Paul Thibault: The Engima
By Louis R. Petolicchio
Posted December 21, 2007
Editor's Note: This piece
was originally written and posted in December of 2001 in response to a
Letter to the Editor, when then-Lancaster County Commissioner Paul Thibault
was floating trial balloons concerning a potential bid for State Representative.
In his correspondence printed
in one the Lancaster newspapers on December 12, E. W. Groves asked:
“How can [Lancaster
County Commissioner] Thibault be a Canadian native when he is an American
citizen born in Hartford, Conn.?
This question was raised in
an effort to discredit legitimate concerns that have been raised about
Thibault’s background and conduct as County Commissioner. What Mr.
Groves does not appear to understand is the fact that Thibault has created
a cloak of darkness around his personal history that has yet to be pierced.
Can anyone, including Thibault,
produce a comprehensive resume that is not self-contradictory and dovetails
with the resumes he used in 1999, 1995, and 1991? For when Thibault
ran for his second term as County Commissioner, some concerned Republicans
happened to compare it against the resume he used for his first bid in
1995 and found a variety of inconsistencies – including conflicting dates
and overlapping events. Efforts to obtain a copy of the resume he
used for his second bid for County Treasurer were fruitless.
Can anyone, including Thibault,
produce documentation that not only confirms what he claims about his history
and education, but which can be verified by those same institutions?
Indeed, has anyone actually seen a valid birth certificate from Connecticut
to confirm Thibault’s claim that he is an native born American? Efforts
have been made to at least verify some of his academic credentials from
Canada – but the school that was contacted claimed its records had been
lost in a fire.
The simple fact of the matter
is that Thibault’s formative years, education and dominant life experience
all took place in Canada. His Bachelors degree and his Ph.D. were
acquired in Canada, not the United States. Can anyone, therefore,
be blamed for believing that Thibault is not an American but a Canadian?
Indeed, if one truly wanted their suspicions to be aroused would they not
find it curious that all of Thibault’s education in Canada occurred at
the height of the Viet Nam War?
Defenders of Thiabult must
understand that Thibault is, for all intents and purposes, an enigma.
Consequently, do not the good people of Lancaster County have a right to
know more about this man and to have any question about him answered honestly?
In light of the fact that he now has his eye on an elected office which
could impact the entire Commonwealth (with which he was a stranger until
1980) Thibault’s apologists should step aside and allow the light of truth
to be cast to allow us all to see what is hidden in the shadows.
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