PA PA - District Attorney Ray Gricar Mysteriously Disappeared - Bellefonte, 15 April 2005 *NamUs #MP1982* #18

[J. J. in Phila]

Missing man has close ties to Cleveland An early article featuring SPS.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I am told that next week there will be a show on the RFG case on one of the Johnstown TV stations. I was not part of the broadcast.

 

[Sweetluv]

Besides Ray's GF and daughter, did he have anyone in his circle that he was extremely close to? If Ray did voluntarily leave, he needed help to successfully pull this off. Someone he could trust to keep quiet and not cave in over reward money.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Besides Ray's GF and daughter, did he have anyone in his circle that he was extremely close to? If Ray did voluntarily leave, he needed help to successfully pull this off. Someone he could trust to keep quiet and not cave in over reward money.

There are a list of people that I call the Inner Circle, but yes, there are. Let me gt the blog that I wrote about it.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I've modified it slightly

There is a term that I have used on the Internet when discussing the disappearance of former Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar; that term is the “Inner Circle.” No, it is not a mysterious cabal that has occasionally come up from various conspiracy theories that come up about the case. The Inner Circle is merely the group of people that were close to Mr. Gricar, often with a decade or longer association with him, both personally and geographically.

There are several good reasons to look at this Inner Circle. In the event that Mr. Gricar walked away, one of the members of this Inner Circle might have helped him acquire a car to drive away from Lewisburg, a straw purchase or straw rental; that person would be the “helper,” helping Mr. Gricar depart. In the case of murder, it would be possible, at least in theory, for one of them to be the murderer. Perhaps with a greater probability, it is possible that some of them might have a good idea who he could have had some type of secret meeting with in Lewisburg. Looking at this Inner Circle is useful in this case, if Mr. Gricar either walked away or if he was murdered. It ultimately could lead to proving or disproving one of those possibilities.

Okay, who is in this Inner Circle? A better question is what are the qualities of someone to make them eligible to be in this Inner Circle? Hopefully Mr. Gricar would have heeded the advice of just about every parent gives to their three year old, “Don’t get into a car with a stranger.” If this was walkaway, Mr. Gricar would likely be carrying cash and possibly be the target of a robbery by someone picking him up. The first quality of someone in the Inner Circle is that they would have to be trustworthy.

A rather sizable reward was offered for information in the case was offered; Mr. Gricar could have anticipated this. There was also the emotionally wrenching press conference with Lara Gricar crying. If this was walkaway, the helper would have to look at that and thought, “I’m sorry for your suffering, but my loyalty is to Ray.” The second quality of someone in the Inner Circle is loyalty.

The third characteristic of the people in the Inner Circle is location. Certainly, if someone, a helper, delivered a car to Mr. Gricar they would have to get back to where ever they lived. If it was a distance, there would be large gap in the time line of that person. Consider Mr. Gricar’s nearest blood relative, geographically, his nephew Chris Gricar. At the time, he lived in the Columbus, Ohio area (he still may). For him to be the helper, he’d need to drive six hours to Lewisburg and six hours to get home. While he may be very loyal to his uncle, and very trustworthy, he wasn’t close enough to have met his uncle in Lewisburg, at least without leaving a gaping hole in his timeline1; he’s off the list. Someone in the Inner Circle would have to have proximity to Lewisburg.

So, for someone to be in this Inner Circle, he or she would have these three characteristics: Trustworthiness, Loyalty to Mr. Gricar, and Proximity to Lewisburg. That isn’t a lot of people, but who would it include?

1. Those people that were close to Mr. Gricar, apart from work. On this list would be his girlfriend and house mate, Patty Fornicola, and his close friends Steve Sloane and Ed Walker; Ms. Fornicola and Mr. Sloane, of course, are also “work friends.” They may be a fourth person, Amos Goodall, the Gricar family attorney. He had known Mr. Gricar for about twenty years, and, ironically, was Mr. Gricar’s opponent when he ran the first time for District Attorney in 1985. It obviously was not a hostile relationship, as Mr. Goodall represents the family.

2. Mr. Gricar’s two ex-wives and his former girlfriends (or any current ones that have not been disclosed). We know of two former girlfriends mentioned, the “nurse” and Barbara Petito. Ms. Arnold noted something about this (though she was unaware any romantic relationship):

Ray's absence at that point was to my perception clearly being theorized to be volitional and likely in the company of an individual personally known to me to have had a long-standing friendship and admiration for him, and to be a smoker.


There is a woman named Sims, who was close to RFG in the mid 1980's

3. The staff of the District Attorney’s Office as of 4/15/05; this would also include recent retirees. Mr. Gricar had long term professional relationships with many of staff, for more than a decade. That can generate loyalty.

In the first group, there are four people; in the third (excluding those also in the first group), about fifteen. In the second group, there are at least four individuals, though Mr. Gricar’s second ex-wife had stated that she didn’t remain in contact with him. Depending on how “active” in that area Mr. Gricar was, there could be more; I’ve guessed that the number probably not exceed thirty and may be less.

In terms of a “helper,” I’ve noticed that a lot of people on this list are attorneys. If Mr. Gricar even paid them a nominal amount, they possibly could have a professional obligation not to inform the police or decline to answer questions without a court order. Likewise, in my professional life, I have said, even to the police, “I won’t answer your questions without subpoena.1” A helper may not be a legally obligated to volunteer what they know and may simply decline to cooperate; they would obviously not be concealing a crime, as there was no actual crime, in that case.

Anyone in this group might have been a “helper,” though most were not. Likewise, someone in this group might, even unknowingly, have information that would lead to identifying a killer. Likewise, none of them may have anything useful. With the exception of Ms. Fornicola, from what has been reported, at least initially, they have not been checked.

We can eliminate Fornicola, because we know where she was on 4/15. Mark Smith, the first assistant DA, was reportedly camping in Ohio with his wife and another couple; if we can confirm that, we can take him off the list. If we can confirm Petito was on Long Island, we can take her off the list.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

One factor is that, if we can determine that these people did not help RFG walk away, and can determine that RFG did not purchase a car in the Lewisburg area, we can come very close to ruling out voluntary departure.

 

[acutename]

One factor is that, if we can determine that these people did not help RFG walk away, and can determine that RFG did not purchase a car in the Lewisburg area, we can come very close to ruling out voluntary departure.

If he planned this getaway, I do not imagine him buying a car locally- too obvious. Would have needed to buy one earlier and leave it some where or hitch a ride and buy one farther away in .. I dunno.. Chicago? Indianapolis? Does he have a fake identity? Fake social security #? And why is he leaving anyway? And where is he going? None of this makes sense to me unless he/his kin were threatened, IMO. He is abandoning his family and giving up his pension and social security.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

If he planned this getaway, I do not imagine him buying a car locally- too obvious. Would have needed to buy one earlier and leave it some where or hitch a ride and buy one farther away in .. I dunno.. Chicago? Indianapolis? Does he have a fake identity? Fake social security #? And why is he leaving anyway? And where is he going? None of this makes sense to me unless he/his kin were threatened, IMO. He is abandoning his family and giving up his pension and social security.

Hitching and leaving does not work. A straw purchase would. That is why we need to look at the inner circle.

We just posted one of the reasons a few days ago. He could be facing civil liability in the Vedam case.

Slovenia would a likely destination, since he was eligible for citizenship there.

His heirs got the pension, so they are taken care of, rather nicely. There is an unknown bank account.

 

[acutename]

Hitching and leaving does not work. A straw purchase would. That is why we need to look at the inner circle.

We just posted one of the reasons a few days ago. He could be facing civil liability in the Vedam case.

Slovenia would a likely destination, since he was eligible for citizenship there.

His heirs got the pension, so they are taken care of, rather nicely. There is an unknown bank account.

fake passport to get to Slovenia? sneaks into Canada or Mexico first?

 

[J. J. in Phila]

fake passport to get to Slovenia? sneaks into Canada or Mexico first?

No, the possibility of a real Slovenian passport.

RFG was eligible for Slovenian citizenship. If he received it, he could get a Slovenian passport, and travel on that.

BTW: It is perfectly legal, too.

 

[acutename]

No, the possibility of a real Slovenian passport.

RFG was eligible for Slovenian citizenship. If he received it, he could get a Slovenian passport, and travel on that.

BTW: It is perfectly legal, too.

yeah but if he bought an airline ticket and left, there would be records- no mystery

 

[J. J. in Phila]

yeah but if he bought an airline ticket and left, there would be records- no mystery

No, if he used another account, and there is prima facie evidence of an account not under his SSN.

Further, what if he left from Canada?

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I will be blunt. At this point, I can construct a completely plausible scenario for RFG walking away. It is consistent every piece of evidence. However, there is not enough evidence to show that RFG had access to another vehicle, at this point in time.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

On Wednesday 4/29, Channel 8, the Fox affiliate in Johnstown, PA, is slated to air a segment on Fox 8 News Now on RFG. It will be broadcast at 9:00 AM and repeated at 10:35. The station generally posts the tape at about 11:45 PM that night.

The link is here: FOX 8 News Now - FOX8

I will not be the person being interviewed.