Jerry Sandusky’s Wife Blames State College Casino Developer for Husband’s Imprisonment

Posted on: November 18, 2024, 08:52h. 

Last updated on: November 18, 2024, 09:41h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

The wife of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State football coach who in 2012 was found guilty on 45 charges related to child molestation, opposes efforts to bring a casino to State College, Pa. She also partly blames the man who’s prepping to build the so-called “mini-casino” at the Nittany Mall for her husband’s imprisonment.

Jerry Sandusky State College casino Penn State
Jerry Sandusky and his wife Dottie walk outside the Centre County Courthouse in December 2011. Mrs. Sandusky remains adamantly opposed to allowing a casino to come near Penn State University in State College at the Nittany Mall. (Image: Getty)

Sandusky served as an assistant football coach at Penn State under legendary College Football Hall of Fame member Joe Paterno for his entire career. Sandusky, a defensive specialist, was pivotal in helping JoPa become the winningest Division 1 college coach in history with 409 wins.

Paterno’s legendary run came to a most shocking end in November 2011 when Sandusky was arrested on child sexual abuse charges. Sandusky hadn’t coached with the program since 1999.

Paterno was subsequently dismissed from the team by the Penn State Board of Trustees and died 74 days later from lung cancer. He was never found guilty of knowing about Sandusky being a serial child molester, but he infamously said, “With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”

Wife Stands by Husband’s Side

Dottie Sandusky has stood by her husband’s side since 2011 despite her husband, now aged 80, being found guilty of molesting and raping young boys over a 15-year period. Sandusky allegedly used his Second Mile charity, a nonprofit that served underprivileged youth and at-risk children, to meet and recruit his victims.

Law enforcement alleged that much of the sexual abuse occurred in the Sandusky’s basement when the coach invited Second Mile children for sleepovers. Mrs. Sandusky maintained she was unaware of what was happening inside her home. She continues to live in the house.

Mrs. Sandusky believes her husband is innocent and that the Penn State Board of Trustees and former Trustee Ira Lubert, the very man who is behind a $120 million development to bring slot machines, table games, and sports betting to the Nittany Mall, is at least partly responsible for Sandusky spending the rest of his life in prison. Mrs. Sandusky has been a steadfast opponent of a casino in State College near the university’s campus.

This weekend, she doubled down on her gambling opposition with a letter to the editor of the Centre Daily Times.

“I am writing to say I do not want the casino. Some will say because of my name I should not have any say. I am a person and have my opinion,” Sandusky began.

I feel a lot of the reason my husband is in prison is because of Mr. Lubert and his friends on the BOT, they did not vet the victims. Mr. Lubert feels he owns State College; he doesn’t. People need to see what a casino will bring into State College, nothing good,” Sandusky continued.

“Mr. Lubert did this at the King of Prussia Mall. He built the casino and then in a few years sold it for big bucks. That is all he cares about, money. He doesn’t care about our town and people. Please stop the casino,” Sandusky ended in referencing Lubert’s earlier investment in the Valley Forge Casino Resort, which Lubert and his co-investors sold to Boyd Gaming in 2018 for $280.5 million.

State College Casino 

Lubert secured the rights to build a mini-casino at the Nittany Mall through a competitive bid in September 2020 with a $10 million offer to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). Lubert qualified to participate because he owns a 3% stake in Rivers Casino Pittsburgh.

Lubert had planned to renovate the former Macy’s department store into a Bally’s-branded casino with the Rhode Island-based gaming company. Bally’s withdrew from the project in September to focus on other endeavors, namely its nearly $2 billion integrated casino resort in Chicago, and possibly, a new casino resort and MLB ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.

Lubert is pressing on with the State College casino and says he doesn’t need to rely on a third party like Bally’s to bring his vision to reality.

Much of the State College community is opposed to the casino, though having Mrs. Sandusky be the spokesperson for the campaign might do more harm than good. Penn Staters overwhelmingly wish to put the Sandusky scandal in the past, but Mrs. Sandusky’s public comments continue to return the university’s ugliest chapter to the forefront of media.

Editor’s Note: Devin O’Connor, the writer of this report, is a 2005 graduate of Penn State University.