THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
STATE IN BRIEF
Execs sentenced for misusing money
. PITTSBURGH (AP) 'l\vo former top executives at a state
funded economic development agency were sentenced to 34
months in prison for misusing millions of dollars in state and fed
eral money to fund trips, spa retreats and other perks.
Lawrence McGeehan, the former president of the now-defunct
Ben Franklin Technology Center, and Kathleen Haluska, the cen
ter's former vice president, were sentenced to prison yesterday
plus three years of supervised release. lbgether, they must pay
more than $1.6 million in restitution to the center, now operating
under a different name, and the U.S. Navy.
McGeehan, 53, of Brownsville, and Haluska, 53, of Brownsville,
could have faced up to more than five years in prison, but U.S.
District Judge David Cercone called the guidelines too harsh.
Haluska's attorney, Thomas Livingston, asked Cercone to sen
tence his client to home detention with a work-release privilege
so she could begin to pay restitution and care for her family, but
the judge refused.
Livingston refused to comment after the hearing. Haluska and
McGeehan's attorney, Stephen Begler, indicated they would
appeal the sentences.
Wife to stand trial in rat poison case
WARREN (AP) A woman was ordered to stand trial yester
day on charges she allegedly tried to kill her husband by slipping
rat poison into his food. Cheryl M. Raybuck, 46, of Glade Town
ship, Warren County, was charged with attempted first-degree
murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment for
allegedly trying to kill Andrew Raybuck, 43.
Andrew Raybuck contacted police after he found an unusual
substance in the lunch his wife prepared for him, police said.
Police conducted tests and determined the substance was rat poi
son and that the man had ingested the same poison in the days
before.
Police charged Cheryl Raybuck on Feb. 15. Prosecutors argued
Cheryl Raybuck poisoned her husband because she hated him
and suffered 17 years of emotional abuse, but defense attorney
John Parroccini said there's more to the story.
Cheryl Raybuck was confined to a state hospital last month and
will likely stay there for another two months, Parroccini said.
Jury selection for her trial is scheduled to begin June 27.
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Sexual harassment lawsuit opens
Former state police
dispatcher Nancy Drew
Suder said she put up
with harassment for five
months.
By Mark Scolforo
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
HARRISBURG A former
state police dispatcher choked
back tears as she testified yes
terday about sexual harassment
she said she endured during five
months of employment at the
McConnellsburg barracks.
Nancy Drew Suders' civil
rights lawsuit against the state
police reached the U.S. Supreme
Court last year before being sent
back to Harrisburg federal court
Yesterday, Suders, 61, described
statements and actions by the
male troopers who supervised
her in 1998. She told the jury that
Cpl. William D. Baker repeatedly
re-enacted a move from profes
sional wrestling in which he
grabbed his crotch and yelled
"suck it" about four feet from
her. A sergeant once warned her
he would shoot to death anyone
who harmed another female dis
patcher "and bury their body
where nobody would find it," she
said.
Sgt. Eric Easton also would
"leer" at her and on about a half
dozen occasions brought up
what seemed to her to be a
Collegian
for the Board of Directors
The 12-member Board of Directors
of Collegian Inc. is seeking one Penn State
undergraduate student and one Penn State
faculty member to serve for a two-year term
on the Board. Newspaper experience is not
required.
The following are not eligible for these
seats: Graduate students, Collegian staff
members, Collegian alumni (for five years
after leaving staff).
Others are not eligible under our
conflict-of-interest policies (for example,
people involved with local commercial
media, elected officials).
Collegian Inc. is a Pennsylvania non
profit corporation, which is legally and
financially responsible for The Daily
Collegian, The Weekly Collegian, Collegian
Magazine and The Digital Collegian.
Collegian Inc. is responsible for:
• Overseeing the operation of The
Daily Collegian and related publications.
However, as a matter of policy, the Board
does not become involved in day-to-day
operations.
• Selecting the top management of
Collegian Inc. and monitoring the
performance of the Management Team.
• Setting broad policy and long-
range goals
• Ensuring the financial
independence and editorial freedom of The
Daily Collegian and related publications.
Collegian Inc. is self-supporting with
an annual budget of more than $l.B million.
The dual mission of Collegian Inc. is to
provide a quality college newspaper for Penn
State and a rewarding educational experience
for its student staff members.
Interested people are invited to
'submit a letter of application and a
resume to:
Mr. Gerry Lynn Hamilton
• Collegian Inc., James Building
123 S. Burrowes St.
University Park, Pa. 16801-3882
Letters should include your:
1. Reasons for seeking a directorship
2. Local address, telephone number
and e-mail address.
3. Permanent home address and
telephone number.
4. For students, major and expected
graduation date.
News Division - Business Division - Systems Division - General Services Division
STATE
Nancy Drew Sliders, left, and her lawyer Don Bailey enter Federal
court in Harrisburg yesterday. A jury yesterday began to hear Suders'
sexual-harassment lawsuit against the Pennsylvania State Police that
reached the U.S. Supreme Court last year before being sent back to
Harrisburg federal court for trial.
"fetish" for bestiality, she said, testified. Easton has since
her voice occasionally quaking. retired from the department.
"He would say, 'You know, peo- U.S. District Judge Sylvia H.
ple have sex with animals. They Rambo called a brief recess
have sex with sheep and cows after Suders became upset while
and things like that,' " Suders recounting a conversation in
Collegian Inc.
invites applications
The deadline for letters of application
is 4 p.m. Thursday, March 31. A limited
number of applicants will be interviewed by
a committee of the Board.
The Board of Directors includes four
Penn State students, two Penn State faculty
members and three directors-at-large.
The editor in chief and the business
manager, who are students, also serve on the
Board. The general manager, who is
employed by the corporation, is a non-voting
member.
Current Board members are:
• Donald Cistaro (president and at
large director), manager of electronic
publishing, Supelco Inc.
• Gene Foreman (vice president and
faculty director), Foster professor of
communications, College of
Communications, Penn State; former
managing editor of The Philadelphia
Inquirer.
• John Curley (treasurer and at-large
director), professor and distinguished
professional-in-residence, College of
Communications; former chairman,
president and CEO of the Gannett Co.; first
editor of USA Today.
• Gerry Lynn Hamilton (secretary),
general manager; former city editor of The
Daily Collegian, 1968-69.
• Wayne Hilinski (faculty director),
senior lecturer, College of Communications,
Penn State; former business manager of The
Daily Collegian, 1960-61.
• Leslie Rudderow (student director),
majoring in finance and international
business, economics minor, Penn State.
• Devendra Tolani of Ajmer, India
(graduate student director) doctoral
candidate in mechanical engineering, Penn
State.
• Gary Gray (at-large director),
visiting professor of finances, College of
Business, Penn State.
• Katherine C. Hazelrigg (student
director) majoring in English, Penn State
(seated March 15, 2005, current term ends
2007)
• Kathryn R. Diamond (student
director) majoring in Joumalism/English,
Penn State (seated March 15, 2005, current
term ends 2007)
• James S. Young, editor in chief.
• Julie Columbus, business manager.
WEDNESDAY, March 16, 2005 17
which Easton allegedly
endorsed having fathers teach
their daughters oral-sex tech
niques. "I got such a pain in my
chest. It was devastating to me
to hear people in law enforce
ment talking about abuse of chil
dren," Suders said. "It just upset
me so horribly to think anyone
would condone the abuse of their
own child —that's what this
man was doing," she said, sob
bing into a tissue.
The state police have disputed
whether the incidents that Sud
ers described actually occurred,
or if they did, they say she mis
characterized them.
Suders said in an interview
last year that she felt compelled
to resign from her $l3-an-hour
dispatcher job because of a
stream of lewd and offensive lan
guage and behavior. "I mean, I
had no peace," she said. "They
wouldn't let me do my job."
She has since returned to the
Flilton County Sheriff's Office,
where she worked before her
connections within the Republi
can Party helped her land the
better-paying state job.
Employers can be liable for
sexual harassment at their busi
ness or workplace if it results in
tangible punishment to some
one, but last year the Supreme
Court ruled that quitting under
such circumstances did not enti
tle Suders to the same legal pro
tections as someone who is fired.