Just Yell Kids for Cash

Longtime local political consultant/media guy Ed Mitchell has a blog on tumblr. That's probably not the best best platform if you want to reach a wide audience. I'm sure that Ed isn't aware that I did some volunteer work for him when he ran for Congress in 1976 with the slogan President Carter/Congressman Mitchell. Joe McDade won big in that one.

NEPA McCarthyism

In the 1950s there was a wing of the Republican Party that terrorized American politics by labeling political enemies Communists through guilt by association. It was named McCarthyism after it’s main practitioner, Sen. Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin.

Recently we’ve seen shades of a new McCarthyism in Northeastern Pennsylvania campaigns through guilt by association with the “Kids for Cash” judges who are serving prison terms for their corrupt practices.

It started by blaming anyone who served on the Luzerne County courts or in the district attorney’s office while the scandal took place. “How could they not know it was happening?” was the question asked.

The one who suffered most publicly over these charges in her reelection fight two years ago was former DA, Jackie Musto Carroll.

This year, Atty. Jerry Mecadon ran for District Judge. He was attacked by his opponent for hiring me to work for him because 20 years ago I helped elect the judges who later turned corrupt.
Fact is, none of the sitting judges on the current court, Jackie Carroll, Jerry Mecadon or I had any clue of the no good Michael Conahan or Mark Ciaverella were up to. They didn’t consult with any of us.

But Jerry Mecadon’s opponent’s campaign employed the new NEPA McCarthyism and tried to link him to the scandal.

I don’t know if it worked. We don’t have exit polls for local races. I suspect the fact that Alexandra Kokura had the Democratic nomination and voter registration edge is why Mecadon lost.
The “Kids for Cash” scandal was a terrible chapter in Luzerne County judicial history. But it shouldn’t be wrongly exploited by any individual or political party for electoral gain. These were the crimes of a few bad men, not an entire system.

Hopefully, voters in the future won’t be fooled by innuendo or guilt by association either. We should believe people are innocent if they’re not proven guilty.

PA Dems gunning for Toohil

This spot brings up the bong/kissing video that has been taken down from YouTube then makes a policy point about cutting education funding. I had the video a few days before the TL decided to publish it and the pictures were sent to me months ago. The video was shopped around by the same person that left comments on a post I did in May accusing Toohil of having an inappropriate relationship with another House member that I deleted because I didn't think what she did in her personal life was anybody's business.

Most people will give her a break over those pictures as we  all did  things when we were young and irresponsible that we are not proud of. Her response has been somewhat erratic filming a response  paid for by taxpayer money  that tells kids not to do drugs.

Forget the sexy bong video there are plenty of other questions about Toohil.

 Up until 2010 she was a Democrat who wanted to run against Todd Eachus. She got nowhere with that idea and turned to the Republicans and now spouts claptrap about conservative values. 2010 was good Republican year and Eachus was sunk when it came out that he was flying around on Juvie Brother's figure Robert Powell's jet who backed the Hazleton fantasy airport. I was glad to see the back of him.

A look at her campaign finance reports raise some questions.

Looking at the expenditures.

The usual expenses are listed for office supplies, postage, internet and phone service, etc. .There are some things that are different.. 20 charges to the campaign totaling over $700 for gasoline, small checks for lunch and a few meals in DC at The MATCH BOX and BELGA CAFE. What PA interest is she pushing in Washington?

4 bills for dry cleaning totaling. $68.10. Tarah always looks sharp.

Update: Those numbers were from the 2012 report. The 2011 filing lists more lunch tabs, $440 for gas, $57 for dry cleaning and $721 for formal wear from Wedding Bells on 11/21/11. I guess she wanted to look good for Pennsylvania Society get together in New York that her campaign picked up the tab for her hotel room. She looks fabulous in the last picture on the slideshow of this article.  

Puttin' on the ritz at the Academy Ball

Also there are  many unitemized ATM  or smack the MAC withdrawals 

2011 annual report - $782 in petty cash and ATM withdrawals

2012 1^st report - $348.90 in petty cash and ATM withdrawals

2011 annual report

Page 30: $360 ATM Withdrawal, no description

Page 31: $40.00 ATM Withdrawal, “petty cash food snacks”

Page 38: $40.00 Cash Withdrawal ATM, “petty cash”

Page 39: $202.00 Cash Withdrawal “petty cash plus fee”

Page 44: $100.00 Cash Withdrawal “petty cash office expense”

Page 44: $721.28 Wedding Bells “formal wear”

Page 45: $40.00 Cash Withdrawal “petty cash”

2012

Page 16: $200.00 Petty Cash “set up office”

Page 22: $100.00 Cash “petty cash cancer dinner”

Page 23: $8.90 Check No Detail #1193

Page 26: $40.00 Cash Withdrawal “petty cash”

Page 26: $100.00 ATM Withdrawal “petty cash”

Then there is the trip to Israel. I've been to Israel and would like to return. The trick is to get some outfit to pay for it.

 The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia ponied up most of the money and Toohil has said the rest came from her own pocket or campaign funds. Betty says The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia personally hand-picked Toohil to go on the Israeli trip, according to The Times Leader.  The organizaton’s director of government affairs, Robin Schatz, told the newspaper that she wanted to get to know Toohil better.  That’s probably because Toohil is just the person to lead the charge in Butler Twp. to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.

Back to the video

 Informed comment on my FB page: Her disgruntled ex-boyfriend promised to blackmail her as part of his continued mistreatment of her and women in general. Those pictures mean absolutely nothing in this election. The person attacking her is a House member. And women should rise up against the way he wants to treat women.

Tarah Toohil has broken the heart of  someone and he has been blasting her on various websites including this one. I deleted the comments. Pa Politics should do the same.

Toohil/Young debate

Toohil, Young spar on jobs, education

Luzerne County finances

I started off blogging about Luzerne County government and politics but haven't written much about it lately. The Yonk  reminded me that I was a unrelenting critic of the games that the Bond Brothers played with numbers that put our county into the hole that it is in. Thankfully convicted criminal Greg Skrepnak and Todd Vonderheid are no longer Commissioners.

As a result of the Juvie Brothers and other scandals the people decided it was time to change the form of government and passed Home Rule. The new county council hired a professional manager after a nationwide search. This new form of government is not perfect but it is a big improvement over the old system of 3 Commissioners and a myriad of elected row officers.

Luzerne County Manager Bob Lawton is getting high marks from the people I have spoke to in county government. He is trying to clean up the mess. I don't agree with all his decisions on some non budget issues such as firing Leonard Piazza as Director of the Election Bureau.

Some of the dead enders will still try to hang on.

Deputy runs office, prothonotary gripes

 

4 seats on the new county council will be up in 2013. I urge all interested candidates to attend Blogfest on September 21st to give your pitch.  The Controller's spot is also up and the only name I've heard on the Dem side is Bob Morgan. Incumbent Walter Griffith is definitely running for reelection.

Mundy says Toohil plagiarized her bill

In 2009 State Rep Phyllis Mundy (D-120th) wrote a bill to address some of the problems in the juvenile justice system in response to the Juvie Brother's scandal.  It passed the State House but it died in the Republican controlled Senate. In 2011 Tarah Toohil ((R-116th) introduced a similar bill. It passed the House and the Senate.

TL: “It’s not word for word, but it’s my bill. It’s my idea and pretty much my language,” Mundy said. Mundy made a comment about Toohil’s legislation on the House floor, saying “imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.”

Of course Toohil denies that she was cheating like some kid on a high school term paper  saying she modeled her legislation on recommendations of the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice, which is why it’s similar. She said she didn’t base her bill on Mundy’s...“I don’t care who gets it done, I just want it to get done,” she said, adding that Mundy should receive credit for her work on juvenile justice issues.

Cartwright hits Holden ON THE ISSUES

Tim Holden has aired 2 TV spots going after Matt Cartwright about things that have nothing to do with the duties of a member of Congress. One was tapping into the emotions of the Kids for Cash or as I call it the Juvie Brothers scandal that worked very well in the last DA's race. Cartwright gave money to Conahan and Ciavarella just like many lawyers did well before we knew how evil they were. Another argument to choose judge's on merit but that is another post. The second said you should vote against him because he is well off financially, really. Maybe Matt should bring that boat north and park it at the slip in Nesbitt Park and rename it "Hung Jury."

Yesterday Cartwright started airing what is called in the business a contrast ad but it doesn't attack Holden personally but objects some of the votes he has cast.

Tim Holden voted no on the Affordable Care Act. The most important piece of social legislation that every Democratic President since Harry Truman has been trying to achieve. It's not perfect but it is a start. I don't know how someone can call themselves a Democrat then vote against denying health care coverage for 30+ million of people. Then there is the Haliburton loophole that just may poison all of our water.

At this point I was going to post the latest Cartwright ad from his YouTube site but when I tried to I got this.

Embedding disabled by request

WTF! I'm trying to broadcast your ad on my blog giving you some free media and I can't. Whoever made that decision should be taken to the woodshed.

I had a bunch of other points to make but I will skip it now.

More Nonsense from Holden

Tim Holden is grasping at straws. After going after Matt Cartwright because he gave some money to the Juvie Brothers his hired gun Joe Trippi thinks that being successful in life is a liability. The spot also takes something Cartwright said way out of context. Do Holden and Trippi think that they can get away with lieing like Mitt Romney without being called out on it?


Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XII

In this ad Holden asserts that Matt Cartwright is bored buying new cars and has mansions and Condo's in Florida

The whole quote tells us something different

From Kos: "I've come to the point in my life that either I do it now or I don't do it… I'm 50 years old. I don't get a bang out of buying a new car anymore. I get a bang out of helping people."

I'm also north of 50 and those that know me realize that I can care less about the latest Gizmo. I don't even have a cell phone! Your're slaves to that machine.

Matt hit back on the Juvie Brothers nonsense

Tim Holden goes negative, Cartwright hits back

Congressman Tim Holden put a poll in the field last week that has apparently shown he is in real trouble. I haven't seen the numbers but judging by the reaction of the Holden camp they have gone into panic pass mode.

Hired gun Campaign Manager Joe Trippi who's claim to fame was the 2004 Howard Dean Presidential campaign has put out one of the most dishonest ads I've seen tying Cartwright to the juvie brothers scandal because he gave some money to Callahan and Ciavarella years before the 'kids for cash scandal' broke. It's interesting that the successor group of the Dean campaign, Democracy for America, has endorsed Cartwright.

Joe has to make a living and this line of attack helped Stefanie Salavantis become the Luzerne County District Attorney so he has some good local researchers. We will see how that works out.
So Cartwright gave $1375 to Ciavarella's retention effort just like many other lawyers which raises the question should judge's be elected or appointed after a vetting process. Judges on Merit has more to say on this subject. Conahan may not have been selected after a background check.


Instead of what is going out we should take a look at what is coming in.

DWT has a summery:

Holden, a Blue Dog has taken $688,999 from the finance industry and $414,997 from Big Oil and Gas. Holden has taken even more money from AgriBusiness and he's scooping up checks like mad this year to fight off his first serious electoral challenge ever. [One of the company's eager to keep Holden in Congress is AT&T, which has given House Republicans $896,121 thisyear and House Democrats $443,750. $5,000 of that went to Holden.

The Pennsylvania Progressive tells us about Holden's voting record:

He did not vote for the Affordable Care Act, voted against organized labor, for wars and their funding, for the National Defense Authorization Act, for the PATRIOT Act, FISA wiretapping and against homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure.

A Statement from the Cartwright campaign calls Holden a liar:

Holden Barely Holding On
Desperate TV Ad Not Just A Distortion - It’s 180° from Truth



MOOSIC, PA – With three weeks left until the April 24th Primary Election, Tim Holden has resorted to mud slinging. Perhaps the poll he conducted last week showed poor numbers, and he acted out of desperation. One thing is for sure, however, he forgot to do his homework.
Holden’s TV ad attempts to link Matt Cartwright with the notorious “Kids for Cash” scandal that plagued Luzerne County back in 2008, by citing old campaign contributions from the Munley, Munley and Cartwright law firm to the judges involved. (The firm has supported dozens of Democrats in the past 25 years.) But Holden’s “guilt by old association” tactic was done without knowing enough about the county or Matt Cartwright.
In the wake of the scandal, Matt Cartwright spearheaded the Juvenile Defense Lawyer Project in Luzerne County to ensure that juveniles were treated fairly by the courts and judges. In fact, in a Times-Leader article on June 11, 2010, Cartwright was “recognized for his leadership of the Juvenile Pro Bono Defense Program, which was created to guarantee pro bono counsel for juveniles that had been adjudicated by former President Judge Mark Ciavarella in the event their cases were retried.”
If anything, Matt Cartwright was a hero in cleaning up the criminal mess that these judges created.
“Tim Holden spent the past 20 years in Washington, and this is what he decided to talk about,” said Cartwright. “Of course, it is not surprising that Holden does not want to discuss the facts that he voted to create the Halliburton Loophole and against Health Care Reform. Further, in 2001 and in 2002 he voted with President George W. Bush more than any other Democratic member of Pennsylvania’s Congressional Delegation.”
Matt Cartwright is a Democrat, running for Congress in the 17th Congressional District, which now includes parts of Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe and Northampton Counties, as well as all of Schuylkill County. Cartwright is running for Congress to bring jobs to Northeast Pennsylvania, and make sure that corporations and wealthy Americans pay their fair share of taxes.
http://www.cartwrightcongress.com/
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR

Luzerne County Council to hire a manager

The papers are reporting that a guy from California will be offered the job as the first Luzerne County manager under home rule later today. The CV and the TL say the pick is Robert Lawton. I don't know much about him other than what I read in papers but certainly wish him the best. He is walking into a mess of a budget situation left over by former Commissioners Maryanne Petrilla, Steve Urban and the other guy that interim manager Tom Pribula has been trying to address. He keeps proposing a mix of tax increases and budget cuts that the new council keeps shooting down. Sounds a lot like what is going on in Washington.

I have been getting beat up in the comments and other blogs for my backing of the new form of government. It's a school board, it won't work, etc. The new charter is not perfect but then what is? I preferred the previous charter with an elected county executive and a mix of distict and at-large elections for the council. That plan was shot down when Skrep and Vondy said "trust us." That worked out well.

This new form of government was passed as a reaction to the Juvie Brothers scandal for sure. The thing I like about it was elimination of most of the row offices that were power centers with no oversight. How many of them went to jail? There is no Democratic or Republican way to perform an autopsy (Coronor) or to register a will. And What the hell is a Prothonotary?

If they hire Lawton and he doesn't back out before February 21st the Yonk has some advice. A couple of my favs

Don’t take it personally if people don’t like you because you’re an outsider. People from Scranton have the same problem.

If someone says you’re a cousin….don’t believe them

Abe’s Hot Dogs, South Main, the original. Don’t settle.

There are two Steve Urbans on the County Council, one has hair, the other doesn’t. Both may seem like the same person so you’ll need to tell them apart.

Robert Powell gets 18 months in jail

TL: Update: Powell sentenced to 18 months, regrets not stopping "travesty."

CV: 18-month sentence for Powell, kids-for-cash financier and star witness

A YEAR & A HALF from the Yonk


The point I have been making since this broke is the Judges were corrupt but somebody was paying them off. As far as I'm concerned Powell and Robert Mericle are just as guilty as the Juvie Bothers Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella and they deserve the same punishment. Michael Toole also went down because of his association with Powell.

Some kid that sold a bag of pot to a friend that turned out to be "confidential informant" gets more time.

Luzerne County DA

The hottest race this cycle has unexpectedly been the contest for Luzerne County District Attorney. In the spring incumbent Jackie Musto Carroll looked like a shoe in without a primary opponent and no Republican had circulated nominating petitions. She even mounted a write-in campaign trying to also snag the Republican nomination but Stepahanie Salavantis got into it at the last minute and secured enough write-in votes to become the Republican nominee. Like most political junkies I hate uncontested elections and welcomed her entry, I always like a choice in an election.

To the surprise of most political observers Salavantis is running hard spending some big bucks on radio and TV ads. Her campaign finance reports show that she has received some financial support from individual donors but most of her money has come from her parents. Carroll also got money from her folks but not as much. I didn't find the name of her Uncle Ray in any of the reports.

Stephie Sal has had 3 spots on TV so far trying to tie Jackie Mo to the Juvie Brothers (cash for kids) scandal implying she could have somehow prevented or stopped it. DA Jackie Mo is not on the air yet that I have seen but I'm told that will change shortly. She has hired local legend Ed Mitchell to do her media.

PittstonPolitics.com has been all over this race and even made an ad for Carroll.





Update: Jackie Mo on the Air

Luzerne County Judges

We will be electing 6 new Judges of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas next month. There are 7 candidates and I have met 6 of them. They are all good people that will replace the disgraced Juvie Brothers Conahan and Ciavarella. LuLac tells about them: These convicted Judges were sneaky, conniving, vindictive, powerful and ruthless bastards. Ask a former Judge named Lokuta. I don't want to open the whole Lokuta thing again but me and the Yonk agree that she was fucked over by Conahan and the Judicial Conduct Board that had a few of his acquaintances sitting in judgement of her. She was not convicted of a crime and probably deserved a kick in pants but overturning an election is extreme.


5 of the 7 candidates secured the nomination of both the Democratic and Republican party's in May. I hate cross filing for Judge and School Board because these are political positions and we should decide in the general election not the primary. The convential wisdom is that the 5 who got double nominations will win although anything can happen. That's why we have elections.

The double five are:

Jennifer Rogers

Lesa Gelb

Mike Vough

Joe Skarosky

Fred Pieratoni

That leaves the odd man (person) out. The race for the 6th spot is between Rebublican Dick Hughes and Dem Molly Mirabito

This is a tough call for me. I have had a few discussions with Hughes and Molly. They both came to Blogfest and the lawyers I know highly recommended them both.

My solution to this delimma is to bullet vote for Mirabito and Hughes.

End of the line for Lokuta

It was along shot that the US Supreme Court would hear case the case of Judge Ann Lokuta and yesterday they made it official.

U.S. Supreme Court denies Lokuta a hearing

I have linked to many stories of the last few years documenting the raw deal Lokuta got from the Court of Judicial Discipline and the appellate courts. She complained to the CJD in 2006 about Michael Conahan, alleging wide-spread corruption including case-fixing, mob ties and the improper placement of juveniles in a privately owned juvenile detention facility. Her allegations turned out to be true.


Remember that she was not convicted of doing anything illegal and her chief accusers are admitted criminals led by Judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella, Conahan's cousin Bill Sharkey who is in jail for being a thief and "poor, poor pitiful me" disgraced former Prothonotary Jill Moran. One of the people that sat in judgement of her was Richard Sprague who was a lawyer for Robert Powell who was one of the people paying off the Judges. Powell is a law partner and business partner of Jill Moran. Powell, Moran, Conahan and Ciavarella are also business partners as well as Pat Judge.

This is another miscarriage of justice and cries out for reform of our judicial system.
Judges on Merit has been pushing to change the way we select statewide judges advocating a vetting process and appointment system for appellate court judges. The present system of electing judges has some serious problems. The judicial elections are usually under the radar races decided by party affiliation and who can raise the most money from the lawyers that will later appear before them. I would go further and appoint the judges of the county court of common pleas. Do you think Michael Conahan could have a survived a background check after his implication in the Empire drug ring?

Young Republicans have questions for Jackie Mo

From the inbox


PRESS RELEASE:

For additional information, contact:
Luzerne County Young Republicans
LuzerneCountyYRs@gmail.com


In light of the recent sentencing of Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan for their roles in the “Kids for Cash” scandal, The Luzerne County Young Republicans (LCYRs) seek answers to lingering questions surrounding Luzerne County corruption. How could this scandal have continued for years without any County Officials noticing? Would the scandal have been prevented, or at least its effect been minimized, if other County officials had done their jobs?

The Interbranch Juvenile Commission shed light on these questions. In its report, the Commission concluded that District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll failed to perform her duties and showed no interest or concern for the juvenile court system during the “Kids for Cash scandal.”

In addition to her negligence, Musto Carroll engaged in nepotism and cronyism by hiring Mark Ciavarella’s daughter and daughter-in-law in the District Attorney’s Office. Jackie Musto Carroll’s actions reek of corruption and the LCYRs believe she owes the residents of Luzerne County an explanation for her behavior.

The LCYRs request that District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll formally answer each of the following questions and return the same to the LCYRs.

1. Why did you fail to discover the Kids for Cash scandal?

2. By your own admission, you never set foot in a juvenile courtroom during the Kids for Cash scandal. Why did you ignore this part of your job?

3. Under your watch, the Assistant District Attorneys were not adequately trained and as a result failed to recognize and challenge the routine deprivation of juveniles’ constitutional rights by Mark Ciavarella. Why did you fail to train your Assistant District Attorneys when proper training would have prevented the scandal?

4. Despite the obvious nepotism and cronyism involved, why did you hire Mark Ciavarella’s daughter and daughter-in-law in the District Attorney’s Office?

5. Did Mark Ciaveralla ask you to hire his daughter and daughter-in-law, or contact you in any way regarding the hiring process?

6. Do you believe that nepotism or cronyism have any place in government?

7. Given the Interbranch Juvenile Commission’s finding that you “stood by and abdicated” your responsibility as a prosecutor, how can the residents of Luzerne County have any faith that you will not to continue to abdicate your responsibility since you have already set abdication of responsibility as a precedent?

8. Given the Commission’s finding that you “demonstrated no initiative, interest, or concern with what was occurring in juvenile court,” how can the residents of Luzerne County feel confident that you can effectively lead the charge of protecting our children?

9. Why did you fight to block the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from reviewing whether the Luzerne County juveniles, who were denied legal counsel, were entitled to relief?

The LCYRs have sent the above questions to Jackie Musto Carroll. We request that she answer and return the above questions to the LCYRs by October 14, 2011.


The Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice Report via SOP


In testimony before the commission, current District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll and her predecessor, David W. Lupas, who is now a county judge presiding over juvenile matters, "incredibly conceded that they had never set foot in a juvenile court throughout their entire careers," the report said. Lupas and Musto Carroll "demonstrated no initiative, interest, or concern with what was occurring in juvenile court."

From the TL:
Musto Carroll declined Friday to comment or address the questions in the release. She and Lupas have said assistant district attorneys never made them aware of concerns they had in juvenile court.

The LCYR's don't have a website but you can find them on Facebook

28 years for Ciavarella

CV:
A defiant Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. was sentenced to 28 years in prison and ordered to pay $965,000 in restitution this morning after reading a statement to the court in which he denied trading "kids for cash."

"Those three words made me the personification of evil. They made me the devil. They made me the anti-Christ. They made me toxic," Ciavarella told U.S. District Judge Edwin M. Kosik.


He is evil as is the other Juvie brother Michael Conahan. I was surprised by the sentence
since they previously were willing to cop a plea for 7 years in jail. I was expecting something like twice that time. Al Flora will appeal it but Scootch is headed to jail until that is sorted out.

This video of the mother of one of the kids that got sold up the river by on the Times Leader website expresses the anger that many of us feel although we can never feel the pain of losing her son.


"You ruined my fucking life."

Predictions: 119th, 120th and 116th State Rep races.

In the overwhelmingly Democratic 119th District I expect the Democrat to win the race to succeed John Yudichak. Gerald Mullary had a rally with Yuddy on Friday night that should seal the deal. Republican Rick Arnold has run a great campaign but I don't think he can overcome the registration numbers and Libertarian Brian Bergman will drain votes away from him.


The 120th race has been my favorite this cycle as I have got to know and like all 3 candidates. But then I am like the Will Rogers of the local blogosphere and all 3 have mixed it up in the comments of this blog. The story in this race is the Libertarian candidate Tim Mullen who got 2700+ signatures on his nominating petitions and has had enough financial support to open an office in Kingston. I don't remember a local 3rd party candidate ever being taken this serious. That being said Phyllis Mundy will be reelected and the real race is who will finish second.


State House Democratic leader Todd Eachus has been beat up pretty good over his rides on Robert Powell's jet this last week and his one TV spot attacks Tarah Toohill for her connections to the juvie brothers. He is worried. I think Eachus will hold on but this could be the surprise of the night. Got to love this spot that forced Eachus into a debate.

Juvie Brother's must stand trial

Federal judge refuses to recuse himself from Ciavarella case


Ex-judges’ motions get rejected

Corruption Junction

A few months ago Capitol Ideas referred to Northeatern Pennsylvania region as "insanity with borders" when talking about all the scandals that have surfaced. Hard to argue with that but it's not exactly a catchy phrase.

I came up with the Juvie Brothers to describe the evil that Judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella engaged in but the papers settled on "cash for kids." I can't argue with that, at least the scandal hasn't been tagged as some sort of -gate, such as bonusgate. That is just lazy.

So I propose that the ongoing corruption investigation outside of the Juvienile probe in Luzerne/Lackawanna counties be dubbed Corruption Junction.

If you can up with something better you will win a Gort42 hat.

PA only number 8 ????

I can't say that I agree with this but it is state rankings not by county. Those of us that live here in Corruption Junction (Luzerne County) know better.


Website ranks Pennsylvania among top 10 corrupt states

The Daily Beast is using old data from just Philadelphia and doesn't take into account our own Juvie Brothers and the rest of the cast of characters of school board directors and municipal officials not to mention the Bonusgate corruption in Harrisburg.

I will have to slip an envelope to Sights on Pennsylvania for pointing out this story. I'll stuff it with 10% of my ad revenue.

Wired for sound

Transcripts reveal game plan


Kids-for-cash judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan schemed to commit perjury with a co-conspirator who paid them more than $700,000 in kickbacks, unaware that he was secretly recording their conversations, federal prosecutors allege in a brief filed Tuesday.

Here is the transcipt of their conversations with Robert Powell.


* * *


Powell: Here’s the way I see this unfolding. A civil lawsuit, have to make me answer interrogatories and a request for production of documents.


Conahan: Ummmm.


Powell: And then through that look at all the disbursements that were made from Pa Child Care here to me. And Western PA Child Care.


Conahan: So, what are you saying? Powell: It’s where the cash came from.
Conahan: Well, there’s nothing we can do about that. If he files a suit, he files a suit.


Powell: But that puts us in an untenable position.


Conahan: In what way?


Powell: Well, what if they put me under oath?


Conahan: Well, they’re gonna. They already know about [name redacted](the name of an intermediary who delivered cash to Conahan from Powell]. You know that [name redacted]’s been talked to.


Powell: No.


Conahan: Okay. Let me tell you something. If you want to check me, I’m not wearing a wire.


Powell: Neither am I.

(Emphasis Added).

* * *

18

After discussing the fact that the intermediary who gave cash to Conahan met with federal investigators and told them about the cash, the conversation continued:
* * *

Powell: It’s the cash I’m worried about, Mike.

Conahan: Well, I don’t know, Bob. I’m not... told you what my position on that was. It’s not changing.

Powell: No, that’s what I’m gonna say, too. But...I mean I...I don’t.... Conahan: [The Feds have knowledge about] the cash.
Powell: I don’t remember [name redacted] getting those draws. Unless she cashed them.

Conahan: I saw the checks. Powell: Did she cash them?
Conahan: The checks were cashed by [name redacted] (an employee of the
Powell law firm). Powell: [name redacted]. Conahan: [name redacted].
* * *
Conahan: Bob, I’m going to tell you something right now....This is my story.
I’m never changing this story. I leased you that apartment for 15 grand a month for 60 months.

* * *
19

Conahan: Tell you one thing right now. I never lied to you and I never will. I’d never do anything to hurt you but I never got the cash from anybody. That’s the story. And you better stick to it.

Powell: I’ll stick to it.

* * *
Conahan: Bobby, if there’s anything coming out of 40 Degrees North (a company in which Powell had an ownership interest) or PA Child Care . Cash, you just gotta say it didn’t come to me. [Emphasis added].

Powell: Alright.

Conahan: When this is all done, whatever we have to sit down to work it out or help each other, we’ll do it.

(Emphasis Added).

In a conversation on July 2, 2008, Powell, Conahan and Civarella once again discussed concern over what an intermediary would tell investigators about cash payments made to the judges.
* * *

Powell: I don’t know if it means anything or not, but I can see [name
redacted] sticking to her story, Mike, with the cash. She frightens the shit out of me. She’s going to say she delivered cash.

Ciavarella: Well, whatever she says, she says. [I] can’t stop her from saying it. I
just know what I know.

* * *
20

Powell: Greg [Zapalla] has a team up there [at PA Child Care] auditing the books, to see what payments were made out of PA Child Care, Western PA Child Care. I think we’re getting sued.

Ciavarella: [We] can’t stop him from doing it. I mean, assholes who does it. I mean the bottom line is none of the money came out of him...It was all out of Mericle’s [unintelligible] gig. So he can sue us all he wants. He didn’t pay the finder’s fee. Mericle paid it.

Conahan: If Rob Mericle had never gone to him, we wouldn’t have this problem. It would never have come up.

Powell: And if I wouldn’t have given [name redacted] that fucking cash to deliver.

Conahan: You know....

Powell: She’s the weak link. That’s why she’s not here tonight. I don’t even think she’s here. Like she’s hiding somewhere.

* * *
Powell: Well, where the rubber meets the road is where [Zapalla] is gonna say that he wants to see the draws from PA Child Care, and then he’s going to want access to the law firm books because that’s where I got the cash out of, from the law firm.

Conahan: Mmm Hmm.

Powell: I don’t have to give him that. But I think that’s what part of the suit’s going to be is for him to get access to see the payments from PA Child Care to the law firm turned into cash, to you guys.

Conahan: Mmm Hmm.

Powell: ‘Cause right now, he has no right to them, to the law firm books. Ciavarella: Was PA Child Care paying legal fees to the firm?
21

Powell: No. I had no other way to get the money out. I didn’t want to take it directly from PA Child Care.

Ciavarella: Well, how did you justify the fees into the firm? Powell: Draw. I took it as a draw.
Conahan: But you’re allowed to do that.

Powell: But what his fear is about that I never told him, for obvious reasons. I
wasn’t going to tell him I was taking the draw.

Conahan: The problem [name redacted] has is she never gave me anything. So there wasn’t anything given to her. She has it. Or someone has it.

* * *

Ciavarella: ...I was the one who directed [Mericle] where to send that money
and I was the one who gave him the instructions as to where to send it.

* * *
Powell: Well, [Mericle’s] grand jury testimony is that I was the grand orchestrator of everything.
Ciavarella: Well I guarantee you, Bobby Powell, that will not be the testimony comes out of my mouth because I’m gonna tell that fucking grand jury exactly how that deal came down. You had nothing to do with He had nothing to do with it. I had nothing to do with it, other than
Rob Mericle coming to me and saying want to do this for you. That’s how that deal came down.

* * *
Conahan: [Mericle] knew that we [Conahan and Ciavarella] owned Pinnacle.
He knew who owned Beverage Marketing.

22

Powell: Well, if that’s the case, then our only problem is the cash and [name redacted].

Conahan: Well....

Powell: ...and if somebody sees [redacted] at the [person’s workplace redacted], I wish you would get word to me somehow, some way,
‘cause I call up there and there’s no answer. Conahan: We have to fight this Mericle thing....
Ciavarella: You know, I could see [Mericle] testifying, this is the file.

* * *
Powell: We’re both gonna have to stick to that, Mickey, ‘cause [name redacted] is gonna testify.

Conahan: [unintelligible] testify [unintelligible] one box filled with cash. She doesn’t know what’s in the other ones. There’s only one that she knows.

Powell: It’s going to be our word against hers. Conahan: Mark (Ciavarella), do me a favor.
* * *
Conahan: Listen, you paid me rent for my condo. You didn’t pay me rent for my condo to shut the juvenile detention center down or fix cases. This thing with Mericle, this Mericle, I gotta fight it. And I got no
boxes from [name redacted]. Nobody gave boxes to [name redacted]. If somebody gave boxes to [name redacted], she has them....Mark doesn’t know [unintelligible] [name redacted]. I talked to you. Because I wanted to keep him outta this.

Powell: He doesn’t know about the cash? Conahan: No.

23

Powell: Alright. I’m glad you told me. Conahan: No. That’s not what I was saying. Powell: I’m sorry.
Conahan: That’s OK. So [unintelligible] comes down I’m gonna say forget whatever you just heard. The only thing Mark knows, Mark does not know the rent you and I negotiated for the condo. It’s $15,000 for 60 months. $900,000. That’s what you were supposed to pay.
Whenever you paid, you paid. You left. So, the only thing Mark knows is the conversation with Mericle. He doesn’t know about the rent to the cond. He knows that you paid me rent. He doesn’t know about any boxes. That’s why he’s our most credible witness.

Powell: I understand.

Conahan: So, as long as you stick to your story, the condo rent, okay. And he solves this problem. If [name redacted] got boxes, she kept them.

Powell: Alright, then I won’t ever say anything to him again.

Conahan: And the only one that you can testify to is when she says that she saw you put cash in one box. Her first story was she didn’t. Then she flipped and she says she did. Okay. But I’m gonna tell you, she didn’t give me any boxes. And if you gave her stuff to give to me,
the [name redacted], it was documents. Maps. It was anything. And you did things by courier. You never gave them to her.

Powell: That’s our story. We’ll stick to it.

Conahan: Yeah. She’s wearing a wire. That’s why she didn’t show up today.

(Emphasis Added).

* * *

24

Conahan to plead guilty

Ciavarella still holding out.

SCRANTON - Former Luzerne County Judge Michael Conahan has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to a single count of racketeering conspiracy.