By John Nestor

State College, PA

According to a report, former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno had business ties with board members of The Second Mile, the charity that his assistant, accused child molester Jerry Sandusky, allegedly used to recruit his victims.

The Daily reported Monday that according to public records, Paterno and three fellow investors, including longtime Second Mile board chairman Robert Poole, had just secured financing to build a $125 million luxury retirement community around the same time a graduate assistant allegedly approached Paterno in 2002 to say that he had witnessed Sandusky raping a boy in the locker room showers.

According to the report Paterno had multiple business ventures with the same group, including developing a golf resort and nearby restaurant and inn. Paterno has also partnered with other current and former Second Mile board members on a bottled water company, a coaching website and a chain of convenience stores.

The Second Mile has said in a statement that Sandusky told the charity he was under investigation in 2008 and was immediately removed from programs involving children, although Sandusky didn't resign until last year.

In an interview with The New York Times published Saturday, Sandusky said Paterno never confronted him about the accusations.

The Daily reported that officials at the charity would not specify who was notified and that some have questioned whether certain people within the charity knew before 2008, given Paterno's close business and personal relationships with Poole and several other past and present board members.

"I honestly think there was a conversation. I can't believe there wasn't one," a former board member told The Daily. "To be honest, I think people were worried about what would happen to Penn State and The Second Mile if Jerry Sandusky was found out."

 

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Paterno Had Business Deal with Second Mile Charity Board Members