Centre County DA rides again

◊ This is just getting weird, and sad. You know that if Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira had to run this past election cycle, with so many more PSU students registered in Centre County, he would have lost. But nope, Madiera will play to the masses of old, grouchy locals and townies in 2009. You know, the "Those students are ruining State College!" crowd.

Why is he running again?

"I'm running for district attorney again because I love the job," Madeira said. "There's nothing so satisfying as having a victim look at you in the eyes and thank you."

...or, send you sext messages during the investigation. Come on, he had that one coming. But no, that was Marshall, so we shouldn't judge the District Attorney for what the Assistant DA does right Mike?

"Madeira said those who look at the Marshall incident as a reflection of Madeira are ignoring the fact he took action -- Marshall no longer works for the district attorney's office, he said."

Wow, way to go! Madiera "took action" against a very high-ranking justice system official–second-highest, in fact–firing him, for corrupting the entire criminal process in Centre County. What the hell else was Madiera going to do, keep him on?

"To his detractors, Madeira said criticism of the district attorney's office often comes from "people who don't understand the system" and do not have all the facts... "Against everyone of those dissatisfied people I can put up nine or 10 satisfied people," Madeira said. "I can point to victim after victim after victim. ... That's the kind of message that the public really needs to know about."

Victim after victim after lying victim... oops! There's a big difference between quantity and quality. Madiera seems to be going after the former. It doesn't matter how many you get wrong, as long as you get a lot more right. Sorry, but I though the days of Cheney-Gonzalez justice in this country were over. Madiera doesn't care, though. Because...

"Madeira said no one else has indicated to him they will be challenging him for the position, but "in politics, you take nothing for granted."... When asked about the potential of running for district attorney, local attorney Anthony De Boef said he will make an announcement later this week about his decision."

Fantastic. In a system that's supposed to offer the best candidates for the job, we're not getting our money's worth.

I strongly suggest reading the entire Collegian article.

More below the fold...

Ah, yes. The twist arrives...

◊ On PennLive yesterday (didn't check my google alerts last night), a story posted on Philly.com was discussed. The Philly.com story was a feature/profile on Steelers DT Scott Paxson (PSU '02-05). Nice little piece. It talked about the adversity he over came, particularly after being charged with sexual assault in Spring '06, an incident which supposedly occurred 14 months earlier. We all know the story... or so we thought.

"Another former Penn State player, running back Austin Scott, also was charged with sexual assault 2 years ago. The charges against him finally were dropped last April, the weekend of the draft. Scott, like Paxson, wasn't drafted."

Yeah, all of that is old news. ESPN blasted PSU all last year with it, remember? Penn State players are no good, criminals, period.

"The prosecutor in both cases, assistant DA Lance Marshall..."

Ah yes, the douchebag, who seemingly went after Penn State football players like hicks after Muslims.

"...resigned Dec. 30 after it was revealed he was being investigated by the state Attorney General's Office after allegations were made that he had improper contact with a victim of domestic violence in a case he was assigned to prosecute. Marshall allegedly sent the woman more than 100 sexually explicit text messages on his county-issued cell phone."

HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! I'm sorry, I know it was during the holidays, and we all were a bit preoccupied with the Rose Bowl. But I never heard about that part of the story until I read it yesterday. My first reaction is to demand an apology (or at least demand Penn State demand an apology) from ESPN for portraying Penn State's legal history in the light they did, when we now know the entire legal system in Centre County was compromised. But, it wasn't made into a huge story, by ESPN or Penn State. That's probably the smart move. Why revisit the issue? Penn State has moved on, and ESPN will continue its sensationalist, yellow journalism. It's still a really juicy bit of news I wish I saw sooner.

More below the fold...