Lupas familly saga

I have to admit to having corruption fatigue. I still read the stories in the local press but haven't posted about the 3o+ people charged and convicted in the ongoing probe lately. Maybe I'm succumbing to the cynicism of many people I know that have been resigned to the fact that we have been ruled by crooks for a long time and think things will go back to business as usual once the heat is off. All the attention has been on the corrupt public official that have been convicted of taking bribes but now another one of the people paying the bribes has been sentenced to jail.

SCRANTON - ... local engineer Michael J. Pasonick was sentenced to one year prison, a $250,0000 fine and two years probation on federal charges he bribed a school board official.
U.S. District Judge Richard P. Conaboy acknowledged all the good Pasonick has done, including recently opening a food pantry he plans to turn into a soup kitchen, but called his actions "reprehensible." Conaboy also cited Pasonick's cooperation with federal authorities in landing "seven or eight" convictions of public officials," but noted "you were not charged for much of your questionable conduct."

Next up is Bob Mericle. If somebody is taking bribes someone is paying them.

Now longtime Wilkes-Barre Area solicitor is accused of running a ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 30 people who trusted him with their life savings. The victims are being represented by Earnie Preate of all people. I'm not sure what is worse, defrauding us nameless/faceless taxpayers or people you have a relationship with at church or who think of you as a friend.

W-B Area solicitor resigns amid probe

The whole thing started unraveling. Records in the county Prothonotary's Office indicate Lupas has defaulted on three loans since last April, owing more than $300,000 in principal, interest and fees.

Luzerne County Judge David Lupas sounded like an ungrateful child when asked about his father's troubles.
"I haven't talked to my father in some time," the judge said.

Then this bombshell dropped explaining why he hasn't talked to him.

CV:
Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas said in a statement released today that he provided information to authorities investigating his father, attorney Anthony J. Lupas Jr., for allegedly running a multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme.

Wow!

In 2003 Lupas the senior bankrolled Lupas the junior's bid for Luzerne County DA to the the tune of $750,000. You now have to wonder where the money came from.

Lupas tenure as DA was dominated by the Hugo Selinski case. He couldn't get a murder conviction of a guy with 5 bodies in his back yard and repeatedly screwed up on procedural issues in this and other cases. He went on to be a Luzerne County Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and was put in charge of Juvenile Court. While he was the DA many of the abuses that happened under Judge Mark Ciavarella occurred. Lupas and Jackie Mo didn't pay attention to the Juvenile Court

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.

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

Would you loan this guy money?

This one has me shaking my head. Former Judge Mark Ciavarella defaulted on a loan from a bank in Minersville. You have to wonder why a bank would approve a loan to an unemployed person under federal indictment who is a defendant in multi-million dollar civil lawsuits that had previously defaulted on a business loan from Louis DeNaples bank. Miners Bank had previously been used to pay the bribes from Robert Powell and Bob Mericle to the Juvie Brothers.

.

Scooch and his fellow defendant Michael Conahan filed a bunch of motions last week to delay their eventual trial alleging a violation of attorney client privilege, asking for new Judge and a change of venue.

Nancy, we hardly knew ya

15 down and hundreds to go.

The TL and CV are reporting that Wyoming Valley West School Board President and executive director of the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority Allen Bellas has signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and is expected to be charged soon with accepting money for an official action. He also served on the LCCC Board of Trustees from 2003 to 2007 and the feds are also looking at that outfit. If you are keeping score at home that makes it 15 people that have now been charged with corruption in Luzerne County this year.

His wife, Nancy Bellas, is the Democratic nominee for Luzerne County Prothonotary. Not knowing her connections I was surprised that she won the primary against Duryea politico Art Akulonis and the most qualified candidate Gerald Mullery. Now it makes sense or should I say nonsense.

I have been predicting for months that Republican Carolee Medico Olenginski would win the election and fair or not this probably just sealed the deal.

I spent the afternoon browsing Bellas' campaign finance reports that ace Election Bureau honcho Leonard Piazza has posted on the county website and they have many familiar names. She accepted money from Bob Mericle after he was identified as being one of the two bribers of the Juvie Brothers. Other highlights are contributions from Maryanne Petrilla, Bob Reilly, Jim Blaum, Frank Crossin, Murry Uffberg, Bill Joyce, Mike Pasonick, AJ Lupas, Mike Butera and other cast members of the local Democratic establishment.

The Mericle of money

Multi-party Bob Mericle was named as Participant number 2 in the Juvie Brothers bribery scandal that hit the news last January and in August he was charged with being part of it.

He is going to skate.

That hasn't prevented him from greasing the wheels this year as he has always done.

The Pennsylvania Department of State’s Campaign Finance website lists the money Mericle has been spreading around just this year. It's an old habit with Bob.

March 17th he gave $500 to State Rep John Yudichak

May 27th $10,000.00 to State Senator Ray Musto

On July 1st Mike Carroll recieved $2500 from Bob.


The kicker is his May 24th contribution to Bill Amesbury, Luzerne County Judge candidate, on May 24th of $500.

Update: Mericle donated $100 to Democratic Prothonotary candidate Nancy Bellas on April 9th

Multi-party Bob/Youtube weekend

There are so many things that I want to write about but I caught the dreaded drombone of head colds so I'm just going to use Youtube videos to make my point. Maybe I will have to go before one of Obama's Death Panel's to decide if my life is worth saving.

Mericle pleads guilty

He gives a $1 million "finder's fee" to a judge on a $6 million building project and that is OK according to the US Attorney's Office and faces maybe 4 months in jail despite that the fact that he lied to the FBI and IRS but he is "cooperating" with the investigation. Such fargon BS and it just goes to show that if you have enough money you can buy your way out of just about anything.

How is paying a bribe to a Judge not a crime?




Here are some videos from Barry and Cindy that come to mind.







Back to listening/watching Madonna

About that finder's fee

SCRANTON - Prominent area developer Robert Mericle has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of failing to report a felony, Acting U.S. Attorney Dennis Pfannenschmidt announced today.

.

The agreement, which was signed July 31, calls for Mericle to plead guilty to one count of failing to report a felony. Prosecutors say Mericle failed to disclose his knowledge that former judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella had accepted kickbacks in exchange for rulings that benefited the PA and Western PA juvenile detention centers that Mericle built.

.

The centers were owned at the time by Gregory Zappala and Robert Powell. Powell has also entered a guilty plea in the case. Included in the plea agreement Mericle has also agreed to pay $2.15 million for funding programs that will benefit "the health, safety and general welfare of children of Luzerne County." I guess you can try to buy your way out of anything.

.

Alternate headlines from Big Dan

.

"IT'S MIRACLE! MERICLE FINALLY CHARGED!"

.

IT'S A MERICLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!""MERICLES DO HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!"

.

McGruff has

.

Robert Mericle- No Miracle Could Avoid Pleading Guilty

.

And my favorite

.

Pfahrvergnügen from Pfannenschmidt

No more borrowing

County may face cuts and tax hikes

I have some mixed emotions about Luzerne County Commissioner Chair Maryanne Petrilla.

On the one hand I will always hold a grudge because she was recuited to take out the most effective Controller we ever had, Steve Flood, who sounded the alarm bells about the 20 year/$58 million lease with PA Child Care. The place was owned at the time by Greg Zappala and Robert Powell. Since then we have learned that Powell and multi party developer Robert Mericle were paying off the Juvie Brothers to put kids in their private prison.


On the other hand she has been upfront about limits of borrowing to balance the county budget since she became a commissioner and teamed up with Republican Commissioner Steve Urban to restore some sanity. The county is tapped out so borrowing more money for a new prison or anything else is out of the question. There is only so much you can cut so we can expect a big tax increase next year on top of the reassessment that doubled or tripled taxes on some people.

“Raising taxes is a very tough decision that one has to take very, very seriously. But at the same time, I said many times that I can’t make decisions today and tomorrow based on hoping to get re-elected in four years."-Maryanne Petrilla

No honor among thieves

Former Judge Mark Ciavarella denies that he extorted payments from PA Child Care owner Robert Powell calling him a liar. Wired for sound attorney Powell says he did exactly that and claims to be a victim of the Judges greed. The part that I found to be funny was when Ciavella contended that Robert Mericle just walked into his office one day and offered to give him almost a million dollars as a "finders fee." I wish I had such generous friends.

Reassessment

TL: The company hired to reassess Luzerne County property values had argued in court that the county has a contractual obligation to pay the company to manage and defend the county against Hanover Township resident Vic Kopko’s property assessment court challenge.

But the county's newly hired legal guns say not so fast. Philadelphia based Elliott Greenleaf & Dean is getting $300+ per hour to defend the county in the lawsuit. Why in-house lawyers can't handle this is puzzling. Staff Solicitor David Schwager, who represents the assessment appeals board, doesn’t have time to devote to the Kopko case because he’s busy processing mediations, commissioners said. Every county department, board and agency has a solicitor which may or may not be mandated by state law. It seems like there are hundreds of them. The GSC should look at creating a solicitors office with a staff of attorneys that would handle all county legal business. Rosenn Jenkins & Greenwald was originally hired but pulled out because of a claimed conflict that Dr. Kopko called bullshit. “I believe they’re smelling a case that they can’t win,” Kopko said.

Some more fun with reassessment include The Luzerne County Assessor’s Office has failed to fully value and tax a Rice Township residential property that’s on the market for an asking price of $649,000. The home is owned by Angelo Terrana. Terrana sits on the county Board of Assessment Appeals, which oversees the assessor’s office. Plus there is Participant 2's multi-party Bob Mericle's dance over a Wilkes-Barre property that he owns. We own a rental double block and one side is valued $8000 more than the other but for the most part the houses are the same. 21st Century may have got a few things wrong.

And I got this in the inbox:


Gort:


Would love to give you an update on reassessment. The law has been violated and the county knows it! Apparently the rats are turning on each other as 21st Century (who will be held responsible along with the commissioners and others) filed a brief indicating, and you guessed it, that reassessment is now illegal based on county actions and the settling, or tanking, based on your perspective, has reduced the equalized values.


Oh, by the way, mediation is absolutely illegal, appears nowhere in the 3rd Class County Reassessment Law, and was signed into "law" by none other than Mark "I'm gonna do time" Ciavarella. The process does not address the sweetheart deals for politician's and their family/friends/political contributors which it will when we file for removal in a few weeks. My attorneys and I are confident that we will prevail. We have to ..for the people! For as many on the ridiculously high side values, their are the ridiculously low values.


Please keep in mind that I met with the commissioners to head this off. I asked them for three things; 1) correct the overs and unders on reassessment (Urban indicated that he knew of at least 5 municipalities "grossly undervalued". He said he would not address those and each municipality should file an appeal in 2010. Not happening since the politicians in those municipalities need their constituents votes to get re-elected. 2) Guarantee no more tax increases since the base has been adjusted (Petrilla answered, "No way, can't do it" Could you blame her with the corruption and mismanagement of funds that have gone on? She is a party to it! 3) Return the windfall fees to taxpayers since their is evidence that 95% of individuals did not receive their Pa certified appraisal amounts and were beaten down because they could not afford anymore attorney fees or associated costs. (Can anyone say, collusion?)


It goes on and on. There will be 25 items that clearly has violated the law, let alone adding the county corruption issues in. I would enjoy to fill you in more. By the way, keep calling the Sue Henry Show.

Dr. Victor P. Kopko

Marino testifies

SCRANTON – Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole’s tipstaff Tom Marino testified for more than 1 hour Tuesday before a federal grand jury investigating corruption within the county.

He was issued a subpoena on June 1. The Feds are looking into money Participant 1 Robert Powell paid to Toole. Zen says it was $82,000 for his services for refusing to rule on subpoenas issued by then Controller Steve Flood when he was looking into the county contract with PA Child Care in 2005 then owned by Powell and Greg Zappala. Toole could have ruled against the subpoenas, but that would have given Flood a chance to appeal to get the subpoenas enforced. Toole was also a guest at the Juvie Brothers Florida condo least once and also ruled on a dispute involving Robert Powell's yacht.


Prosecutors say Powell knew that Conahan and Ciavarella were committing a crime when they accepted the kickbacks from Powell and local developer Participant 2 Robert Mericle, but failed to report it. He also helped the judges disguise the source of the money he and Mericle paid.

No pension for you

Two ex-judges denied pensions


Former Luzerne County judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan are not entitled to their pensions and could be liable to reimburse the state $4.3 million for higher juvenile placement costs it says are tied to the kickback scheme the jurists engaged in, the State Employees’ Retirement System has determined.


Conahan has been collecting 8 grand a month since he retired and Ciavarella was slated to get over $5K but has not received any payments. Ciavarella also tried to cash out his contributions after he was charged but the state pension fund refused his request. Conahan's timing was better and got a lump sum payment of $302,777.09.

.


And the assertion of Robert Powell that he was strong armed into paying the Juvie Brothers all that money in bribes is laughable. They also forced him to invest in the real estate deal with them and Jill Moran in Mountaintop. The fact that Powell was wearing a wire after the Feds pinched him hit the papers this week and I'm sure that my faithful readers will remember that was first reported on this blog in January.


.

The headlines about Bob Mericle and Judge Toole should be coming soon.

Juvie Brothers update

SCRANTON – Four months after publicly portraying himself as the victim of extortion by two rogue judges, attorney Robert Powell has admitted he was a willing participant in helping the disgraced jurists conceal part of their illegal activities....

When it was first revealed that Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan were taking bribes the question was who was paying them. The indictments identified them as Participant 1 and 2. Participant 1 was later identified as Robert Powell co-owner along with Greg Zappalla of PA Child Care in Pittston Twp. Many of the kids that got railroaded through Ciavarella's courtroom ended up there or their other venture Western PA Child Care. Participant 2 is multi-party Bob Mericle who's company built the Pittston Twp. facility. We await the headlines about the biggest real estate tax payer (minus KOZ's, LERTA's, etc) in Luzerne County in the near future.

Remember that Powell, Zappala and former Hazleton Mayor Michael Marsicano wanted to use taxpayer money to buy the land from them to build a Fantasy Airport near Hazleton. State House Majority Leader Todd Eachus and Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak were hot for the idea.

The US Attorney has charged Powell with conspiracy to commit tax evasion and part of his plea agreement includes forfeiting his yacht and private jet.

When he gets out of jail in 5 1/2 years he will need a new ride. This might get him around:

Ciavarella wants his pension

And you thought that the AIG bonuses were outrageous. According to the story in the CV by Dave Janoski former Luzerne County President judge Mark Ciavarella may be able to collect $6800 a month until he is sentenced for taking bribes for sending kids to the PA Child Care facility in Pittston Twp. The other juvie brother Michael Conahan has been pulling in $8073 a month since he retired in January 2008 and was even able to cash out part of his pension ($300,00) before the shit hit the fan. Both have plead guilty in the probe and will serve 87 months in prison if Federal Judge Edwin Kosik agrees to their plea agreement. Kosik could reject the agreement and this could drag out for a long time.

In other juvie brother news Participant 2, multi-party Bob Mericle, has hired some big legal guns to defend himself in 2 of the class action suits. Although he does not face criminal charges, Mericle and his company have much at stake in the civil-rights claims filed by more than 175 former defendants in the county’s juvenile court. The suits seek millions in damages from Mericle, the judges, and other individuals and companies implicated in the federal case on the grounds that the juveniles were wrongly imprisoned and denied legal representation.

Juvie Brothers update

Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella gave an interview to the UK newspaper the Guardian and claimed the bribes he got from PA Child Care owner Robert Powell and builder of the facility Robert Mericle were "finder's fee" from the private company for help in building the detention centre. He denies sending children to custody in return for kickbacks. "Cash for kids? It never happened. People have jumped to conclusions - I didn't do any of these things." That's a creative use of language. It sounds like a meter was keeping track of the kids he locked up and putting a cash value on them. Not to mention that Judges are not supposed to be in the business of helping anyone build anything financed by the taxpayers.



This thing is calling into question many cases that Ciavarella or Judge Michael Conahan have ever presided over. A reasonable question to ask if they were taking bribes to lock up kids what else was for sale? Conahan vacated a jury verdict in the case of a Tunkhannock physician that found in his favor and awarded the plaintiff $1 million. I didn't know that a Judge could reverse a jury. The Citizen Voice is contending that a $3.5 million defamation verdict issued by suspended Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. in June 2006 against The Scranton Times L.P., a related company called The Times Partner and former Citizens’ Voice reporter Edward Lewis was fixed. I have other examples but you get the idea.