Taxpayers Foot the Bill

While a district judge is on paid leave and awaiting the outcome of state misconduct charges, she will make a taxpayer-funded trip to Harrisburg for annual judge training, officials said.

This week, Lower Southampton District Judge Susan McEwen will attend classes at the Minor Judiciary Education Board. There, she and other district judges will be updated on matters including new case law, the motor vehicle code and landlord-tenant issues, said Charles A. Carey, deputy court administrator for Bucks County.

The accommodations at a hotel and meals are covered by the state, said Susan Davis, director of the Minor Education Judiciary Board.

The continuing education for district judges is mandatory each year, although McEwen has until May to take the courses, Davis said.

There’s a chance McEwen could lose her job before then.

In late June, the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board charged her with allegedly doctoring her grandson’s court documents and, in a separate incident, cursing at a police officer while serving as judge.

Six months are likely to pass before the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline decides McEwen’s fate, Samuel Stretton, an attorney who has defended several judges over the years, said in July.

If found guilty, McEwen faces anything from no action from the court to a public scolding to permanent removal from the bench.

Full Article and Source:
Taxpayers to Foot the Bill for Embattled Judge’s Training Trip

Conahan Linked to 1990’s Cocaine Probe

During a drug trafficking trial 18 years ago, the mention of Michael Conahan’s name brought the proceedings to a halt.

The terse instructions from U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik drew a sharp response from the federal prosecutor whose witness dropped the then-Hazleton district justice’s name shortly after taking the stand.

Huddling in the front of the courtroom so the jury could not hear them, Kosik, then-assistant U.S. Attorney Malachy Mannion and defense attorney Leonard Sands engaged in a testy discussion on how to proceed in the drug trafficking trial of Ronald Belletiere in Scranton.

According to a transcript of the testimony from April 9, 1991, Hazleton businessman Neal DeAngelo, called as a government witness, had just said he had been tipped by Conahan, “telling me that he had heard my brother’s name mentioned down in city hall there in reference to some drug activity that was going on and he just wanted to advise me of the name being mentioned.”

Full Article and Source:
Conahan Linked to 1990’s Cocaine Probe

See also:
NASGA Member Attends Hearings

From a Nursing Home to Home

Walter Brown never wanted to live in a nursing home, but when he had a stroke two years ago, he saw little choice. Mr. Brown, 72, could not walk, use his left arm or transfer himself into his wheelchair.

“It was like being in jail,” Mr. Brown said on a recent afternoon. “In the nursing home you’ve got to do what they say when they say it, go to bed when they tell you, eat what they want you to eat. The food was terrible.”

But recently state workers helped Mr. Brown find a two-bedroom apartment in public housing here, which he shares with his daughter. “It just makes me more relaxed, more confident in myself,” he said, speaking with some difficulty, but with a broad smile. “More confident in the future.” A growing number of states are reaching out to people like Mr. Brown, who have been in nursing homes for more than six months, aiming to disprove the notion that once people have settled into a nursing home, they will be there forever. Since 2007, Medicaid has teamed up with 29 states to finance such programs, enabling the low-income elderly and people with disabilities to receive many services in their own homes.

“Medicaid has had an institutional bias in favor of nursing homes,” even for people who do not need them, said Gene Coffey, a staff lawyer at the nonprofit National Senior Citizens Law Center. “Federal law requires states to provide nursing home services. They don’t have to provide home or community-based services.”

Full Article and Source:
Elderly Leave Nursing Homes for a Home

NASGA Member Attends Hearings

Formerly of Luzerne County, NASGA Member Mary Connors attended Tuesday’s arraignment for ex-judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella.

Judge Michael Conahan was the presiding judge in the guardianship of Mary’s mother, Grace Connors.

Grace died from starvation and dehydration in 2006, after five years incarcerated in a nursing facility against her will. She was virtually isolated from her family and friends. Mary was rarely permitted to visit her. Those sparse visits were always under guard – until the end when the guardian lifted the supervision to allow Mary to see her mother die.

See:
Grace Connors – California/Pennyslvania Victim

In Memoriam: Grace Connors – July 17, 1921 – October 13, 2006

Ex-Jurists Plea, Still Free

Former judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella will remain free pending trial on corruption charges despite concerns raised by federal prosecutors that the men are a flight risk and are depleting assets that could be seized if they’re convicted, a federal magistrate judge ruled Tuesday.

The former judges appeared before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Thomas Blewitt and entered pleas of not guilty to a 48-count indictment issued against them last week.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Houser requested that Conahan and Ciavarella’s bail be increased to $500,000, arguing the chance the men would flee had increased given they face significantly more time in prison than was negotiated in plea agreements that were rejected by the court.

The plea agreements, which have been withdrawn, called for the judges to serve 87 months in prison. The charges in the indictment – racketeering, bribery, extortion, money laundering, mail fraud and tax evasion – carry a combined total maximum sentence of 689 years in prison.

Full Article and Source:
Ex-Jurists Plea, Still Free

See also:
Ciavarella Plea
Ciavarella Bond
Ciavarella Release
Conahan Plea
Conahan Bond
Conahan Release

PA Judges Plead Not Guilty

Two former Pennsylvania judges implicated in a “kids-for-cash” scandal on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to federal racketeering charges.

Former Luzerne County judges Mark Ciavarella Jr. and Michael Conahan are accused of taking millions of dollars in payments related to the construction of two juvenile detention facilities.

They had agreed to plead guilty in February to honest services fraud and tax evasion in a deal with prosecutors that called for 87-month prison sentences, far below federal guidelines.

But a federal judge rejected the deal last month, saying Conahan, 57, and Ciavarella, 59, hadn’t fully accepted responsibility for the crimes. They switched their pleas to not guilty, and prosecutors secured a 48-count indictment that includes racketeering, bribery and extortion charges.

At their arraignment Tuesday, prosecutors also asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas M. Blewitt to tighten bail conditions for both former judges, claiming they had tried to protect assets and are now more likely to flee.

Full Article and Source:
Former PA Judges Implicated in “Kids for Cash” Plead Not Guilty to 48 Counts

See also:
Ex-Judges Facing Wrath of RICO

Judged Indicted in Fraud-Scheme

Judges Plead Guilty

Class Action Against Judges

When Judges Stain Our Kids

Kickback Scheme Judges Sued

Alleged Public Corruption

Ex-Judges Facing Wrath of RICO

Former Luzerne County judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. face a bleak future now that they’ve been indicted under the federal RICO statute, according to the University of Notre Dame law professor who wrote it.

“They’re going to go to jail for a long time and they’re going to be broke,” said G. Robert Blakey, who drafted the Organized Crime Control Act, which includes RICO, while serving as chief counsel to a U.S. Senate subcommittee in the early 1970s.

RICO, or the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, allows prosecutors to bundle crimes committed by members of a group and show a pattern of wrongdoing when presenting their case to a jury.

“What it allows is diverse crimes to be joined in one proceeding,” said Mr. Blakey, considered the foremost authority on RICO. “It changes the rules of evidence. They have to prove more than just one charge. They’re permitted to prove more.”

RICO also gives prosecutors enhanced powers to seize defendants’ assets.

“Normally, the government doesn’t try to seize what you stole, the banks do. In this situation, every dime you made illicitly is going to belong to the government,” Mr. Blakey said. “If they can’t find it, they can get a judgment against your general assets.

“Those guys are going to be wiped out and they deserve to be,” Mr. Blakey said of the former judges.

Former Luzerne County judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. face a bleak future now that they’ve been indicted under the federal RICO statute, according to the University of Notre Dame law professor who wrote it.

“They’re going to go to jail for a long time and they’re going to be broke,” said G. Robert Blakey, who drafted the Organized Crime Control Act, which includes RICO, while serving as chief counsel to a U.S. Senate subcommittee in the early 1970s.

RICO, or the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, allows prosecutors to bundle crimes committed by members of a group and show a pattern of wrongdoing when presenting their case to a jury.

“What it allows is diverse crimes to be joined in one proceeding,” said Mr. Blakey, considered the foremost authority on RICO. “It changes the rules of evidence. They have to prove more than just one charge. They’re permitted to prove more.”

RICO also gives prosecutors enhanced powers to seize defendants’ assets.

“Normally, the government doesn’t try to seize what you stole, the banks do. In this situation, every dime you made illicitly is going to belong to the government,” Mr. Blakey said. “If they can’t find it, they can get a judgment against your general assets.

“Those guys are going to be wiped out and they deserve to be,” Mr. Blakey said of the former judges.

Full Article and Source:
Ex-Judges Facing Wrath of RICO

See also:
Judged Indicted in Fraud-Scheme

Judges Plead Guilty

Class Action Against Judges

When Judges Stain Our Kids

Kickback Scheme Judges Sued

Alleged Public Corruption

Suspicions Panned Out

It’s easy to criticize former Luzerne County judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan now that the criminal charges against them are out, but they were still the kings of the courthouse when then-county controller Steve Flood challenged them over the detention center.

“Steve Flood was surrounded by corruption and stood up to it, and they did everything they could to hurt him,” said West Chester attorney Sam Stretton, who was Flood’s solicitor when he unsuccessfully attempted to subpoena the judges and others to obtain answers about the PA Child Care juvenile detention center.

Some lawyers privately supported Flood’s efforts but acted like they didn’t know him in public, saying they were afraid of retribution from the two judges, Stretton said. Many county employees and politicians tried to portray him as a nut case who spun wild conspiracy theories, he said.

“They were trying to make him look like a fool,” said county minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban, one of the few county officials who publicly supported Flood’s efforts to get to the truth about the center.

Full Article and Source:
Lawyers: Flood’s Suspisions Panned Out

Judges Indicted in Fraud Scheme

Two former Pennsylvania judges were indicted yesterday on federal racketeering charges in connection with a scheme to place juvenile offenders in privately owned detention centers.

A federal grand jury in Harrisburg returned a 48-count indictment against former Luzerne County judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella Jr., who are accused of taking millions of dollars in kickbacks related to the construction of two youth detention facilities.

Conahan and Ciavarella had pleaded guilty in February to honest services fraud and tax evasion in a deal with prosecutors that called for a sentence of 87 months in prison, far below federal guidelines.

But the deal was rejected last month by Senior US District Judge Edward M. Kosik, who said the two hadn’t fully accepted responsibility for the crimes, and the former judges switched their pleas to not guilty.

Yesterday’s indictment marked a dramatic escalation in the government’s pursuit of the disgraced judges. The charges include racketeering, fraud, money laundering, extortion, bribery, and federal tax violations and could bring decades in prison. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of at least $2.8 million, “which is alleged to be the proceeds of the charged criminal activity,’’ according to a news release issued by the US attorney’s office in Harrisburg.

Full Article and Source:
Ex-PA Judges Endicted in Fraud Scheme

See also:
Judges Plead Guilty

Class Action Against Judges

When Judges Stain Our Kids

Kickback Scheme Judges Sued

Alleged Public Corruption

State Lawyer Chastises Lokuta

Former Luzerne County Judge Ann H. Lokuta’s discussion of a confidential 2006 ethics complaint against former President Judge Michael T. Conahan appeared as a “blatant maneuver to muddy the water and manipulate public opinion,” an attorney for the state Judicial Conduct Board said Thursday.

The anonymous complaint accused Mr. Conahan of packing the court staff with relatives and political allies, hearing cases involving lawyers with whom he had personal or professional ties and manipulating the assignment of cases to other judges.

Frank Puskas, deputy chief counsel for the conduct board, chastised Ms. Lokuta and her attorney, Ron Santora, for referencing the complaint during a hearing in May and in a court filing last month.

Mr. Puskas included the criticism in a 23-page filing urging a state discipline court to deny Ms. Lokuta a new hearing on the misconduct charges that led to her removal from the bench last December.

Efforts to reach Mr. Santora were unsuccessful Thursday.

Under state law, recently submitted evidence of alleged wrongdoing by several panel witnesses, including Mr. Conahan and his co-defendant, former Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., does not merit a new hearing if it is used only to impeach the credibility of a witness, Mr. Puskas said.

Mr. Conahan and Mr. Ciavarella were indicted Wednesday on 48 counts related to their alleged involvement in a kids-for-cash corruption scheme, including racketeering, bribery, extortion and money laundering.

Last month, Ms. Lokuta submitted statements from four witnesses, including three current or former courthouse employees, by Mr. Conahan and Mr. Ciavarella in an attempt to erode their credibility and that of two other witnesses who testified at her misconduct hearing, former prothonotary Jill A. Moran and former Court Administrator William T. Sharkey Sr.

The statements should have been submitted during Ms. Lokuta’s misconduct hearing and the witnesses should have testified about their claims, Mr. Puskas said.

Mr. Puskas said Ms. Lokuta’s claims Mr. Conahan retaliated against her for going to federal authorities were contradicted by the timing of the federal corruption investigation. The investigation commenced in the summer of 2006, Mr. Puskas said, more than two years after the Judicial Conduct Board receive a complaint against Ms. Lokuta from her former executive secretary.

Full Article and Source:
State Lawyer Chastises Lokuta
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See also:
Lokuta Files Petition

Lokuta Not Entitled to New Trial

Powell Loses Law License

The law license of Robert J. Powell, an attorney who has admitted to paying kickbacks to two Luzerne County judges, has been suspended by the state Supreme Court.

Powell, 49, has pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony and abetting a conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing in federal court. Prosecutors say he paid the two judges for their help in securing county contracts for a for-profit juvenile detention center he formerly owned.

The order suspending Powell’s law license, handed down Monday, came in reaction to a joint petition from Powell’s lawyers and the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court, which investigates allegations of wrongdoing and unethical behavior by lawyers.

The board’s chief counsel, Paul Killion, said that in most cases, the board will not seek action against an attorney charged with a crime until sentencing, but the board felt a temporary suspension was warranted in this case. Powell’s attorney agreed to the suspension, Killion said.

“This is a case in which we don’t want him practicing law while things are pending. They could be pending for some time,” Killion said.

Full Article and Source:
Powell Loses Law License

See also:
Plea Agreement Rejected