By March, the costs for Penn State’s legal counsel and public relations fees associated with the Jerry Sandusky case had topped more than $7.5 million, according to figures on openness.psu.edu.
As of Feb. 29, the university spent $7,577,643 on an internal investigation and crisis communications, legal services, externally initiated investigations and other expenses, according to the website. On Feb. 13, when the website was first launched, the total fees for legal counseling and public relations was about $3.19 million.
Of the roughly $7.5 million, about $5.3 million went toward funding former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s independent and internal investigation of the university’s actions surrounding the Sandusky sex abuse case, according to the website.
As of Feb. 29, the total for Penn State’s legal services and defense was at $1,205,438, according to the website.
The firms the university has working for them are Saul Ewing, Duane Morris, Lanny J. Davis and Associates, Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, Jenner & Block LLP, ML Strategies and Lee, Green & Reiter Inc., according to the website.
The university's defense tab for former Penn State administrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, along with former Penn State President Graham Spanier, has totaled $338,545, according to the website. Curley and Schultz are each charged with perjury and failure to report suspected abuse in connection with the Sandusky case.
Spanier was not charged with any wrongdoing and was removed for failing to meet leadership responsibilities, according to a statement the Penn State Board of Trustees made in March. According to the openness website, unless prohibited by law, the university bylaws entitle the former Penn State officials to have legal counsel paid for by the university.
To bring the total to more than $7.5 million, costs related to other institutional expenses reached $635,634, according to the website.
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