Former Penn State President Graham Spanier wants a Dauphin County district judge to lift the out-of-state and international travel bans put in place when he was released on bail last month.
District Judge William Wenner is weighing the motion, which was filed by defense attorney Edward F. Spreha Jr. on Nov. 13. The motion was not made available by Dauphin County’s court system until this morning .
At Spanier’s Nov. 7 arraignment, Wenner ordered that the former Penn State president hand over his passport and not go out of state. Spanier was indicted on obstruction of justice, perjury and related charges Nov. 1 for what the attorney general said was a “conspiracy of silence” to cover up abuse allegations against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
In the motion, Spanier’s attorney told the judge that someone in Spanier’s family is getting married in Europe in May and that Spanier wants to attend a Holocaust dedication the same month in Germany.Spanier also wants to be able to go to his home in New York and travel to see his family in Iowa for the holidays. He has colleagues out of state, including in Washington, who are working in the “national security arena,” according to the motion.
A spokesman for Spanier declined to comment on whether Spanier is still working in national security.Prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office told the judge in their response that they do not mind if Spanier travels out of state or out of the country. But they think Spanier should get court approval in advance of any trips.
Spanier and co-defendants Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, also accused of covering up the abuse allegations, are scheduled for a preliminary hearing Dec. 13 in Harrisburg.
The attorneys for all three men have said their clients are innocent and want to delay the hearing.
Last week, Penn State said it will have to pay Spanier almost $2.5 million in a severance that was triggered when he was dismissed in November 2011 amid the initial fallout of the Sandusky scandal. That pay will be deferred until June 2017.
