PA PA - District Attorney Ray Gricar Mysteriously Disappeared - Bellefonte 15 April 2005 #18

[acutename]

Since this has come up, here is the financial information. It has been out there for a while.

Is the VG account a Vanguard account? Did he have a financial advisor?

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Is the VG account a Vanguard account? Did he have a financial advisor?

No on the advisor. A Vanguard account would be linked under his SNN. Keep in mind that anything like that would have been in his estate filing as well.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

With the 20th Anniversary approaching, I been looking at the Timelines. The only one needing updated is the Post Disappearance Timeline. Changes and new entries will be bolded.

I will post the new odds closer to the anniversary.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Post Disappearance Timeline



This is the timeline for events that happened after the first weekend of the disappearance.



4/18/25 “Wilkes Barrie sighting” Conflicting claims on status

4/21/05 $5000 reward offered in RFG case. Around this time, family website started; later increased to $15,000

5/17/05 Primary Election for DA, Madeira (R) vs. Arnold (D) in the Municipal Election

5/27/05 "Southfield sighting"

Early July, 05 PEF polygraphed

7/29/05 Laptop found in Susquehanna

9/2/05 LG granted trusteeship.

September 05 LG polygraphed, drive discovered in the Susquehanna (announced 10/31/05)

11/8/05 MTM defeats JKA

December 05 FBI reports that cannot recover the data

January 2006 Madeira sworn in, Weaver becomes chief of BPD, Bosak begins covering the story for the CDT, JKA removed by MTM.

5/13/06 Bosak publishes "Missed Leads" in the CDT, Dateline story on RFG, emphasising the "Mystery Woman."

5/17/06 MTM announces the will be reviewed by the The Pennsylvania State Police – Criminal Investigation Analysis Unit (PSP-CIA)

September 06 Reward expires.

October-November, 06 PSP-CIA review completed (it is believed
that they discovered the computer searches)

July 2007 JKA publishes Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury on-line.

2/26/08 Bosak shows links with Wiley and 20/20 Vision.

7/1/08 Buehner/McKnight press conference, MTM responds on 7/3/08; drive sent to Kroll.

August 2008 Bosak leaves the CDT but starts the Just Gricar blog on the CDT website in September.

October 2008 Kroll could not recover the data. It was announced that RFG had been asking about how to remove the data from the laptop, and may have bought software to erase the data.

2/9/09 JJ starts Sporadic Comments, later called Sporadic Comments on Ray Gricar on the CDT website

Mid-February 2009 Just Gricar ends.

4/15/09 MTM announces the computer searches

11/8/09 MTM defeated for reelection by SPM

January 2011 SPS fired as ADA by SPM; PEF had transferred several weeks before

3/31/10 SPM announces review panel.

2/28/11 Disappeared does episode "A Family's Curse;" some additional information comes out

3/31/11 Gamin, then of the P-N does story that Sandusky was being investigated. No link to RFG in that story.

4/1/11 Sloane’s PM on RFG’s involvement in the 1998 case.

6/30/11 LG files petition to declare RFG dead.

7/25/11 LG petition granted.

11/5/11 Sandusky presentment released, RFG mentioned in regard to Victim 6

12/16/11 Second Dateline story on RFG

December 2011 JKA says that RFG removed the case from her; Scheffler states that he recommended charges

4/1412 RFG's redacted FBI file released.

4/15/12 Gamin publishes a story in P-N on RFG noting the number of lady friends he had.

6/22/12 Sandusky convicted on 45 count including 3 of the 4 regarding Victim 6.

7/12/12 Freeh Report released.

October 2012 SPS arrested for drugs

11/1/12 Spanier indicted; RFG's actions regarding Victim 6 plays a prominent part in the presentment

July 2013 SPS takes a plea bargain

11/5/2013 SPM reelected DA, unopposed

November 2013 Decision to move the case to the PSP, not announced until 2/14


Spring 2014 $5000 reward offered

September 2014 Sporadic Comments ends

March 2017 Spanier convicted

May 2017 SPM loses Democratic primary

April 8, 2021 Rebecca Knight begins Final Argument podcast and provides information from the case file (1st Episode).

June 2021 Spanier jailed for several months

December 2024 Weaver resigns as Chief of BPD, takes job with Centre County Sherriff’s Office

 

[Teche]

The most likely option is walkaway. That is not proof.

I think that local LE thought that a voluntary departure would damage RFG's legacy and did not pursue investigative avenues; I also think that they were not willing to investigate something that did not appear to be criminal due to cost.

There have been some people who basically thing RFG would be a terrible person if he walked away. If he did:

1. He did not make it look like anything that it wasn't.

2. Did not commit any crime.

3. Provided for his heirs.

If that is what RFG did, I find no fault in it.

What do you believe Ray was walking away from?

 

[J. J. in Phila]

What do you believe Ray was walking away from?

Nothing.

I think that, if RFG walked away, there were a number of reasons. One was that he probably had offshore money that he could bring back into the US, without raising a lot of red flags. In other words, he may have been walking to money.

Here are some possibilities, which could be some or all of the motive:

1. He might not have wanted to be the "ex-DA" and spend the next 30 years answering questions about what he did as DA.

2. If he "died" prior to retiring, his heirs would get more money.

3. He may have been worried about someone he prosecuted coming back to hurt him.

4. He did have an interest in the Mel Wiley case, so he may have the concept intriguing.

5. He could have been riled about not being given full time status for more than a decade and wanted stick a finger in the County's eye, as it were.

6. Finally, we get to the money issue.

His motivation for this could be some, all, or none of these things.


These deal with motives. As RFG once said in court, "Motive, your Honor, is something we never have to prove."

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Here is a copy of a blog I wrote on part of that:

King of the Road​

I remember a song from extreme youth; I literally was under five when I first heard it in the early 1960’s. It had a catchy first verse, with the singer, Roger Miller, snapping his fingers in rhythm to the music. I’ll lay odds that you have heard it.

The first verse ended with line: I’m a man of means, by no means. King of the road.1

“King of the Road,” was a major hit in 1965. Miller, a country artist, took it to number one on the county charts in April of that year, but as sometimes happens, it became a crossover hit in March 20, in the top five behind The Beatles “Eight Days a Week,” (the group Sir Paul McCartney was in before Wings) and The Supremes “Stop in the Name of Love.”2 The song was covered by diverse performers like Dean Martin, the disco group Boney M, and R.E.M. There would even be a “response song” called “Queen of the House,” by country artist Jody Miller (no, hip hop did not invent response songs).3

The narrative of “King of the Road” was about how great it was travelling across county, to travel without roots, to be a vagabond. The narrator would stay in cheap rooms, hop freights, panhandling, work odd jobs, and sing about what a good lifestyle it would be. The song glamorized it, indicating he didn’t have any responsibilities. I think I remember it because of the line referring to “ain’t got no cigarettes.” My father was a smoker (at least until his myocardial infarction in our living room) and I associated that lyric with him. While I was little more than a toddler at the time, the future District Attorney of Centre County was a 19 year old sophomore in college.

In the time period that Ray Gricar came of age, his high school and college years, there was a theme in American society, sometimes referred to as “the wanderer” or the “man on the move” theme. It became a stock theme where one or two individuals would take off, going from place to place, traveling, with no set schedule, no real destination, leaving everything behind. There were two popular television shows that illustrated this theme, both iconic.

The first was called Route 66. It first aired two days before Mr. Gricar’s 15th birthday and ended in March of 1964. It was about two men Tod Stiles and Buzz Murdock (played by Martin Milner and George Maharis, respectively), who traveled around the country, in a Covette, becoming involved in the lives of the people they met. Buzz was replaced in the in the last season by Lincoln Case (Glenn Corbett). It was a quality show, created by, and in some cases written by, Sterling Silliphant, who would win an Oscar for his screen play, In the Heat of the Night. Unlike most television shows, it was filmed on location, including six episodes in Cleveland (the same total for the entire state of Pennsylvania). One episode actually focused the Russian community there.4

Now, if I wanted to talk about a hot car, traveling, Cleveland, and a Slavic community there, who would likely be listening? Ironically, Mr. Gricar majored in Russian history in college.

The second television show was even more iconic, The Fugitive. The eponymous character was Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen), a physician wrongfully convicted for killing his wife. He escapes and pursues the real killer, the infamous “one armed man (Bill Raisch).” Kimble is, in turn, pursued by Lt. Phillip Gerard (Barry Morse).5 The series began in September of 1963, when Mr. Gricar was about to turn 18, and the last episode aired on August 29, 1967. At the time it was the highest rated episode of any series on television, with 45.9% of all households in America tuning in to watch. It would take 15 years to break that record, by the finale of MASH. Even with that, The Fugitive remains second on the list.6

The Fugitive also has a fairly strong Cleveland connection. It was widely believed (though the creator denied it) to be inspired by a true event, the murder trial and eventual retrial of Dr. Sam Sheppard who like the fictional Dr. Kimble, was convicted of murdering his wife. Dr. Sheppard claimed that it was “bushy haired” intruder, instead of a “one armed man” that murdered his wife. The murder was committed Dr. Sheppard’s home on Lake Erie, in a suburb of Cleveland. It was prosecuted by the Cuyahoga County District Attorney’s Office, the office that would eventually employ Mr. Gricar. Dr. Sheppard was tried and convicted in December of 1954, but continued to appeal. The case became a cause célèbre in Cleveland, and Dr. Sheppard’s conviction was overturned by the United States Supreme Court. He was retried, in Cleveland, and in November of 1966, he was acquitted. His attorney in the appeal and retrial was fairly new; this would be his first high profile case. That attorney’s name was F. Lee Bailey.7

In Mr. Gricar’s formative years, there was a trend in the culture that leaving, being a wanderer was adventurous, possibly even romantic. The heroes were the men of the move. The series finale of The Fugitive was within weeks, if not days, of his first class in law school. The socialization that it was a good thing to be “the wanderer” was certainly there.

One of the reasons that Mr. Gricar could have left voluntarily was the sense that doing so was adventurous and romantic. If he did leave voluntarily, I would doubt it was the sole reason, but I would not doubt that in would be seen, especially by someone of the era, as an option. He is possibly quite happy with being king of the road.

(I've eliminated the footnotes)

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I use four categories as the possible answer for the question "What happened to Ray Gricar?" These are:

1. Walk Away: RFG left on his own with the intent not to return. It would include him being threatened with some consequence if he stayed. It would have been his choice. Even if pressured, this is still a voluntary act.

2. Foul Play: This includes the premeditated murder of RFG, but it is not limited to that. The killer may not have set out to kill RFG. This could be an argument that became violent. It could non-homicide, but still criminal. This could include RFG dying of natural causes or an accident, and the person he was with concealing the fact; the crime would be "abuse of corpse."

3. Suicide: This is RFG voluntarily choosing to end his life. Again this is voluntarily, even if pressured.

4. Something Else: This is a catch all for other non voluntary acts. It includes accidents that not criminal. This would include something like RFG slipping, falling into the river and drowning, or walking in the woods and having a fatal heart attack. It would also include things like RFG getting amnesia and leaving the area.

#1 and #3 voluntary; #2 and #4 are not voluntary.

Obviously, #4 is now the least likely.

 

[minazoe]

trailers for sale or rent...rooms to let 50 cents..no phone, no pool, no pets..

I ain't got no cigarettes....

lol. the best.

 

[Betty P]

trailers for sale or rent...rooms to let 50 cents..no phone, no pool, no pets..

I ain't got no cigarettes....

lol. the best.

Roger Miller was a great songwriter. Back then, I read that he and Willie Nelson shared a little songwriting studio in Nashville. I think it was an old converted garage.

 

[Sweetluv]

I would think if Ray was involved in something shady, he wouldn't pick a Friday during daylight hours in an area with people out and about who could recognize him. Not to mention a bright red car with a personalized license plate. If someone had bad intentions, this doesn't seem like an ideal place they would have Ray meet them at either. Afterall, he was the DA in that state for about 20 years. Anyone could have walked up to him and started a conversation. Too many potential witnesses who could ID him and give a description of them [suspects] Having said this, I believe it was a walk away and Ray picked this area because of the above mentioned. He was leaving, so he didn't care who seen him. The car would be found for Patty. He would be seen strolling through the shops, talking on the phone..natural behavior.. He took his last drive in the Cooper and visited the shops he enjoyed. He left a little mystery behind...for almost 20 years now.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I would think if Ray was involved in something shady, he wouldn't pick a Friday during daylight hours in an area with people out and about who could recognize him. Not to mention a bright red car with a personalized license plate. If someone had bad intentions, this doesn't seem like an ideal place they would have Ray meet them at either. Afterall, he was the DA in that state for about 20 years. Anyone could have walked up to him and started a conversation. Too many potential witnesses who could ID him and give a description of them [suspects] Having said this, I believe it was a walk away and Ray picked this area because of the above mentioned. He was leaving, so he didn't care who seen him. The car would be found for Patty. He would be seen strolling through the shops, talking on the phone..natural behavior.. He took his last drive in the Cooper and visited the shops he enjoyed. He left a little mystery behind...for almost 20 years now.

That depends. While Centre County is in the Johnstown-Altoona media market, Lewisburg is not. Their cable stations do not cover Centre County, unless it is a very big story. Neither did their newspapers.

If RFG wanted to meet with someone clandestinely, Lewisburg would be one of the closest places to do it, without being recognized at the time.

Likewise, he could have been meeting the helper and he did not want the helper associated with his disappearance.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

This is an update:

Patty Fornicola’s (PEF) Timeline 4/15/05

All times are on 4/15/05; times are approximate except for phone calls.

8:30 AM PEF arrives at work.

11:12 AM PEF receives the call from RFG.

12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM PEF at lunch.

5:05 PM Returns home (left work at 5:00 PM).

5:20 PM Goes to gym (possibly the YMCA)

6:58 PM PEF at home. Calls RFG’s cell phone from landline.

7:29 PM Short call from unknown source.
(PEF called her brother. Asked if he thinks it is normal for RFG not to respond. It may have been returning the call.)

8:33 PM Calls RFG’s cell phone from landline.

8:54 PM Calls RFG’s cell phone from landline.

9:57 PM Calls RFG’s cell phone from landline.

11:05 PM Calls RFG’s cell phone from landline.

11:36 PM Calls Bellefonte Police.

Note that PEF called the cell phone on 4/16 as well, after calling the police.

 

[minazoe]

weird how she calls every hour...like even spacing..I would be blowing up his phone with like 30 calls..especially as it's getting late and Im getting more and more worried.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

weird how she calls every hour...like even spacing..I would be blowing up his phone with like 30 calls..especially as it's getting late and Im getting more and more worried.

It went to voicemail. The 8:33 call, she got voicemail. The call lasted 7 seconds.

LE tried to call him a 12:21 AM on 4/16/05, but it went to voicemail. It was not a regular interval.

 

[Black Diamond]

Using the IVES database, which the state has access to, they could find the account is 48 hours.

Had LE done such a search, surely it would have been noted in their report. Instead, LE says in the report (emphasis added) "It appeared that he made telephone transfers from his checking to an unknown Savings account. He also had a notation in his checkbook register that he made a transfer from SAV to VG, with this account not being identified as well."

So, LE does not even say for sure if the transfer was actually made, just that it appeared to be made. They reference a transfer from his checkbook register, not his bank records about the transfer from SAV to VG.

The report goes on to say "a check of the work copy of the subject's tax return showed interest from the Citizen account in an amount near $100, and dividends in the amount of $58 from ownership of 120 shares of Mellon Bank stock. It showed no other accounts which would have rendered interest, dividends, or capital gains."

It is very possible that the transfers indicated in the police report were to an account of his daughter's, or one of the ex-wives, or some other type of account or payment that would not be shown on his tax return since the account was either not his or not something that rendered interest, dividends, or capital gains.

It's also very very very possible that this police report was written after only an investigation of Ray's physical checkbook register and physical copy of his tax return from his home, and that at that point they had not yet even looked at his actual bank account records. It's clear from the report that they hadn't even determined for sure yet if he had a will. So, if they didn't do that by the time of writing the report, why would we assume that they did an exhaustive search of his financials at that point?

IMO there is no evidence that this police report supports the likelihood of "hidden accounts."

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Had LE done such a search, surely it would have been noted in their report. Instead, LE says in the report (emphasis added) "It appeared that he made telephone transfers from his checking to an unknown Savings account. He also had a notation in his checkbook register that he made a transfer from SAV to VG, with this account not being identified as well."

So, LE does not even say for sure if the transfer was actually made, just that it appeared to be made. They reference a transfer from his checkbook register, not his bank records about the transfer from SAV to VG.

The report goes on to say "a check of the work copy of the subject's tax return showed interest from the Citizen account in an amount near $100, and dividends in the amount of $58 from ownership of 120 shares of Mellon Bank stock. It showed no other accounts which would have rendered interest, dividends, or capital gains."

It is very possible that the transfers indicated in the police report were to an account of his daughter's, or one of the ex-wives, or some other type of account or payment that would not be shown on his tax return since the account was either not his or not something that rendered interest, dividends, or capital gains.

It's also very very very possible that this police report was written after only an investigation of Ray's physical checkbook register and physical copy of his tax return from his home, and that at that point they had not yet even looked at his actual bank account records. It's clear from the report that they hadn't even determined for sure yet if he had a will. So, if they didn't do that by the time of writing the report, why would we assume that they did an exhaustive search of his financials at that point?

IMO there is no evidence that this police report supports the likelihood of "hidden accounts."

You apparently understand how the income verification works. It is tied to his SSN. Any interest bearing account under his SSN will show up.

The phone transfer out of his bank account account, with his SSN, would be known. Getting that information would come up in 48 after the submission.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

According to the timeline, there was a $10 K check written to cash. I am not clear if it was written by RFG or his daughter. It was reported on May 4, 2005.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

There is a "book" out on RFG, which, according to the description, links his disappearance to "Ties to the Penn State investigation. Ties to the Pizza Bomber Bank Robbery Case in Erie Pennsylvania. Secret hypnotic drug. " It is self published, but read the review.

Amazon.com

Oh my, from the review they tied Gricar’s disappearance to everything but the Kecksburg Incident and the missing B-25 bomber in the Mon River! Hard pass on this book.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Oh my, from the review they tied Gricar’s disappearance to everything but the Kecksburg Incident and the missing B-25 bomber in the Mon River! Hard pass on this book.

There is another one written by a true crime author.

https://www.amazon.com/Disappearance-Ray-Gricar-Pete-Dove/dp/B0CVQDWS5S/ref=sr_1_8?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.INRHrVY8AzPWrHx-ZOUhTnay2yOdSXne_n7wGmh7ESYDTl9bOq0QgP8ujp65dbi4yXNIWtVjJUIfj2vOduAqA7ecLGvRje3FnKGkys-y-r_Uh4BMAVD_Li-jxJKFqK-VszrPoNw-jc89Pl0mVdi3W0DHpxF48TgFfGY1LVs4V5d1a2mD3UcAn_zAv_gxoZcFkMxQgadAKnEl0tkKE2xnc3EqUASdCxp_LKPo74HYW0w.2aqZuikIKRIpaxIdPF4Ewgp-Zg9MOOObmmHERZD5umg&dib_tag=se&qid=1744232736&refinements=p_27%3APete+Dove&s=books&sr=1-8&text=Pete+Dove