First, I want to say that I have communicated with Sloane over the years, and like the guy. He is
a source, but almost never has be been a singular source, except about his own opinions or conclusions; he has, however, been proven to be an accurate one.
Second, I sincerely hope that the charges are a mistake. He is known to have a sense of humor, and I hope that this was just a misinterpreted joke or something like that.
Third, I have not had any known contact with him since the summer of 2011. I think the last time I did, it was because he'd stopped posting on Facebook and I sent him a message asking if he was all right. He posted something general and I saw that he was okay.
Do the charges against Sloan seem credible, from what you've heard or read about the case? I ask because we now have two close friends, both men of good character, as far as anyone knew, involved in some sort of intrigue. Is it possible, however far-fetched, that someone with a beef against both Gricar and Sloan framed the latter and had some role in the former's disappearance?
One thing that I would note about the charges and that is the very small financial gain that is alleged. It is something measured in the 100's of dollars, not the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. That just seems odd for a 52 year old (as he was at the time) with a career to be involved with for so little money. Also, State College is a college town and as an ADA for 17 years, I'm sure that Sloane would have known someone much closer, if he really wanted to buy drugs.
Because he's being charged with selling to others, presumably locally, it seems unlikely if not impossible that this was a frame.
That said, he
did have contact with someone over Facebook using the same name as the person who allegedly sent him the drugs. I recognized the name. Now, I exchanged e-mails with the "DC Madam," and there was no criminality in them; it was for one of her legal projects. Just communicating with someone over the Internet does not indicate criminal involvement.
Could this person have threatened Gricar in some way that prompted his decision to leave, if indeed he left voluntarily?
The possibility of a potential, but completely theoretical, threat is one of the reasons that RFG
could have left voluntarily. An actual threat could been a reason as well.