and, if possible, Paterno. Paterno died two months after his firing, at 85.

(To show the class of Frazier, Corbett, and their vengeful ally, acting Penn State Chairman John Surma, they fired the man who made Penn State great and famous and spent 61 years doing it, not in person, but by calling him at night on the telephone.)

On November 18, 2011, Penn State announced that the law firm Freeh, Sporkin & Sullivan, headed by Louis Freeh, the former FBI director under Clinton and a former US District Judge, would conduct an independent investigation “of allegations of failure to report sexual abuse.”

The Penn State trustees appointed fellow trustee Frazier, the CEO of Merck & Co. Inc., as chairman of the Trustee Oversight Committee for Freeh’s investigation, along with Governor Corbett’s secretary of education, Ron Tomalis, as vice chair.

Freeh was to serve technically as the lawyer for the Penn State Trustees’ Oversight Committee headed by Frazier.

This plan made sense to Corbett, Frazier, and Freeh.

Vioxx Scandal Tied to Penn State’s Railroading of Sandusky

Freeh had done good work for Frazier at Merck, helping defeat litigants when Merck had legal troubles with its pain relief drug Vioxx.

Merck & Co., Inc. introduced Vioxx as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug to relieve and manage acute pain, including post-surgical pain and painful menstrual periods, and to treat inflammation associated with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, helping improve joint function and reduce swelling, allowing users greater mobility and comfort. 

Vioxx’s sales took off from its introduction in 1999 until its withdrawal in 2004, with total sales of around $11 billion. 

Vioxx was withdrawn from the market in 2004 because the secret that Merck executives knew – that it caused heart attacks and strokes – could not be kept secret any longer.

Frazier served as Merck’s General Counsel in 1999 when the company introduced Vioxx. Following the withdrawal of Vioxx, Frazier rose to CEO of the company.

In a nutshell, Vioxx made Ken Frazier.

After Merck made $11 billion in revenues from Vioxx sales, the public learned through Congressional testimony that as many as 60,000 people died from using Vioxx.

Frazier led Merck’s defense team against the 27,000 lawsuits.

The reason why Merck withdrew Vioxx in 2004 was because the results of the APPROVe (Adenomatous Polyp Prevention on Vioxx) trial showed an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.

A Real Cover-Up Exposed

Authorities discovered, however, that Merck knew about the increased risk of heart attacks and strokes in 2000, shortly after the company launched the drug. However, with legal counsel like Frazier, the company saw no reason to disclose the cardiovascular risks.

For example, the VIGOR (Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research) study conducted in 2000 showed a significant increase in heart attacks among Vioxx users compared to those taking naproxen. Merck chose not to forgo the $2 billion in annual sales, and Merck maintained the drug was safe for broader use.

In a scheme worthy of the brilliance of Ken Frazier, the study that showed that people using Vioxx had a higher incidence of heart attacks than those using Naproxen (Aleve) was due to Naproxen having cardio-protective effects, obscuring the actual risks of Vioxx.

Even when evidence of harm became incontrovertible, Merck, with Frazier managing the company’s legal direction regarding Vioxx, chose not to inform the public and regulatory bodies.

Unfortunately for Merck’s bottom line, about 140,000 people got heart attacks because of Vioxx after Frazier, and the company knew of the deathly effects. About 54 percent lived.

When this information became public, Frazier stepped to the front and implemented a legal strategy of fighting, using Merck’s enormous wealth to fight the 27,000 lawsuits individually.

Frazier teamed up with the great strategist Louis Freeh. They knew that many of the plaintiffs would die if Merck delayed settling, and their heirs might not pursue the lawsuits.

Under Frazier’s bold leadership, Merck kept billions out of the hands of sick patients, pleasing stockholders and corporate officers alike.

Finally, in a clever move that saved the company from losing all its profits from Vioxx, Frazier led Merck to a $4.85 billion settlement in 2007 to resolve personal injury lawsuits. Though this cut into the company’s profits and annoyed many stockholders, Frazier felt it was the most economical move and at least allowed Merck to retain about half of the gross revenue from Vioxx.

Still up in the air was whether the DOJ could criminally charge anyone from Merck, including Frazier.

Frazier had Merck hire Freeh to mollify the DOJ by investigating and issuing a report on Merck’s innocence.

Frazier, who always fought the lawsuits, asserted with a straight face that Merck had done nothing wrong. 

In November, it was unclear if Frazier and other Merck executives were going to prison.

Then Frazier and Gov. Corbett collaborated to hire Louis Freeh to investigate a coverup that never happened at Penn State and make a report that would complete Corbett’s intended takeover of Penn State.

Frazier, who was in a vulnerable position with authorities, agreed to do Corbett’s groundwork.

Frazier pretended like he considered others for the task, finally recommending Freeh to the Board because he knew how to handle the media.

Governor Corbett was less shady. He admitted to the media that he selected Freeh for the job.

The Corbett-influenced trustees agreed to grant Frazier the power to hire Freeh to ‘serve as independent, external legal counsel to the Task Force to perform an independent, “full and complete investigation” and provide a report that would, in effect, guarantee Corbett control of Penn State by eliminating any doubt that Spanier and Paterno were innocent.

The fact that they did not cover up Jerry Sandusky’s abuse of Allan Myers – because Sandusky never abused Allan Myers and Mike McQueary never told them that Sandusky abused anyone in the shower – was perfectly irrelevant. 

Immunity from Liability

Frazier and Freeh crafted an agreement that guaranteed Freeh would find what Corbett wanted without regard for the truth. This agreement also coincided with what the PA Attorney General wanted—the conviction of Sandusky, Spanier, Schultz, Curley, and, if he lived long enough, Joe Paterno.

The retainer agreement shows Freeh was told in advance that Penn State would pay him $8.3 million to make a report showing the men guilty before they went to trial.

The Freeh Agreement Spelled Out What His Independent Investigation Would Determine Before It Began

The agreement read that Freeh’s report would include:

i) “failures that occurred in the reporting process…” (as if the indicted men were already guilty of a coverup, even though none of the defendants had gone to trial and were presumably innocent until proven guilty).

 ii) “the cause for the failures;” (even if there was no failure.)

iii) “who had knowledge of the allegations of sexual abuse;” (even if there was no sexual abuse)

iv) “how those allegations were handled.”

Freeh’s “report also will provide recommendations to the Task Force to ensure that those failures do not occur again.” (All this before any court of law established there was a failure.)

Frazier and Corbett hired Freeh to report on how the coverup happened and how to prevent it in the future. Yet the coverup and Sandusky’s alleged abuse of a boy in a shower at Penn State were unproven.

(At the trial of Sandusky, seven months later, the jury rejected the claim Sandusky had abused a boy in the shower that allegedly Spanier, Schultz, Paterno, and Curley knew about and engaged in a conspiracy of silence to protect the university and its football teams’ reputation.) 

Some Penn State students, faculty, alums, and the public criticized the board for firing loyal employees without any evidence of guilt and bringing in Freeh to report on a coverup before a jury convicted anyone of anything.

In a show of hot temper that had served him well at Merck, Frazier argued Penn State needed (like Merck had needed) to protect its reputation, and that superseded due process (just like profits at Merck superseded the lives of 60,000 people).

Frazier said publicly, “We can take employment actions, we can take corrective actions without any need to resort to the so-called due process, reasonable doubt standard, and I don’t care if they are acquitted.”

For Frazier, the Vioxx scandal was a matter of money. The fact that 60,000 innocent people died was of no concern to corporate executives. Unsurprisingly, he did not care if innocent people at Penn State were acquitted.

Frazier wisely provided Freeh with the freedom to write a report regardless of the truth by crafting the agreement to read that Penn State would pay Free $8.3 million and that if any person named in the report took legal action against Freeh for writing a false and defamatory report, Penn State would pay all Freeh’s legal costs.

This left Freeh free to write the report Corbett wanted, which would clear his enemies off the field. Frazier got to do another good turn for Freeh, who could help him clear himself and his company from the fed’s looming criminal threat.

With Frazier’s help, Corbett hired the powerful former judge and former FBI director to do a political hit job they deceptively claimed was an “independent investigation.”

It even had the false imprimatur of the FBI. ABC News went so far as to report that Penn State was bringing the FBI in to investigate the Penn State coverup, even though Freeh had not been director of the FBI for a decade.

Everything was now in place to bury Sandusky, Paterno, Spanier, Schultz, Curley, and all their remaining supporters at Penn State. All that needed to be seen next was what would happen to Frazier and Merck for the deception of the public and some 60,000 deaths.

This death toll certainly was not to be compared to the alleged coverup of one boy Sandusky allegedly abused in the Penn State showers, or that several men of integrity tried to cover it up — an abuse that an actual independent investigation would show never happened.

Would the DOJ indict anyone from Merck, including Frazier, for the crime of a much bigger coverup than anything Paterno and Spanier might have done? (but did not do!)

In our next post, we will learn the answer to that question, which came within four days of Frazier hiring Freeh to do Corbett’s dirty work.

Stay tuned.

Frank Parlato

Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.

Frank Parlato

Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.

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