Jerry Sandusky’s lawyer told NBC’s Ann Curry Wednesday that the prosecution called ahead of time to offer “concessions” in return for Sandusky waiving his preliminary hearing. A Pennsylvania deputy attorney general says this never happened.
"We vehemently disagree with [Joseph Amendola’s] assertions that we approached them with a deal," Senior Deputy Attorney General E. Marc Costanzo told the Morning Call.
Amendola was speaking on the Today Show when he said that an attorney for the prosecution contacted him the night before Tuesday’s scheduled preliminary hearing to offer Sandusky a carrot: waive the preliminary hearing and they won’t ask for a bail increase.
"The commonwealth attorney said he would not request a bail increase on the current charges or any additional charges if Jerry waived his preliminary hearing," Amendola said on NBC's Today. "That was a big concession, because it's very vitally important Jerry stay out of jail."
The prosecution told Sandusky’s lawyers that they wouldn’t seek a higher bail after the defense waived the hearing Tuesday.
Later Wednesday, Amendola sent out a “clarification,” saying that any confusion he caused was “inadvertent and unintentional on my part.”
