If he was so powerful, how did he get fired?
Maybe you should look at the people that fired him - the b.o.t. - who had far more contact w/ the second mile than Joe Paterno ever did.
Because as the PSU figurehead, he turned out to be a disgrace. Are you really so blind?
I do think you all are missing a great deal concerning Joe's responsibility in this. Compare this to say, Benghazi. You appear to be taking the side of "what does it matter?". Compare it to any really heavy personal knowledge of a horrible crime, you don't just hand it off, wash your hands and never say anything again just to go about your business. Were those Germans that knew about the holocaust innocent? Are the journalists that won't cover the crimes of this administration innocent?
It's really hard to swallow a cry of genuine innocence on Joe Paterno's part. The best thing you can say is he failed to do what he should have done at a critical time in his life. To say all he should have ever done is hand it off and wash his hands is to ignore the virtues of courage, fortitude, and honesty we all commend in a hero when they do the right thing under duress. There are a lot worse scenarios that you can surmise from Joe's failings, and you seem incapable of seeing the possibility that he failed in any way. That's simply inconceivable.