GUILTY PA - Judges Ciavarella & Conahan accused of jailing kids for cash, Wilkes-Barre, 2009

[ohiogirl]

http://citizensvoice.com/news/trial-update-mixed-reaction-to-split-verdict-1.1107010#axzz1EFNbmCKa

Guilty of 12 of 39 counts. Faces minimum sentence of 12-15 years. Maximum of 157 years.
I doubt he will get the max. Free pending sentencing. They don't say when that is.
Of course, this will be appealed. Hopefully he will do some time.
I don't care if he resigned or what. He needs to face the consequences of his actions. Resigning is not enough. This man thinks he deserves it all and that he is better than anyone else, lies about his dishonesty, and just makes my blood boil!

 

[ohiogirl]

He has to forfeit $997,000.00. Good. The only problem is the government will take all his money and there won't be any left for civil suits.

 

[ohiogirl]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/02/21/pennsylvania.judge.lawsuits/index.html

Civil suit going forward.

 

[ohiogirl]

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnew...e-jailed-for-28-years-in-kids-for-cash-scheme

Pennsylvania Judge Jailed for 28 Years in “Kids-for-Cash” Scheme

 

[ohiogirl]

From the above article:

Ciavarella, who was allowed to remain free until sentencing, was immediately taken into federal custody following the ruling. It is not yet known where he will be serving his sentence or how soon an appeal may be filed

Finally, I can't believe they let him stay out until sentencing.

 

[time]

This is horrible! IMO, these judges judges should receive more than 7 years for this. If they thought a 90 day sentence for a minor charge was appropriate, then I think a 20 plus year sentence is good enough for the judges.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=157&sid=5568610

(snip)
For years, the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses.
The explanation, prosecutors say, was corruption on the bench.
In one of the most shocking cases of courtroom graft on record, two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers. (more at link)

These people should be locked away for life.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41733...t/mom-blames-kickback-judge-her-sons-suicide/

“Do you remember me?” she cried. “Do you remember my son? He’s gone! He shot himself in the heart.”


The dramatic showdown took place on the steps of the federal courthouse in Scranton, Pa., moments after former Juvenile Court Judge Mark Ciavarella was convicted by a federal jury on 12 of 39 counts, including racketeering, for taking nearly $1 million to funnel thousands of kids into a privately run detention facility. And it made Fonzo and her son, who committed suicide nine months ago, the public face of what federal prosecutors have called one of the worst cases of courtroom fraud in U.S. history.

 

[ohiogirl]

http://citizensvoice.com/news/ex-ju...defiant-at-sentencing-1.1187638#axzz1UrEJQ84g

He starts off apologizing, then gets all worked up about the agony he has gone through. Sucks to be him right now.

 

[fhc]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44641121/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

A former county president judge who took part in a massive kickback scheme involving for-profit juvenile detention centers was sentenced Friday to 17 1/2 years in prison.

Standing in a federal courtroom in Scranton, former Luzerne County Judge Michael Conahan, 59, apologized to the incarcerated youths, the legal community and the public.
"The system is not corrupt," he said. "I was corrupt."

 

[Tawny]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...venile-justice-bribery-scandal?sc=tw&cc=share

"A Pennsylvania judge was sentenced to 28 years in prison in connection to a bribery scandal that roiled the state's juvenile justice system. Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. was convicted of taking $1 million in bribes from developers of juvenile detention centers. The judge then presided over cases that would send juveniles to those same centers. The case came to be known as "kids-for-cash.""

 

[JerseyGirl]

The Ciavarella trial: 10 years later

 

[mickey2942]

Cash for Kids Judge Michael Conahan gets pardoned by President Biden.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/13/politics/joe-biden-commutations-pennsylvania-illinois/index.html