SCRANTON, Pa.—A northeastern Pennsylvania judge was ordered Thursday to spend nearly three decades in prison for his role in a massive bribery scandal that prompted the state's high court to toss thousands of juvenile convictions and left lasting scars on the children who appeared in his courtroom and their hapless families.
Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison for taking a $1 million bribe from the builder of a pair of juvenile detention centers in a case that became known as "kids for cash."
Ciavarella, who denied locking up youths for money, had no reaction as the sentence was announced. From the gallery, which was crowded with family members of some of the children he incarcerated, someone shouted "Woo hoo!"
*********************
Ciavarella's attorneys had asked for a "reasonable" sentence in court papers, saying, in effect, that he'd already been punished enough.
He's lucky he's being allowed to live.
"The media attention to this matter has exceeded coverage given to many and almost all capital murders, and despite protestation, he will forever be unjustly branded as the `Kids for Cash' judge," their sentencing memo said....
Yeah, blame the media.
Ciavarella, in a 15-minute speech before the sentence was handed down, apologized to his family, the Luzerne County bar and the community -- and to those juveniles who appeared before him in his court. He called himself a hypocrite who failed to practice what he preached.
"I blame no one but myself for what happened," he said.
Then, in an extraordinary turnabout, Ciavarella attacked the government's case as well as the conclusions of the state Supreme Court and the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice, a state panel that investigated the scandal. Both said Ciavarella engaged in wholesale rights violations over a period of many years.
Ciavarella denied it. "I did everything I was obligated to do protect these children's rights," he said....
But he blames no one but himself and says he was protecting the children?
Un-f***ing-believable!!
Federal prosecutors accused Ciavarella and a second judge, Michael Conahan, of taking more than $2 million in bribes from Robert Mericle, the builder of the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care detention centers, and of extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Robert Powell, the facilities' co-owner.
Ciavarella, known for his harsh and autocratic courtroom demeanor, pocketed the cash while filling the beds of the private lockups with children as young as 10, many of them first-time offenders convicted of petty theft and other minor crimes....
Oh, I hope he finds his cellmate very affectionate.
--more--"
Also see:
Who was more of a "terrorist," kids?
"Pa. man admits using Web to incite terror" August 10, 2011|Associated Press
PITTSBURGH - A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty yesterday to using the Internet to promote terror attacks against American military and civilian targets in posts he made on an Islamic extremist Web forum he moderated....
Can you say AGENT PROVOCATEUR PATSY?
So WHAT GOVERNMENT AGENCY does HE WORK FOR?
--more--"
No, the answer is not in the government's mouthpiece.
"Greyhound bus crash injures 14
MOUNT GRETNA - The driver of a Greyhound bus bound for St. Louis lost control on the Pennsylvania Turnpike early yesterday, sending the bus across the highway and up an embankment before it landed on its side on the interstate. The crash briefly trapped a woman and sent 14 people to hospitals, authorities said. Crews freed the woman who was trapped in the wreckage in a rural area about a mile east of the Lebanon-Lancaster exit. Twenty-nine people, including the driver, were aboard, Greyhound said, but turnpike officials put the figure at 25. Ban buses.
Way too many of those crashes.
50 teens accused of curfew violation
PHILADELPHIA - About 50 teenagers were charged with violating a newly enforced curfew for minors aimed at cracking down on mobs of young people responsible for random attacks on people as well as property damage, police said yesterday. The arrests began about 9 p.m. Friday downtown and on South Street, a 10-block strip of bars, restaurants, and stores that has long been a hangout for teens, officials said.
Ah, the land of the free and the city of brotherly love.
--more--"
Where is Ciavarella when you need him, huh?
