The money Penn State has spent in legal and consulting fees for the Jerry Sandusky scandal has topped $50 million.
Penn State's latest update shows the university has spent $50,459,828 through July 31 for work done by more than three-dozen firms. That's up $1,025,962 from what the university spent through June 30, according to monthly updates provided by Penn State.
The potential total cost of the scandal skyrockets to more than $158 million when factoring in the dollar value of the total settlement offers with Sandusky claimants and the full NCAA fine, which the university is paying in yearly installments.
More than half of the work in July, at $574,335, was billed under the category of legal services.
Those costs cover the work of law firms representing ex-president Graham Spanier, ex-athletic director Tim Curley and retired vice president Gary Schultz, who are awaiting trial on perjury, obstruction of justice and related charges.
As former officers of Penn State, the men were entitled to the university paying their legal bills. Those costs are only expected to increase as the former employees prepare for trial.
The next largest billing in July went to legal services, consulting and PR for the university, which includes the firms handling Penn State's own legal defenses, such as Feinberg Rozen, Saul Ewing and Duane Morris.
Penn State was invoiced a small amount, $138, in July from the former FBI director Louis Freeh's firm, which issued the report last summer that the NCAA used to hand down sanctions on Penn State.
In July, Penn State also was billed $122,520 by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, who's been appointed by the NCAA to monitor the university's progress in implementing new compliance, ethical, security and governance reforms. To date, the university has paid his firm, DLA Piper, $1.9 million.
Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/10/14/3837882/sandusky-fallout-costs-penn-state.html#storylink=cpy
Matt Carroll
Centre Daily Times