“I remember thinking that the Second Mile is going to save me. I have a chance to get out of trouble,”
Greg Bucceroni, a troubled teenager in 1979, remembers being driven to a fundraiser in central PA, the first time he met Jerry Sandusky.
The event was to raise money for the recently established Second Mile foundation, and Bucceroni says he remembers meeting the man everyone referred to as “The Coach,” Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who founded Second Mile in 1977.
However, Bucceroni was NOT a victim of Jerry Sandusky - but rather a victim of another serial pedophile living in Philadelphia -
Edward Savitz
The Philadelphia native, who now works as a police officer in the city’s public school system, says he was sexually abused by Edward Savitz starting in 1977. Like Sandusky, Savitz met and groomed many of his alleged victims through his work with at-risk youths
More details below the fold - however,
please note that all links to articles on Savitz are HIGHLY triggering and the details are EXTREMELY disturbing.
Edward Savitz was an intelligent young man, voted most likely to succeed in his high school and won the only college scholarship [a full ride] to the University of Pennsylvania. A successful business man, he was quoted in Money Magazine on the wisdom of converting corporate retirement plan proceeds into annuities.
Actuarial Expertise
May were surprised at how "normal" Savitz was. In business, he was an expert in his field, Vice President of his brother's company, he was highly successful and well-respected in the community. He owned a house valued at $750 thousand dollars as well as a fancy apartment in the Rittenhouse Square.
That was the pin-striped side of Edward I. Savitz, 50, then a principal with Retirement & Employee Benefit Consulting Associates, a division of the now-bankrupt Laventhol & Horwath accounting firm.
Friday, the Philadelphia district attorney went public with the seamier side of Savitz, the one they called "Uncle Ed" or "Fast Eddie," the one arrested two days earlier and accused of having sexual relations with hundreds of young men and boys - despite having had AIDS for the last year.
Excellent Record Keeper
Authorities also have confiscated extensive lists that Savitz made of the names and dates of his young liaisons. One police investigator described him as "a great record-keeper," words often used - in other contexts - by his high school classmates and business associates, as well.
When Savitz was arrested, police said they found 5,000 photographs of young boys in his 23rd floor apartment, including photos of Bucceroni.
Bucceroni says he told police in 1980 about his abuse at the hands of Savitz, but that no charges were filed then; Savitz was finally arrested in March 1992, charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sex abuse of children, indecent assault and corrupting the morals of a minor. He died of AIDS in a hospice days before his trial was to begin in April 1993
Like many of us, Bucceroni says he is coming forward now in the hopes that sharing his story will compel others to come forward, hoping that by doing so, he might inspire “other people to have the courage to come forward.”
PostScript - I was just watching "The Help" and there is a scene where Skeeter is sitting under a weeping willow on a bench and it was a beautifully peaceful shot. Just the imagery I needed after reading and writing about this. The sheltering coverage of the branches, the strength of the roots, the rejuvenation of the leaves - think I"ll climb up onto a high branch and recuperate for awhile.