Pennsylvania Judges Jail Kids For Cash and Finally Get Caught

Pennsylvania Judges Jail Kids For Cash and Finally Get Caught. Not so impressive as the scandals from Wall Street to Washington who miss use the public trust, but now it is the justice system in Luzerne County.

In the heart of Pennsylvania’s coal country, public trust has been thrown out the window. In an area that is already struggling, it has also fallen prey to white collar corruption. The county has been shocked by a kickback scandal which involves not one but two elected judges, Judge Mark Ciavarella, 58, and Senior Judge Michael Conahan, 56, who essentially jailed kids for cash. Most of the children had appeared before judges without a lawyer.

The nonprofit Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia has had at least 5,000 children over the past five years, who appeared before former Luzerne County President Judge Mark Ciavarella, alone.

Ciavarella pleaded guilty earlier this month to federal criminal charges of fraud and other tax charges, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Former Luzerne County Senior Judge Michael Conahan also pleaded guilty to the same charges.

Prosecutors report that the two judges, secretly received more than $2.6 million, in cutbacks.

The judges have been disbarred and have resigned from their elected positions. They agreed to serve 87 months in prison under their plea deals

Ciavarella along with Conahan corruptly and fraudulently “created the potential for an increased number of juvenile offenders to be sent to juvenile detention facilities,” federal court documents alleged. The juveniles would be placed in private detention centers, under contract with the court, to increase the head count. In exchange, the two judges would receive kickbacks.

The Juvenile Law Center said it plans to file a class-action lawsuit this week representing what they say are victims of corruption. Juvenile Law Center attorneys cite a few examples of harsh penalties Judge Ciavarella meted out for relatively petty offenses. Several other lawsuits on behalf of the juveniles who have appeared in Ciavarella’s courtroom have emerged.

The private juvenile detention centers, owned by Mid Atlantic Youth Services Corp., are still operating, but are not a target of the federal investigation, according court documents. The company cooperated in the investigation and are getting off scott-free. Personally, I do not call that justice. Their part in this elaborate rouse was just as great.

A spokesman from the company denied that its current owner, Gregory Zappala, knew about the kickbacks.

Ciavarella, when he ran for office, assured the community that he could provide justice. Elected to the bench in 1996, he once ran for judge on the promise that he would punish “people who break the law.”

The corruption all started in 2002, when Conahan shut down the state juvenile detention center and used money from the Luzerne County, Pennsylvania budget to fund a multimillion-dollar lease for the private facilities. Despite some raised eyebrows from the community, county commissioners approved the deal.

The feds stepped in and began investigating in 2006.

For the full report on “Pennsylvania Judges Jail Kids For Cash and Finally Get Caught,” go to CNN News.