It was the first hearing of the Inte rbr anch Com- missionon Juveni le Justice. “One night in October 2009 I got a call from the managing ed ito r, wh o sai d som eon e inthe Har- risbur g Bureau fell ill and he ne ed ed somebodytocovera hearing. “I wasdoinga lit tlefree lanc ing for the Inquirer, mainly feature stuff,” Ecenbarger recalled. Hequic kl y wa s socaug htup in the drama he decided to write a boo k, whic h he exp ectsto hitthe standsthis summer. Pulitze r Prize-win ning former Philade lphia Inquir er report er Will iam Ecenbar ger was drawn into the Luzerne County corrup- tion scandal by another person’s suddenillness. Pat erno ’shopeis tha t timewill behisallywhe n itcome s tojudg - ing what he built, versus what bro kedown.“I’mnot 31year s old tryi ngto pro vesometh ingto any- body,” he said. His hand showed a tremor, and a wig re plac ed his once -fin e head of blackhair. He sipped Pepsi over crushed ice from a cup. “If you go hun- gry, it’s your own fault,” Paterno likestosay.ButPaterno,85,could not eat. Crow dedaroundthe tablewere histhreevolub le son s, Scot t, Jay, David, daughter Mary Kay, and his wife of 50 years, Sue, all chat- teringatonce.Inthemiddleofthe table a Lazy Susan loaded with trays of cornbread and mashed potatoes spun by, swirling as fast as the arguments. “I wanted to build up, not breakdown,”he said. Lung cancer has robbed himofthebreathtosayallthathe wantsto aboutthe scandalhe still stru ggl es to comp re hen d, and which ended his career as head football coach at Penn State Uni- versi ty. All around him family members were shout- ingat eachothe r,yethewas whi s- pering. STATE COLLEGE - Joe Pa- terno sat in a wheelchair at the fami lykitche n tabl e whe rehe has eaten,prayedandarguedformore than a half-centur y.
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