MSU's independent investigator Will Forsyth had a retirement party....

Submitted by readyourguard on
paid for by MSU honk Peter Secchia. A story in the Free Press (my apologies) says Secchia and Meijer were the lead sponsors of a dinner and roast for William Forsyth. State Attorney General Bill Schuette named Forsyth the lead, independent investigator into the case at Michigan State and how they handled Nassar. https://www.freep.com/story/news/2018/01/30/spartan-booster-peter-secch… That humming sound you hear are the shredders hard at work in East Lansing..
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Msu investigator William Forsyth Peter Secchia

Ty Butterfield

January 30th, 2018 at 7:58 AM ^

I am Jack’s complete lack of surprise. Those scum bags Izzo and Mork will find a way to keep their jobs.

Joined: 09/07/2009

MGoPoints: -81685

Everyone Murders

January 30th, 2018 at 11:48 AM ^

I thought I was Jack's complete lack of surprise! (Maybe we're all Jack's complete lack of surprise - in a Jungian sense.)

That aside, I don't see Dantonio surviving this.  He is too much of a political dope to navigate this, and the culture of his program has been one of entitlement and free passes for over a decade.  His posture of defiance, and denying knowledge will come back to bite him.

Izzo's prospects are better, but he may not survive this either.  (He shouldn't, but he could.)  If he pretends that he did not read the Appling/Payne police reports, that may be a sufficient dodge.  He'd have to explain why his athletes were immediately moved to different housing, why there was a police report out there where Payne admitted to the elements of rape, etc.  But he could say "look, I'm not a lawyer, and if the Ingham Cty Prosecutor doesn't want to proceed with a case, why am I supposed to second-guess that?"  HOWEVAH, he was really stupid to claim he did not know why Travis Walton left.  Da fuq, dude?  How can you not remember why one of your assistant coaches left?  It's not like you've got a staff of thirty assistant coaches. 

Even though the Payne/Appling thing is rotten, I think the Travis Walton fiasco could be his demise.  He can't really feign ignorance on that one.

Joined: 12/14/2010

MGoPoints: 65552

1VaBlue1

January 30th, 2018 at 7:59 AM ^

Haha!  This is the result of the AG office doing nothing, until MSU 'asked' them to.  That ask probably came with a recommedation to name a particular lead...

What a friggen joke.

Joined: 01/31/2016

MGoPoints: 126496

BannerToucher85

January 30th, 2018 at 2:31 PM ^

Not according to the article:
 
Schuette, interviewed Monday on “Michigan’s Big Show,” a syndicated radio program hosted by Michael Patrick Shiels, said the investigation headed by Forsyth would expand beyond Nassar to examine the overall culture at MSU related to sexual abuse, as highlighted in recent media reports such as one from ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.”
 

Joined: 11/24/2011

MGoPoints: 1621

wildbackdunesman

January 30th, 2018 at 8:04 AM ^

Does Scheutte have a conflict of interest as the article suggests? Dantonio wrote the forward to his book, Sechhia donates to his campaign, and then he picks some with other MSU connections and debts to investigate MSU. Will this be an independent investigation?

Joined: 07/16/2008

MGoPoints: 30237

wildbackdunesman

January 30th, 2018 at 9:25 AM ^

I hope you are right, but how "independent" are you if you are getting money from and are buddies with some of the people you should be investigating. Most of the people in this state aren't well informed on the issue, I have heard people at work talking about how unfair it is to drag Izzo into Nassar's case and ask if his sandwich maker is next. Izzo is popular and Sparties are in full blown JoePa denial mode. If he did a cursory look at MSU Bball and football that was superficial, I think most of the state would be content if the Nassar probe hammered generic AD types and nonrevenue sports.

Joined: 07/16/2008

MGoPoints: 30237

turtleboy

January 30th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^

I'm not so sure. Just thinking about the national stage, where the Party Chairman was caught trying to rig the party primary, instead of distancing themselves from the scandal the ousted chairman was immediately hired to run the campaign of the candidate they favored. That was pretty cut and dry and it didn't really seem to matter, this is still vague and more difficult to prove, even though I personally believe there's a HUGE and deliberate conflict of interest.

Joined: 04/22/2011

MGoPoints: 35131

gruden

January 30th, 2018 at 9:46 AM ^

Right, which was a big concern of mine.  Is he going to do anything to piss off all those MSU alum in state?  He'll talk tough, like he did during his presser, but I'm not sure he'll really do anything substantial.  The Feds are the real X factor here.  It wouldn't surprise me that they're angling to convince the DOJ that Shuette has everything under control and no need to get involved.

Joined: 04/29/2016

MGoPoints: 6062

Dennis

January 30th, 2018 at 8:14 AM ^

I'm becoming increasingly interested in spending my spare time digging into this. This is a rat ship and it needs to be dealt with outside of green and white goggles.

Joined: 10/08/2017

MGoPoints: -9988682

LSAClassOf2000

January 30th, 2018 at 8:44 AM ^

Since we're all pretty sure that no one who attends will leave alive, planning half the trip seems like all he really needs to do. If FauxMo is in fact in clown garb, I don't even know that I would bring substantial provisions as you certainly won't need them. In such a scenario, the campers may very well BE the provisions, you see...

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130561

The Bos of Me

January 30th, 2018 at 8:33 AM ^

Inconceivable!! I work with attorneys as lobbyists and consultants every day on public sector work. Normally they will recuse themselves over even the smallest potential appearance of conflict of interests. This is a massive optics problem, if nothing else. I'm surprised, though I guess I shouldn't be at this point t.

Joined: 11/11/2015

MGoPoints: 5372

MgoHillbilly

January 30th, 2018 at 8:57 AM ^

I should hope news agencies are picking up on these obvious conflicts of interest. Considering a spoliation letter has already been sent to MSU which did not specifically reference the football and basketball programs or Dantonio and Izzo, the potential bias is already infecting the investigation. A call for his recusal should be made immediately. May I also suggest renaming the thread to say "has a conflict of interest" instead of "had a retirement party" just to draw more interest in this?

Joined: 01/04/2017

MGoPoints: 23860

James Burrill Angell

January 30th, 2018 at 9:48 AM ^

The Atty Gen Bill Schuette should be ashamed. How the hell do you appoint a special investigator who has Spartan skeletons in his closet. Attorney friends of mine said Schuette is a real piece of garbage but this is really embarrassing. The article said the Spartan booster who paid for the investigators retirement party from his old job had this to say about the Nassar situation: “Secchia came under fire last week when he suggested in an interview that Nassar's victims' parents should take some of the blame for the abuse suffered by their daughters, questioning whether some were more interested in winning medals than raising concerns about Nassar. Secchia also told WZZM-TV in Grand Rapids: "I would say to (parents) that if you don't feel comfortable with your children at Michigan State, take them somewhere else because we've got a long list of people that want to go to Michigan State and there are some wonderful people left."

Joined: 08/12/2009

MGoPoints: 15918

lilpenny1316

January 30th, 2018 at 9:53 AM ^

This is from an Mlive article (LINK):

3) Will Schuette recuse himself if the investigation gets close to the football team? Schuette's 2015 book, Big Lessons From a Small Town, includes a glowing foreword from MSU Football Coach Mark Dantonio. Again, it's not clear what the scope of the investigation will be. But with Schuette promising to look at "every corner" of the university, and with questions swirling about the handling of sexual assault cases within the athletic department, it's not out of the question that Dantonio could be put under the microscope.

Nothing that seems favorable to MSU, and especially the revenue generating programs would surprise me.

Joined: 11/19/2009

MGoPoints: 61765

Heinous Wagner

January 30th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^

If you want a truly independent probe, get someone from outside the state of Michigan, with no ties whatsoever to MSU or the Grand Rapids good old boys club. Granted, Schuette wants to be governor worse than we want to beat Ohio State, and that going soft on this would give Gretchen Wittmer a club with which to cudgel him. But the first rule of those in power -- CYA and protect your cronies -- is always paramount. 

Joined: 08/10/2009

MGoPoints: 768

TK

January 30th, 2018 at 10:23 AM ^

And this is part of the reason why I think these guys survive this. Anyone care to rethink their “zero percent” stance now?

Joined: 09/23/2014

MGoPoints: 18078

delmarblue

January 30th, 2018 at 10:55 AM ^

The attorney general is an idiot.  Way to screw up the investigation before it starts. Credibility of the whole thing shot from the start.  Michigan politics reeks.

Joined: 08/29/2011

MGoPoints: 164

AMazinBlue

January 30th, 2018 at 11:04 AM ^

happening already and they aren't even digging into the two revenue-generating programs yet.  Bring in a true INDEPENDANT investigator from Montana or somewhere and get the whole truth exposed.  The way this thing is going, they will just need a bigger rug and broom for the sweeping.

Joined: 10/12/2008

MGoPoints: 7197