Kids for cash scandal
Encyclopedia
Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas
The Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas are the trial courts of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania .The Courts of Common Pleas are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in the state....
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
. Two judges, President Judge Mark Ciavarella
Mark Ciavarella
Mark Arthur Ciavarella Jr. is a convicted felon and former President Judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania who committed, along with fellow judge Michael Conahan, the "Kids for cash" scandal in 2008.In August 2011, Ciavarella was sentenced to 28 years in...
and Senior Judge Michael Conahan
Michael Conahan
Michael Conahan is a former judge from Luzerne County, Pennsylvaniawho committed the "Kids for cash" scandal in2008 with fellow judge Mark Ciavarella.Conahan, as president judge, used his budgetary discretion to stop funding the...
, were accused of accepting money from the co-owner and builder of two private, for-profit juvenile facilities
Youth detention center
A youth detention center, also known as a juvenile detention center , juvenile hall or, more colloquially as juvie, is a secure residential facility for young people, often termed juvenile delinquents, awaiting court hearings and/or placement in long-term care facilities and programs...
, in return for contracting with the facilities and imposing harsh sentences on juveniles brought before their courts in order to ensure that the detention centers would be utilized. Ciavarella and Conahan pleaded guilty on February 13, 2009, pursuant to a plea agreement, to federal charges of honest services fraud
Honest services fraud
Honest services fraud refers to a 28-word sentence of , added by the United States Congress in 1988, which states: "For the purposes of this chapter, the term, scheme or artifice to defraud includes a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services."The statute...
and conspiracy to defraud the United States (failing to report income to the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
, known as tax evasion) in connection with receiving $2.6 million in payments from managers at PA Child Care
PA Child Care
PA Child Care is a juvenile detention centre in Pittston Township, Pennysylvania. It was opened in February 2003. It has a sister company, Western PA Child Care, in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Treatment at both facilities is provided by Mid Atlantic Youth Services...
in Pittston Township
Pittston Township, Pennsylvania
Pittston Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township is located within the Greater Pittston metro area. The population was 3,450 at the 2000 census. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is located in Pittston Township.-History:Pittston Township was...
and its sister company Western PA Child Care in Butler County
Butler County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 174,083 people, 65,862 households, and 46,827 families residing in the county. The population density was 221 people per square mile . There were 69,868 housing units at an average density of 89 per square mile...
. The plea agreement was later voided by a federal judge, who was dissatisfied with the post-plea conduct of the defendants, and the two judges charged subsequently withdrew their guilty pleas, raising the possibility of a criminal trial.
A federal grand jury in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
returned a 48 count indictment against Ciavarella and Conahan including racketeering, fraud, money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
and federal tax violations on September 9, 2009. Conahan entered a revised guilty plea to one count of racketeering conspiracy in July 2010. In a verdict reached at the conclusion of a jury trial, Ciavarella was convicted February 18, 2011 on 12 of the 39 counts he faced.
Following the original plea agreement, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered an investigation of the cases handled by the judges and following its outcome overturned several hundred convictions of youths in Luzerne County. The Juvenile Law Center filed a class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
lawsuit against the judges and numerous other parties, and the state legislature created a commission to investigate the wide-ranging juvenile justice problems in the county. (See: JLC's growing list of related Court Documents)
Investigation
An investigation into improper sentencing in Luzerne County began early in 2007 as a result of requests for assistance from several youths received by the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center. Lawyers from the law center determined that several hundred cases were tried without the defendants receiving proper counsel. In April 2008, the Juvenile Law Center petitioned the Pennsylvania Supreme Court seeking relief for alleged violation of the youths' civil rightsCivil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
. The application of relief was later denied, then reconsidered in January 2009 when charges of corruption against the judges surfaced.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
and the Internal Revenue Service also investigated the two judges while probing practices in Luzerne County, although the exact dates and scope of the investigations by the two federal agencies were not made public. Part of the investigation was revealed to have occurred during disciplinary hearings over the conduct of another former Luzerne County judge, Anne H. Lokuta. Lokuta was brought before the Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania in November 2006 to answer charges of using court workers to do her personal bidding, openly displaying bias against some attorneys arguing before her, and publicly berating staff to cause mental distress. The board ruled against Lokuta in November 2008 and she was removed from the bench. During the course of the disciplinary hearings, Lokuta accused then Judge Michael Conahan of bullying behavior and charged that he was behind a conspiracy to have her removed. Lokuta aided the federal investigation into the "kids for cash" scheme prior to the determination of the disciplinary board, and a stay order was issued in March 2009 by the state Supreme Court in light of the ongoing corruption investigations, halting Lokuta's removal and the election that was to be held in May to replace her.
Charges and pleas
A statement from the office of the United States AttorneyUnited States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the Middle District of Pennsylvania outlined the charges against the two judges on January 26, 2009. The charges outlined in the information
Information (formal criminal charge)
Information is a formal criminal charge made without a grand jury indictment by a prosecutor in a document called an information.The term is used in Canada and various other common law jurisdictions, including a number of U.S...
described actions between 2000 and 2007 by both judges to assist in the construction and population of private juvenile facilities operated by the two Pennsylvania Child Care companies, acting in an official capacity in favor of the private prisons over the facility operated by Luzerne County. The U.S. Attorney charged that in 2002 Conahan, who at the time was President Judge of the court, used his authority to remove funding for the county-operated facility. The judges were alleged to have received "millions of dollars" in payments for the completion of a binding agreement between the court and the private facilities, co-owned by attorney Robert Powell, to use their services and the subsequent closing of the county facility, The methods used to conceal the payments involved several parties and transactions which resulted in alleged tax evasion by the two. Ciavarella and Conahan were also charged with "Ordering juveniles to be sent to these facilities in which the judges had a financial interest even when Juvenile Probation Officers did not recommend detention", according to the statement.
The plea agreement called for both judges to serve up to seven years in prison, pay fines and restitution, and accept responsibility for the crimes. However, on July 30, 2009, Judge Edwin M. Kosik of Federal District Court
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania...
in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
rejected the plea agreement, citing "post-guilty plea conduct and expressions from the defendants" that he ruled did not satisfy the terms of the agreement. Attorneys for the two judges brought a motion requesting reconsideration of the judge's rejection of the plea agreement. The motion was denied on August 24, and Ciavarella and Conahan subsequently withdrew their guilty pleas, an action which could result in a jury trial
Jury trial
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
and possible additional charges against the former judges. On September 9, a federal grand jury in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania returned a 48 count indictment against Ciavarella and Conahan including racketeering, fraud, money laundering, extortion, bribery, and federal tax violations. Both judges were arraigned on the charges on September 15, 2009. Ciavarella and Conahan entered pleas of not guilty to the 48 count indictment and remained free on one million dollar bail despite federal prosecutors contentions that their bail should be raised since they now faced the possibility of substantial more prison time and that there was evidence of their attempts to shield assets.
Robert Powell, an attorney and co-owner of the two juvenile detention facilities at the heart of the scandal, pleaded guilty on July 1 to failing to report a felony
Misprision of felony
Misprision of felony was an offence under the common law of England and was classified as a misdemeanour. It consisted of failing to report knowledge of a felony to the appropriate authorities.Exceptions were made for close family members of the felon....
and being an accessory to tax evasion conspiracy, in connection with $770,000 in kickbacks he paid to Ciavarella and Conahan in exchange for facilitating the development of his facilities. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court temporarily suspended Powell’s law license on September 1, citing his criminal conviction.
Robert Mericle, the prominent real estate developer who built the two juvenile detention facilities, pleaded guilty on September 3, to failing to disclose a felony, for not revealing to a grand jury that he had paid $2.1 million to Ciavarella and Conahan as a finder's fee. As part of his plea, Mericle has agreed to pay $2.15 million to fund local children's health and welfare programs. Mericle faces up to three years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine but will likely serve one year or even probation pursuant to his plea agreement.
Sandra Brulo, the former Deputy Director of Forensic Services for the Luzerne County Juvenile Probation Office agreed to plead guilty in March to federal obstruction of justice. When she became aware that she had been named in the federal civil action, Brulo fabricated a recommendation concerning a juvenile who appeared before the Luzerne County Juvenile Court in September of 2007. She backdated the fabricated recommendation and changed her original recommendation of detention to probation.
Criminal verdicts
On February 18, 2011, following a trial, a federal jury convicted Ciavarella on 12 of the 39 counts he faced including racketeering, a crime in which prosecutors said the former judge used children "as pawns to enrich himself." In convicting Ciavarella of racketeering, the jury agreed with prosecutors that he and another corrupt judge had taken an illegal payment of nearly $1 million from a juvenile detention center's builder and then hidden the money. The panel of six men and six women also found Ciavarella guilty of "honest services mail fraud" and of being a tax cheat, for failing to list that money and more on his annual public financial-disclosure forms and on four years of tax returns. In addition, they found him guilty of conspiring to launder money. The jurors acquitted Ciavarella of extortion and bribery in connection with $1.9 million that prosecutors said the judges extracted from the builder and owner of two juvenile-detention centers, including allegations that Ciavarella shared in FedEx boxes stuffed with tens of thousands of dollars in cash.Following Ciavarella's conviction, he and his lawyer appeared on the steps of the courthouse to give an impromptu press conference. The press conference was interrupted by Sandy Fonzo, whose son Edward Kenzakoski committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
after Ciavarella gave him a jail sentence, despite Kenzakoski's first-time offender status.
On August 11, 2011, Ciavarella was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison.He is currently being held at the Federal Correctional Institution, Pekin
Federal Correctional Institution, Pekin
Federal Correctional Institution, Pekin is medium security federal prison for males. It is located on Illinois Route 29 on the south edge of Pekin, Illinois, and there an adjacent satellite prison camp for minimum security female inmates....
, a federal prison in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
which holds minimum and medium security inmates, and is scheduled for release in 2035.
On September 23, 2011, Conahan was sentenced to 17-and-a-half years in federal prison as a result of his pleading guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy
Conspiracy
-Types of conspiracies:* Cabal, an association between religious, political, or tribal officials to further their own ends, usually by intrigue* Conspiracy , an agreement between persons to deceive, mislead, or defraud others of their legal rights, or to gain an unfair advantage* Conspiracy , an...
.He is currently being held at a minimum security facility at the Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and is scheduled for release in 2026.
On November 4, 2011, Powell was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison as a result of his pleading guilty to failing to report a felony and being an accessory to tax conspiracy. He is scheduled to report to federal prison on November 30, 2011.
Victim lawsuits
Acting under a rarely used power established in 1722 and reserved for extraordinary circumstances, known as "King's Bench jurisdictionKing's Bench jurisdiction
King's Bench jurisdiction or King's Bench power is the extraordinary jurisdiction of an individual state's highest court over its inferior courts...
", the Pennsylvania Supreme Court appointed a special master
Special master
In law, a special master is an authority appointed by a judge to make sure that judicial orders are actually followed.In England, at common law, there were "Masters in Chancery," who acted in aid of the Equity Courts. There were also "Masters in Lunacy," who conducted inquiries of the same nature...
on February 11, 2009 to review all juvenile cases handled by Ciavarella. Senior Judge Arthur Grim of the Berks County
Berks County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 175 per square mile...
Court of Common Pleas was appointed special master and returned his findings in an interim report dated March 11. On March 26 the Supreme Court approved Grim's recommendations and ruled that Ciavarella had violated the constitutional rights of thousands of juveniles, and hundreds of juvenile convictions were ordered overturned.
A class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
lawsuit was filed by the Juvenile Law Center on behalf of the juveniles who were adjudicated delinquent by Ciavarella despite not being represented by counsel or advised of their rights. Besides naming Ciavarella and Conahan, the suit seeks damages under the civil portion of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
(RICO) against the judges' spouses and business associates, shell companies, prison operators, and Luzerne County. Three other federal lawsuits filed on behalf of the victims have been consolidated with the Juvenile Law Center lawsuit into a master class action. An amended master complaint was filed on August 28, 2009.
In June 2010 an injunction was filed on behalf of PA Child Care, Western PA Child Care, and Mid Atlantic Youth Services, the companies that provided treatment programs at the juvenile detention centers, to prevent the ordered destruction of thousands of juvenile records on the grounds the records are needed for the defense's case.
Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice
In the aftermath of the federal charges and defendant pleas, the Pennsylvania General AssemblyPennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...
moved to create a commission to investigate the entire set of circumstances surrounding the miscarriage of justice in Luzerne County. Sponsored by Representative Todd Eachus
Todd A. Eachus
Todd A. Eachus served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He represented the 116th District from 1997 until 2010. Eachus represented most of southern Luzerne County, including Hazleton, Butler Township, and Foster Township...
of Butler Township
Butler Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Butler Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,166 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water. It is drained by the Nescopeck Creek...
in Luzerne County, House Bill 1648 established the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice in July 2009. The commission comprises 11 members, appointed from each branch of government in Pennsylvania, with four members chosen by the judiciary, four by the legislature and three by the governor. In signing the legislation on August 7, 2009, Governor Ed Rendell castigated Ciavarella and Conahan, saying they "violated the rights of as many as 6000 young people by denying them basic rights to counsel and handing down outrageously excessive sentences. The lives of these young people and their families were changed forever." Scheduled to meet a minimum of once per month, the commission was organized to investigate the actions of and damages caused by the two judges and review the state of the Luzerne County courts left in the wake of their tenures. The commission was given power of subpoena
Subpoena
A subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
and was required to complete its work and report its recommendations and findings to the three branches of state government by May 31, 2010.
External links
- Mid Atlantic Youth Services official website
- Corruption Probe, The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre daily newspaper article collection
- Luzerne County Judges, The Times-Leader, Wilkes-Barre daily newspaper article collection
- Luzerne County Update Center, Juvenile Law Center
- Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice, final report and related materials