iradiophilly | News - Penn State Professor Found in Quarry; FBI Questions Philly DA Staffers; Sullivan's Bridges Opens

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Penn State Professor Found in Quarry; FBI Questions Philly DA Staffers; Sullivan's Bridges Opens

by: iradioal - Philadelphia, PA
started: 08/20/16 6:40 am | updated: 08/20/16 6:40 am

A missing Penn State professor has been found dead. His body was discovered at the bottom of a quarry and he had apparently been pushed. 56-year-old Ronald Bettig, an associate professor of media studies, had not been seen since August 12th. Penn State police launched an investigation and transferred it to State Police this week. His body was found in a quarry in Centre County at the bottom of an 80-foot cliff. 39-year-old George Ishler of Pennsylvania Furnace has been charged with 1st and 3rd degree murder, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence. Ishler admitted to driving Bettig to the quarry under a ruse and pushing him over the edge. The motive seems to be financial. Bettig had recently befriended Ishler and a woman and allowed them to live with him. Bettig had recently changed his will. He has been a professor since 1988.

The FBI questioned several staffers in the Philadelphia District Attorney's office after DA Seth Williams filed late disclosure reports totaling $160,000 in gifts and services from family and friends. Those gifts include $45,000 in roof and home repair, free luxury vacations, jewelry, tickets, airfare, and lodging. This covers the period of 2010-2015. Spokespeople for the DA say that this was just an oversight and a mistake, that he just overlooked the reporting requirements and it will never happen again. Williams apologized to his staffers in an e-mail for the distraction. State laws require public officials to report any gift over $250 in annual financial statements. The city requires gifts of $200 or more to be reported and bars officials from taking anything over $99 from anyone with an interest in political action.

A brand new pedestrian bridge has opened across the Schuylkill River connecting Valley Forge Historical Park and the expansive Schuylkill River Trail system. Previously, cyclists or pedestrians who wanted to cross the river had to walk on a narrow, rickety wooden boardwalk attached to the side of Rt 422. The cars on the highway whizzed by inches beyond the chainlink fence and the river flowed underneath through cracks in the planks. It wasn't quite wide enough for people to pass each other going opposite directions. The new paved bridge, named Sullivan's Bridge, is 14 feet wide and 604 feet long. Plenty of room for walkers, runners, and bikers to safely get between two of Philadelphia's outdoor treasures. The bridge was named after Major General John Sullivan of the Continental Army who was tasked by General George Washington to build a bridge over the Schuylkill during the during the 1777-78 Valley Forge winter encampment.

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