"The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words."- Philip K. Dick
Paper trails are a hard thing to hide. The Bonusgate players are finding that tenent a harsh reality. However, Judge Michael Toole is not leaving a paper trail but a cataclysmic trial trail the size and devastation associated with Chernobyl.
The latest news concerns the fact that disgraced Judge Toole continued to hear cases after he agreed to a plea deal with the FBI. According to Mark Guydish's column in the Times Leader the potential fallout is an unknown number at this point.
A partial review of Toole’s docket showed he had about 200 people – and probably quite a few more – appear before him since he signed the plea agreement Sept. 25. At times he had as many as 25 in a single day of rapid-fire guilty pleas, pre-arranged by attorneys...... the fact that Judge Michael Toole continued adjudicating for weeks after signing a plea agreement on corruption charges sits like a ticking time bomb with a potential no one can predict.
Toole worked at disgraced former Judge Ciavarella's law firm where he picked up some other fairly prominent government assignments. Maybe he picked up some bad habits there, too.
The same attorney names keep popping up in the Toole saga, Harry Cardoni and John Nardone. The latest news concerns an arbitration case where both names are involved. There is an allegation that an arbitrator was accused of improperly providing information to one of the litigants.
In addition to that case it has also been revealed that the two attorneys own a business together, Carnar Realty Company.
Records show Cardoni also sold a property on Reliance Drive in Wilkes-Barre to Doug and Sandra Namey Richards. Doug Richards was terminated at county human resources director Nov. 18 for failing to answer the administration’s questions about Continental Consultants Group, a company under investigation by federal agents.
Ther person who must really be pissed in this whole situation is Judge Chester Muroski. Toole put in for a "vacation request" after he signed his plea deal. Muroski talked to the media and said he has consulted with state officials and has determined that Judge Michael Toole’s decision to take a few weeks off for vacation is within the reasonable standard for judges....Toole notified Muroski last week that he will be on vacation for the next "few weeks." Uhh..Judge Toole make that the next few years.
With all of the public corruption brought to light in Luzerne County it only justifies this statement contained in A Report Released By Corporate Crime Reporter to the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on January 16, 2004,"....if a public official wants to violate his or her trust, the laws don’t stand in the way.
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