A Baseball Story In The Birthplace Of Little League Baseball – PART XVI

Josh Shapiro, PA Attorney General (top left), Brandon Pardoe, WAHS Principal (top middle),

Ryan Gardner, Lycoming County District Attorney (top right).

Willie Weber, former Lycoming County Chief Detective (middle left),

WAHS Teacher & Miller girlfriend Alicia Carnevale and

former WAHS Baseball Coach Ryan Miller (middle right)

Fred Holland, WASD Solicitor (bottom left),

Sean McCann, WAHS Athletic Director (bottom middle)

and George Lepley, criminal defense attorney (bottom right)

This story is graphic and contains details related to multiple indecent sexual assaults.

The author and editor of this story have made the editorial decision to not publish the names of the individuals under the age of 18 at the time of the incident who have been clearly identified as committing these acts in this case since they have not been formally charged with a crime.

A Baseball Story In The Birthplace Of Little League Baseball

IF NOTHING HAPPENED IN MYRTLE BEACH

WHY WON’T THE WASD TELL US THE STORY?

PART XVI

By Todd Bartley, Talk Williamsport

News@talkwilliamsport.com

 

In the aftermath of the bombshell report in PART XV of this series with Lycoming County District Attorney Ryan Gardner referring the case to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro for consideration.

That referral put to rest any speculation of the validity or veracity of this series.

Talk Williamsport contacted the press office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro for comment on the referral and received the following response on Thursday evening.

“We have not yet received a referral. If and when we receive it, it will be promptly reviewed.”

 

RADIO SHOW CALLER CLAIMS:

“EVERYONE INVOLVED KNEW INSTANTANEOUSLY AFTER IT HAPPENED”

During the Saturday debut show of Pennsylvania Patriots Radio on News Talk 104.1, a caller attempted to reach the show live.

Unable to get through, this person left voicemails for the show.

In order to protect the identity of the person identified as a WAHS graduate and cell phone number verification, a transcript of the voicemails is provided.

“You people don’t know what they’re talk about the cover-up, but that’s still not even comparable to anything that happened with Jerry Sandusky.

I like know specifically what happened there and the people involved knew instantaneously after it happened.

The parents of everyone involved knew instantaneously after it happened.

There’s was no cover-up.

It’s not, it’s not the general public’s business what happened there.

The parents of everyone involved knew.

I agree that the student involved should have never been allowed back on the high school baseball team, but there was no cover-up.”

 

CAMPAIGN TO MARGINALIZE TALK WILLIAMSPORT CONTINUES

Even as PART XIII and PART XIV were published, WASD administrators were still trying to persuade concerned parents that this series is all a myth.

Williamsport Area High School Athletic Director Sean McCann (photo above – bottom middle) who was in Myrtle Beach as noted in this series; authored a recent e-mail to a WASD parent who voiced concerns after reading Part XIII and Part XIV.

The e-mail to the concerned parent has been provided to Talk Williamsport.

“The author of these articles is way out of line and has severely exaggerated the information.

We dealt with it immediately, when we learned of it, it was never shared on social media as he believes in his writings.

We met with the mother the day after we learned of things and worked with the family for over an entire year.

It was dealt with and the unfortunate thing, this author keeps bringing it up, keeps hurting the kids, bringing it up all this time afterwards just keeps hurting the kids, that’s the frustrating thing.”

–Sean

 

GARDNER PRESS RELEASE DIFFERS GREATLY FROM MCCANN NARRATIVE

If what McCann stated is true: “We dealt with it immediately,” is that why ALLEGED PERPETRATOR #1 was able to receive a District Champion medal that season?

The email claims the WASD “worked with the family for over an entire year”, which family?

Being “worked with”, was news to the FAMILY OF JOHN DOE #1 as noted in this series.

If the FAMILY OF JOHN DOE #1 was so satisfied with how the WASD treated them why is Kline and Specter representing them?

Sean McCann in his official capacity as Athletic Director had oversight of Head Baseball Coach Ryan Miller (photo above – middle right) and the baseball team on the Myrtle Beach trip, as any Athletic Director would.

Miller was accompanied for part of the trip by his girlfriend, WAHS teacher Alicia Carnevale (photo above – middle right).

Will the room list that miraculously vanished now magically appear?

For reference, the Press Release authored by Lycoming County District Attorney Ryan Gardner from PART XV.

 

REACTION WAS SWIFT UPON LEARNING OF AG SHAPIRO REFERRAL

Adam Welteroth, WASD School Board Member who in the immediate aftermath of the first story published by FSW in August 2018 called for an independent investigation into the matter, which fell on deaf ears.

Welteroth offered the following response after learning of the AG Shapiro referral.

“Lycoming County District Attorney Ryan Gardner’s statements within his press release are very concerning.

On Feb 4, 2020 I made a motion to call for an independent third party investigation which failed to carry a second.

Today I stand by my original request and hope that the Office of the Attorney General will help to find clarity and put this matter to rest, so our district can return our focus to educating our students.”

 

Talk Williamsport again contacted, Maura McInerney, Esq., Legal Director for the Education Law Center for her reaction.

“We are pleased that this incident has been referred to the Attorney General’s Office and hope that the matter will be thoroughly investigated, with full cooperation from the school district. The well-being of the victim and other students who may have witnessed the incident demands careful scrutiny.

This matter should have been thoroughly investigated by an independent resource months ago.”

 

COCHRAN PRIMARY PRINCIPAL SCHUYLER HANGS UP

As part of the ongoing review of the phone records obtained from the WASD in the Right to Know Law process, a previously unidentified number was found.

The number belongs to Cindy T. Schuyler, principal at Cochran Primary School.

Schuyler previously referenced in PART V of this series after posting the following to the FSW Facebook page, “I was aware of most of this. Some of what is said isn’t correct, but in my opinion something bad happened in Myrtle Beach.”

Soon after posting it, she deleted the above referenced comment from the aforementioned page.

The WASD school board in November 2019 approved the resignation of Cindy T. Schuyler, principal at Cochran Primary School for the purpose of retirement.

Schuyler has been a WASD administrator for 13 years.

After learning of the incident, as a mandatory reporter why did she never call the Myrtle Beach Police Department?

Schuyler, was reached by phone Saturday evening seeking comment for this story; upon hearing the identifier of Talk Williamsport on the phone, Schuyler promptly hung up.

Schuyler’s resignation and retirement take effect June 30, 2020.

Can she explain the phone call with WAHS Principal Brandon Pardoe that lasted 14 minutes on January 3, 2019?

 

NO RESPONSE TREND CONTINUES WITH WASD, ATTORNEYS HOLLAND & LEPLEY

Talk Williamsport made attempts to contact WASD Superintendent Dr. Timothy Bowers, WASD Right to Know Officer, Wanda Erb, WASD Solicitor Fred Holland and Attorney George Lepley for this story; to this point none of them have responded.

Dr. Timothy Bowers did not answer his cell phone Saturday evening when FSW attempted to reach him for comment.

Is criminal sexual misconduct captured on video why WASD Superintendent Dr. Timothy Bowers silenced WASD Solicitor Fred Holland upon numerous questions from FSW?

When did Dr. Bowers learn of the incident in Myrtle Beach and what did he do about it?

As a mandatory reporter why did Dr. Bowers never call the Myrtle Beach Police Department?

Has Dr. Bowers ever inquired about the notes or reports that WAHS Principal Brandon Pardoe took during the investigation?

For the sake of transparency did Dr. Bowers ever ask WASD Solicitor Fred Holland to recover the cell phone records of WAHS Principal Brandon Pardoe from the time of the Myrtle Beach trip?

Why has the WASD School Board never seen a written report on the Myrtle Beach incident, which would be subject to the Right to Know Law?

PART VIII also provided proof that attorney George Lepley (photo above- bottom right) stayed at the Atlantica Resort in Myrtle Beach.

His room was next to a room that was assigned to the group of rooms reserved and booked by then head coach Ryan Miller.

Since the publication of Parts 1-7 of this series, multiple fact witnesses have shared with Talk Williamsport that Lepley was approached about the “indecent and inappropriate behavior” issues nearly immediately after they happened in Myrtle Beach.

Is it reasonable to think that Lepley then called Pardoe or informed then head coach Ryan Miller while in Myrtle Beach?

Is this why the WASD is unwilling to provide the phone records for Brandon Pardoe in the same time frame they provided the same records for Sean McCann and Randy Zangara?

 

LITTLE LEAGUE CONTINUES TO DENY RELATIONSHIP TO CASE

In another stunning development, Little League has refused comment based on their assertion they have no relationship to this case.

The record is clear in this matter.

Nick Caringi was on the trip as a coach, he is also a Little League employee.

Willie Weber, former Lycoming County Chief Detective who was a party to the alleged investigation DA Gardner now says contains conflicts of interest; is a long time team host “uncle” for the Little League World Series.

Ryan Miller, former WAHS Head Baseball Coach has been an alternate team host “uncle” for the Little League World Series which is documented in media guides and luncheon photos in recent years.

When contacted for reaction to the AG Shapiro referral, Kevin Fountain, Director of Media Relations for Little League International sent the following:

Todd, Because this matter has no relationship to Little League International, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.

Based on the record, the provided statement is patently false.

At some point Little League will need to address this case and maybe Attorney General Shapiro is just the person that can find out.

 

IS THE CULTURE OF HAZING AND BULLYING IN THE WASD THE NORM?

When Williamsport Area High School Athletic Director Sean McCann (photo above – lower left) who was in Myrtle Beach as noted in this series; said in a recent e-mail to a WASD parent in response to Part XIII and Part XIV, “The author of these articles is way out of line and has severely exaggerated the information”, was he actually saying bullying and hazing are the norm in the WASD?

Talk Williamsport addressed this issue in PART VIII of the series.

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) based in Harrisburg recently reviewed “A Baseball Story” and Suzanne Estrella, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR), Legal Director offered the following for this story.

“What we say and do about sexual harassment, abuse, and assault matters. Deliberate indifference is actionable and dangerous. We must create cultures where intolerable behavior is in fact intolerable.”

She added, “Athletes and coaches are community leaders that have an enormous influence on how others view healthy relationships, safety and respect. Coaches and team leaders should work to create a culture inside the locker room and beyond that rejects the status quo of boys will be boys or locker room talk as acceptable behavior. We encourage athletes and coaches to be leaders in rejecting actions like the ones that were reported among the Williamsport baseball team and taking the proper steps to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.”

Is this exactly why former Lycoming County Chief Detective Willie Weber heretofore called the video a “prank”?

As history has shown and “A Baseball Story” series of stories has demonstrated, this is the norm.

She also weighed in on the crimes alleged to have occurred, in Pennsylvania, “the crimes described in the FSW series of stories include sexual assault, battery, possibly sextortion, and the unlawful dissemination of an intimate image.”

According to McCann, “It was dealt with and the unfortunate thing, this author keeps bringing it up, keeps hurting the kids, bringing it up all this time afterwards just keeps hurting the kids, that’s the frustrating thing.”

Exactly which kids keep getting hurt; when the WASD refuses to acknowledge the word “victim” in any communications including publicly released statements in this case?

PART VIII also addressed hazing including the anti-hazing law signed by Governor Wolf in 2016.

“Gov. Tom Wolf in May 2016 signed a bill expanding Pennsylvania’s anti-hazing law to apply not only to college students but also to those in seventh through 12th grades. The law required public and private secondary schools to adopt anti-hazing policies, post them online and to provide athletic coaches with a copy.”

How does this same standard not apply to WASD Superintendent Dr. Timothy Bowers in the Myrtle Beach incidents?

Why has the WASD waited 22 months to offer an “official statement” with no names on it?

To date, the only publicly known action WASD Superintendent Dr. Timothy Bowers has taken is to silence the WASD Solicitor Fred Holland in the Myrtle Beach matter as previously reported and documented in “A Baseball Story”.

 

UNFLINCHING ATTRIBUTABLE BIAS IN REPORTING BY ROLLEY AND BEAUGE

In order to keep the peace with his cousin Brandon Pardoe at the Thanksgiving dinner table Bob Rolley, Publisher of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette refused to give proper attribution to the Talk Williamsport “A Baseball Story In The Birthplace Of Little League Baseball” series when reporting the case referral by Lycoming County District Attorney Ryan Gardner to Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

Instead, being feckless in their curiosity, Rolley in his position of Publisher copied and pasted a press release sent out by Gardner with no context to the story.

Talk Williamsport renews it call for Ogden Newspapers to relieve Rolley and Editor Jansen of their respective duties at the earliest possible date.

Today marks the last day the Williamsport Sun-Gazette will publish a Sunday edition for delivery. It also marks the beginning of the reported move of the printing press operations of the newspaper to Altoona.

John Beauge of PennLive.com, also authored a story in regard to the Shapiro referral and took the occasion to continue to reference the Ryan Miller lawsuit against FSW.

Was that in order for Beauge to keep the Miller family financial gravy train flowing to the John Bower basektball league?

Or was it an attempt to distract from the fact Beauge took the word of Detective Weber who relayed a story of what was on a video as a “prank” instead of being an actual journalist with probity to verify what was on the video?

Talk Williamsport calls upon the Patriot News to remove Beauge from covering this story due to his conflicts of interest in this case and published bias against FSW.

 

TREASURE TROVE OF INFORMATION DURING SERIES

Due to the mountain of information and documentation received during the now 16-part series “A Baseball Story In The Birthplace Of Little League Baseball”; as well as new information obtained, Talk Williamsport has launched a new investigation into claims of wrongdoing and possible criminal activity on the part of players in the Williamsport Area High School Baseball program over the past 15 years.

 

GARDNER PRESS RELEASE CONTRADICTS WASD OFFICIAL STATEMENT

On January 9, 2020 WASD Statement on Myrtle Beach Incident was released to the public.

Does the “serious responsibility and the safety of our students is our top priority”, include sending them out of state with no chaperones beyond the baseball coaching staff and two administrators who had children on the team?

Does that “serious responsibility and the safety of our students is our top priority”, also include failing to have a room list of where each student is staying?

Maybe the random tourists on the boardwalk who interacted with the WAHS Baseball team at all hours of the day and night could be asked by FSW?

Does the high standard of communicating with the public include fighting Right-to-Know Law requests submitted by FSW?

The WASD Statement goes onto say, “In light of recent concerns raised on social media, it is evident that the circulation of inaccuracies and misinformation have created confusion that is detrimental to students, staff and the district. The district is releasing the following statement to provide facts where we are legally able to do so, while still protecting the privacy of students:

Near the end of the 2017-2018 school year, local law enforcement brought to the district’s attention an alleged incident involving indecent and inappropriate behavior by a baseball player during the team’s spring trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.”

Since the publication of Millionaire Baseball Mayhem in Myrtle Beach in August 2018 through the current chapter of A Baseball Story In The Birthplace Of Little League Baseball – PART XVI FSW has been steadfast in the reporting of the events that occurred in Myrtle Beach.

The only “inaccuracies and misinformation” in this terrible situation have come from the WASD.

According to the WASD Statement, “The information had not been previously reported to any district administrator or employee. Once the district was contacted, a prompt investigation was completed and appropriate discipline was issued.”

The investigation was so thorough it forgot to include the actual agencies that has always retained jurisdiction in the assault case; the Myrtle Beach Police Department and the Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office in Horry County, South Carolina.

The WASD Statement continued, “Federal educational privacy laws prohibit the district from disclosing any specifics regarding what discipline was levied and who was involved.”

In what can only be described as revisionist history, the WASD Statement outlines the response it undertook; “In addition to the district’s own investigation, the matter was investigated by outside agencies, including the Lycoming County District Attorney’s office and law enforcement in Myrtle Beach. When contacted by Myrtle Beach authorities, the high school principal immediately referred them to the district attorney’s office and the district’s school resource officers, who serve with the Williamsport Bureau of Police.”

FULL STOP!!!!

Pay close attention, “In addition to the district’s own investigation…When contacted by Myrtle Beach authorities, the high school principal immediately referred them to the district attorney’s office and the district’s school resource officers, who serve with the Williamsport Bureau of Police.”

So, the WASD ran its own investigation on itself?

By the same WAHS Principal who had a son on the team and a nephew in the room during the assault.

Back to the District Attorney Gardner Press Release:
1. A video depicting criminal sexual misconduct does exist.

The Myrtle Beach Police Department had to call the WASD for answers as chronicled in PART XIII of this series. The audio below between Detective Aiesi and WAHS Principal Pardoe is devastating.

 

Pardoe had every opportunity to disclose to Detective Aiesi he led an investigation and was on the trip.

By the way, the audio is from late September 2018, nearly 4 months after Pardoe and the WASD claim to have first heard of the incident.

Pardoe in this audio clip concedes it is in the jurisdiction of Myrtle Beach.

 

What if a predetermined outcome led law enforcement agencies down a different path?

From the WASD statement, “All questions regarding why charges were or were not pursued can be deferred to those agencies, as those decisions are not made by the school district.”

“It is important to note that the district first became aware of this incident after law enforcement had already been contacted and a ChildLine report made. The report to ChildLine was not duplicated by the district, as it had already been reported.”

WASD officials never called the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

“The district’s investigation was conducted by the high school principal, district administrators and district legal counsel. Once it became clear which students were and were not involved in the incident, it was apparent that the high school principal had no personal conflict of interest or personal relationships with the students involved. The principal was permitted by the district’s solicitor to participate in the investigation, and his actions were appropriate and thorough. As an added measure of diligence, a second administrator also participated in the investigation.”

So the WASD ran a separate investigation and provided those details to law enforcement in two states?

If so, where is that report?

It sounds plausible since Lycoming County Chief Detective Willie Weber took few notes and filed a report in the matter.

In October of 2018.

Five months removed from the ChildLine call of May 18, 2018.

At the request of the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

According to the Press Release sent out by District Attorney Ryan Gardner, he has a different interpretation of the previous paragraph.

“Although the sexual misconduct at issue occurred in South Carolina, the subsequent investigation conducted by one or more WASD Administrators and the Lycoming County Detectives Office coupled with the potential involvement of a local law firm has deservedly drawn intense scrutiny by both the media and the public. Despite all of this occurring prior to me assuming office in January, the appearance of impartiality was severely compromised due to the previous joint investigative efforts by school administration and this office.”

Gardner then takes the step to refer the case to Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

“In order to provide all parties involved the assurance of impartiality and to avoid the potential of any conflict, I am hereby referring this matter to the Office of Attorney General. Pending the referral of this matter to the Office of the Attorney General and to avoid compromising any further investigation that may be conducted by that Office, no further comment will be made at this time.”

In an attempt to inform the public of the steps the WASD took in this matter, the nest statement defies reality.

“The Williamsport Area School District does not condone inappropriate and indecent behavior. The district has fully conducted an investigation of this incident and has transparently cooperated and participated with law enforcement officials. We urge our students, families and community members to avoid posting statements to social media that are inaccurate or misleading, as those statements can be detrimental and potentially harmful to our students.”

“The Williamsport Area School District does not condone inappropriate and indecent behavior.”

In reality, a photo of ALLEGED PERPETRATOR #1 wearing a District Baseball Championship medal, days after the “investigation” was concluded proves that winning at all costs means more to the WASD than justice for the victim of criminal sexual misconduct captured on video an shared.

The WASD Statement concludes with, “We will continue to do everything we can to ensure the safety and security of our students and prevent another incident like the one in question from occurring again.”

If the WASD ever wants the trust of this community back which it taxes to support a $100 million operating budget and a $17 million renovation project on the horizon; it needs to take immediate and drastic measures with any staff members, board members or vendors that took part in covering this matter up.

It is abundantly clear who knew what and when.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro is poised to retrieve the answers this community has been searching for over the past two years.