Civarella Sentence- 28 Years

Judge Edwin Kosik sentenced former Judge Mark Ciavarella to 28 years in prison. According to Sue Henry of WILK news radio Ciavarella intends on surrendering today.

Update:  The Times Leader is reporting this storyM on the sentencing of disgraced former Judge Mark Ciavarella in what the U.S. Attorney's Office is calling the most corrupt investigation in local history. The federal investigation, the largest and the most sustained political corruption inquiry in the history of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, was initiated under the direction of former U.S. Attorney Martin C. Carlson, now a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Middle District, and continued under Dennis C. Pfannenschmidt, who succeeded Carlson as court-appointed U.S. Attorney in 2009, and Smith, the current U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Did The Jury Send The Wrong Message In Ciavarella's Conviction?

Before I get into Ciavarella's conviction one must take a good hard look at the picture of a mother who lost her son as a result of circumstances that started in Ciavarella's courtroom. Look at the pain captured so well in her eyes and expression by the Times Leader photography department.

For the Ciavarella family and Attorney Al Flora to claim "victory" was the ultimate slap of hypocrisy and flamboyant attitude displayed during the entire trial. His smirks, his smiles, and general demeanor where disgusting to see regardless of what he thinks he did or did not do. In the eyes of the public taking money, regardless of the charges, is something a JUDGE does not do. It doesn't just create distrust of the individual, it nutures and breeds distrust of the entire system and those working in it. Defense Attorney Al Flora's claim of "victory" will most likely be short lived when the civil cases are adjudicated.

Onto the jury. Today I read the breakdown chart in the Citizen's Voice. All of the charges involving actually money paid to Ciavarella were found NOT GUILTY. Their finding sends the wrong message to the public, but more importantly to public officials.

Mark Ciavarella can play that part that he was "duped" and "dragged into" this scheme by Robert Powell. However, according to his testimony he was up to his eyeballs in debt and saw an easy way out of the self proclaimed, excessive spending by himself and his family. He tried to keep up with the Jones but was no match.

I agree with their assertions that Ciavarella didn't "extort" money from Powell. It was an exclusive club where all shared in the profits. Attorney Al Flora exorted that Mark Ciavarella" never took a kickback, never took a bribe..." Well, Al, he did take over a million dollars, what was it a donation?

Taking money as a sitting Judge in the manner described in this matter has to be a crime of some sort, at least a kickback. Ciavvarella, in that video, stated he never took a kickback from Robert Mericle. Then why did he go to pains to try to hide it? If it wasn't a problem why didn't he claim it on his income taxes?

No one made the claim that each child sentenced resulted in a direct payment to Ciavarella. But to ignore the power of a judge to sentence enough children to a facility so that its revenue pays the bills is ludicrous. And to me, regardless of how the Ciavarellas feel, it was a kids for cash scheme- sentence the kids to keep the facility afloat and make money.

The jury found Ciavarella guilty of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, consipracy to defraud the United States, and filing false tax returns. While those verdicts are enough to send Mark Ciavarella away for 13 to 15 years, it doesn't square up with the public.

TARAH TOOHIL RESPONDS TO EACHUS'S NEWEST ATTACKS

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE COMMITTEE TO ELECT TARAH TOOHIL

Hazleton, PA- On Tuesday, candidate for State Representative Tarah Toohil, was informed by various media outlets that Mr. Eachus was hand-delivering his newest round of false and baseless attacks to the press.

In response, Toohil remarked, “Once again, it is sad that Mr. Eachus is stooping so low and that he thinks his conduct is acceptable and seems to even be proud of himself. My opponent is exactly what is wrong with politics today. I am running a volunteer, grassroots campaign, fighting for this community… about the issues NOT a lowly mudslinging campaign that represents the worst of politics today. After 15 years in office, shouldn’t my opponent be able to run on his record? He can't run on his record. He is running from it."

Toohil stated, “Unlike Mr. Eachus, I will always be open, honest, transparent and accountable with the people of my community. I will gladly answer any questions anyone might have."

"I am a lawyer. I served as a law clerk for the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas. When a person is hired by the County to be a law clerk it is always via a Court Order. These Court Orders are signed by the President Judge of the County. I never worked for Mark Ciavarella.”

“Secondly, I have never represented anyone in connection with the Federal Luzerne County Corruption Probe. Mr. Eachus on the other hand is embroiled in the corruption scandal in Luzerne County. Mr. Eachus is tied closely with and has accepted money from many of the major players and admitted felons: Bob Powell, Robert Mericle and Gregory Skrepenak. To name a few. All you have to do is follow the money trail. Those are the facts. I would highly suggest that before Mr. Eachus attacks me again, he takes the time to confirm that the statements he makes are true. Because the statements he made today are misleading and incorrect.”

Paid for by The Committee To Elect Tarah Toohil..

Feds Request Mellow Rental Documents

From LuLac Political Letter

Feds Request Mellow Rental Documents In Ongoing Investigation

Let's see. So far there are no comments but we know the Feds raided his home and senatorial office, the home of his aide, and now request documents related to the renting of his office.

It reminds me of a situation that occurred in 1989. Midway through his 1989 trial, Judge Arthur Dalessandro plead guilty to attempted tax evasion and was later sentenced to one year in federal prison. He was getting divorced at the time and there were rumors his wife, Florence, had something to do with contacting the feds.

Mr. Kulick, 60, of Bear Creek Twp, is a former aide to the late U.S. Rep. Daniel J. Flood. In 1988, he was sentenced to two years in prison in an income tax evasion investigation that also resulted in a one-year prison sentence for then-Luzerne County Judge Arthur D. Dalessandro. Judge Dalessandro failed to report income from a car dealership where Mr. Kulick was general manager, federal prosecutors charged.

Oddly enough it was former Judge Mark Ciavarella who defended Dalessandro in a federal lawsuit brought by the Internal Revenue Service in 1993 to collect $186,899.17 in unpaid taxes plus interest and penalties.

What a small community of misfits if you ask me. Disclaimer- Mellow denies any wrong doing. Advice- Never piss off a woman who wants to become your ex.

So What Is Really Up In Luzerne County?

For a while I have been trying to tell people that the FBi didn't send agents in from Washington to arrest someone for accepting a $1,500.00 suit. It takes a lot of money and resources to mobilize such an investigative team. In discussions with friends I reminded them that the uninsured/under insured motorists issue has not been resolved or brought to light as of yet.

The Legal Intelligencer wrote this article on May 5, 2009. Its extensive contents seem to point in that direction.

In a potentially explosive document filed Monday, the attorneys for PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care claim that money paid to two former Luzerne County, Pa., judges was not a "kids for cash" arrangement, but was part of a corrupt courthouse system that included fixing civil cases.

The attorneys, who also represent Gregory Zappala and the juvenile detention facilities, allege that former Luzerne County President Judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan Jr. were paid more than $2.6 million for "favorable panels or results in automobile arbitration cases or other civil cases, and not for adjudication and commitment of the delinquents."

The child-care provider defendants in the case deny all knowledge of any alleged kickback scheme.

They claimed the "information relevant to this belief … is in the control of" the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. They also claimed that they could not conduct thorough discovery while the investigation is ongoing and that "if the outcome of the investigations is as provider defendants expects, all discovery will be unnecessary."

The allegations represent a clear departure from those made by federal authorities in criminal cases.

PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care, though, claim their allegations can be backed by Luzerne County Common Pleas Court judges and attorneys who have received target letters from federal investigators.


It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Court Is For The Birds According To Allegations Against Ciavarella

A lawsuit filed against disgraced former judge Mark Ciavarella alleges he sentenced a juvenile, Raul Clark, to six months of detention based on the number of birds perched on a ledge at the Luzerne County Courthouse. The details are in this article which appeared in today's Standard Speaker written by Michael Sisak.

"Ciavarella's cavalier conduct demonstrates that what took place before him was nothing more than theater for (his) amusement," Clark's attorneys said.

Forty Fort Attorney Joseph Cosgrove Recommended For Luzerne County Judicial Seat

The Times Leader is reporting that Governor Ed Rendell has nominated Attorney Joseph Cosgrove to fill the vacancy caused by the departure of disgraced former judge Mark Ciavarella.

From Rendell's press release:

“Joe Cosgrove is a highly intelligent and very accomplished lawyer and litigator, who has distinguished himself in the field of law as well as the general community,” Governor Rendell said. “He is an educator, a legal scholar, and a man held in very high regard by his colleagues. His nomination stands as assurance to the people to the LuzerneCounty that I am determined to appoint judges who are persons of experience, intellect and integrity.”

Cosgrove has been in private law practice since 1982. Prior to that, he was a law clerk in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, a Luzerne County Assistant Public Defender, and Luzerne County Conflict Counsel.

He has also been an adjunct faculty member at King’s College in Wilkes Barre, teaching Constitutional Law and Civil Rights. In addition, he is a member of the Criminal Justice Act Panel of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Cosgrove holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government and International Studies, a Master of Arts in Theology, and a Juris Doctorate; all from the University of Notre Dame. He also earned a Master of Studio Arts degree from MarywoodCollege in Scranton.

He is a past president of the Luzerne County Bar Association, of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and a past chair of the Luzerne County Board of Elections.

Cosgrove has been a member of numerous legal advisory committees on the local, state and U.S. Appeal Court levels.

Supreme Court Vacates Juvenile Convictions Back To 2003

Times Leader Photo
According to a Times Leader article out of Harrisburg Pennsylvania's Highest Court has vacated all of the juvenile cases heard before disgraced ex-Judge Mark Ciavarella since 2003. Its order also disallows retrial of all the cases but a handful.

In issuing the ruling, the high court said it agreed with Grim's assessment that Ciavarella had shown a "complete disregard for the constitutional rights of juveniles who appeared before him."

"We conclude that the record supports Judge Grim's determination that Ciavarella knew he was violating both the law and the procedural rules promulgated by this court applicable when adjudicating the merits of juvenile cases without the knowing, intelligent and voluntary waiver of counsel by the juveniles," the court wrote.

Grim had also recommended that Luzerne County District Attorney's office be barred from retrying all but a handful of cases based on the double jeopardy statute, a constitutional prohibition against trying a person twice for the same crime. Grim based that recommendation on his finding that Ciavarella engaged in intentional conduct meant to deprive juveniles of their rights. That triggered the double jeopardy statute, he said.

The Supreme Court agreed with Grim that the vast majority of cases cannot be retried, but declined to adopt Grim's reasoning regarding the double jeopardy statute. The court instead said it was granting that relief solely "in the interest of justice."

SOP believes this order is far reaching and Judges in Pennsylvania should take note. In reading the court's order it is an indictment of actions by a judge that would introduce an element of prejudice by a judge.

The transcripts reveal a disturbing lack of fundamental process, inimical to any system of justice, and made even more grievous since these matters involved juveniles.

During the hearing conducted by President Judge Platt in Joseph v. The Scranton Times, 19 MM 2009, Ciavarella admitted under oath that he had received payments from Robert Powell, a co-owner of the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care facilities, and from Robert K. Mericle, the developer who constructed the juvenile facilities, during the period of time that Ciavarella was presiding over juvenile matters in Luzerne County. It is a matter of record that Ciavarella routinely committed juveniles to one or another of these facilities. It is also a matter of record that Ciavarella failed to disclose his ties to Powell, much less the financial benefits he received in connection with the facilities to which he routinely committed Luzerne County juveniles. Ciavarella’s admission that he received these payments, and that he failed to disclose his financial interests arising from the development of the juvenile facilities, thoroughly undermines the integrity of all juvenile proceedings before Ciavarella. Whether or not a juvenile was represented by counsel, and whether or not a juvenile was committed to one of the facilities which secretly funneled money to Ciavarella and Conahan, this Court cannot have any confidence that Ciavarella decided any Luzerne County juvenile case fairly and impartially while he labored under the
specter of his self-interested dealings with the facilities.

At a federal hearing yesterday Mark Ciavarella had "No comment." FINALLY!

Judge Muroski Testimony Before Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice

Times Leader Photo

In reading the testimony of Judge Muroski I found one part particularly curious.

Since the indictments were announced there has been considerable media and public criticism about "why didn't the Judges do anything- they had to know." He goes on to desceribe some mechanisms that may support the reason Judges were kept in the dark. But this line is not as clear.

Prior to that I had never received a letter or any other notice of the systemic deprivation of counsel. I do not recall any news coverage regarding these issues, except for the 2004 incident regarding placement.

It is a shame that this particular story didn't receive the attention it deserved. The heartbreak of Richard and Gloria Habel over their daughter, Elizabeth, with the Luzerne County juvenile court system is compelling enough to keep it in the forefront.

A family’s nightmare
Plymouth girl, her parents upset with treatment she’s received in her nine months in state custody.
By JOHN DAVIDSON

Times Leader

October 29, 2006

PLYMOUTH – Richard and Gloria Habel pulled into the West Side Vo-Tech High School parking lot one morning in mid-February to a flashing array of emergency vehicles. Their daughter Elizabeth, then 14, was handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser, drunk, and crying, “James O’Brien raped me.”

Police said Elizabeth came to school that morning highly intoxicated with two friends. One of those friends was in the back seat of another cruiser; the other was in an ambulance, being rushed to the hospital to get her stomach pumped.

Authorities locked up Elizabeth in juvenile detention that day, and aside from a brief visit in September, she hasn’t been home since. Elizabeth was on probation that February morning for a simple assault charge in the spring of 2005. Showing up at school intoxicated was a violation of the probation conditions.

Four days after her arrest, Elizabeth provided authorities with a detailed – at times graphic – written account of the alleged sexual assault by O’Brien. A month later, police arrested James F. O’Brien, 26, at his Plymouth apartment on charges of statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors and furnishing alcohol to minors. He is currently awaiting trial.

O’Brien previously served time in prison after he was charged as a juvenile in 1997 with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. He said in a 2001 interview that the charges were related to sexual abuse of his 5-year-old nephew.

To date, Elizabeth has been locked up longer than O’Brien.

Elizabeth’s story

After the drinking incident at school, Elizabeth was sent to juvenile detention for several months while she awaited a hearing before Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella. While confined to Dorm A, Room 2 of the Luzerne County Juvenile Center in Pittston, she wrote a detailed affidavit explaining how she met O’Brien one afternoon while walking across the Carey Avenue Bridge with some girlfriends – and how, a few weeks later, he lured her to his apartment, where he allegedly plied her and her friends with alcohol before assaulting Elizabeth.

But the affidavit was for the district attorney’s office and their case against O’Brien; it had nothing to do with the adjudication of Elizabeth’s case.

After nearly two months in juvenile detention, Elizabeth went before Ciavarella and was sentenced to a program called Vision Quest, some 400 miles away from home in Franklin County. Richard and Gloria say they were never notified of the hearing or the sentencing.

“They told me I was going away and I said, ‘what about my family?’ Because every other time they called and told my parents,” Elizabeth said in an interview at Bridgeview in Wilkes-Barre, where she was transferred this summer. “I had to go to that hearing by myself. And they don’t explain anything; they tell you where you’re going and you’re gone.”

In the nine months since Ciavarella sentenced Elizabeth, the Habels have watched helplessly as judges, state psychologists and probation officers have shuffled her among juvenile detention centers, residential treatment facilities and psychiatric hospitals.

Elizabeth has been interned in at least four different facilities since February, including a brief stay at The Meadows Psychiatric Center in Centre Hall, where she was sent after “failing to adjust” to her program at Vision Quest.

At Vision Quest, Elizabeth said, she received no therapy or counseling related to the alleged sexual assault. The staff “screamed in your face,” she said, describing the facility as more of a military-style boot camp than a treatment center.

In lieu of counseling, Elizabeth was given powerful prescription drugs, including Zoloft and Prozac. Not only were the Habels never consulted about the medications, they weren’t notified when staff doctors decided to change them.

“When we saw her the first time, she was real agitated, she couldn’t sit still and she told us the drugs they were giving her were making her angry and depressed,” Gloria said. “I did some research on my own and I couldn’t believe they would give her these things without consulting us.”

“This is what I don’t understand – how she can be sent to this place and put on these psychotropic drugs and we have no say in the matter,” Richard said. “She’s our daughter, someone should’ve asked us.”

Drug treatments aside, Richard and Gloria weren’t prepared for what they saw at the Vision Quest facility after driving there to visit Elizabeth for the first time last spring.

The first sign that something was wrong: TV news vans were lined up outside the facility.

The day before, the Habels later learned, there had been a riot. About 30 girls attacked staff members with rock-filled socks; some escaped into the woods during the fracas and were later caught.

“There were about a dozen state police cruisers there that morning,” Richard Habel said. “This was where the judge sent my daughter.”

“Harder than it had to be”

The Habels now hope for a judicial decision that, to them, would seem like a miracle. Elizabeth is scheduled to go before Ciavarella on Tuesday, and there is a chance she could finally be allowed to return home.

The ordeal has shaken the Habels as a family, and ultimately brought them closer. But, they say, any good that has come from their daughter’s nine months away from home has been despite her placement, not because of it.

“Liz is closer to us than ever before, and she’s very respectful and loving towards us and her sister,” Gloria said. “But it didn’t have to be like this. We shouldn’t – no parent should – have to go through what we’ve been through.”

For her part, Elizabeth is resilient and speaks clearly and confidently about what’s happened to her.

“I’ve learned so much through all this, but they made it so much harder than it had to be,” she said. “I just wish someone would have listened to me and respected me enough to understand what was really going on.”

John Davidson, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7210.

Your honor, respectively, that story is from 2006.

Court Stenographer Testimony Before Judicial Conduct Board

In today's Times Leader Terri Morgan-Besecker reports that a court stenographer in the center of a pay dispute was identified as the woman who accompanied Attorney John H. Kennedy to the Florida condo in Jupiter.

A court reporter who received a controversial promotion and $21,000 raise in the days before former president judge Mark Ciavarella left office was among the guests who went on the June 2005 trip to former judge Michael Conahan’s condominium in Florida.

Ciavarella, who along with his wife co-owned the condominium, promoted Sallemi to chief stenographer in January and increased her salary from $57,000 to $78,000.

The move was among a series of controversial hires/transfers Ciavarella, who served as president judge, made in the weeks prior to his arrest on Jan. 26 on corruption charges.

Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla railed against the increase, which was pushed through as commissioners were in the midst of laying off dozens of county employees due to the county’s poor financial condition.

Sallemi’s salary was later reduced by $10,850, to $67,150, as part of $2.8 million in budget cuts the county’s remaining judges put together following Ciavarella’s arrest.


Her salary was reduced as part of a restructuring and cost cutting moves by the Luzerne County Court system.

The part of the story left out here is Ms. Sallemi's testimony before the Judicial Conduct Board in its case against former Judge Ann Lokuta. In this press release by the Judicial Conduct Board dated October 30, 2008 her testimony is part of allegations of "Conduct In (The) Courtroom."

Angela Sallemi, court reporter in Luzerne County for 23 years, testified that between 2004 and 2006:

A. I was made to feel very uncomfortable in her courtroom. The reason for that is because I never knew when I was going to be embarrassed or put on the spot.

The one particular or a couple particular occasions when I was swearing a witness in Judge Lokuta's courtroom, just as I was sworn in here, I asked the witness to spell her name, and it's just something that I routinely do in other courtrooms. And when I finished, the Judge looked down at me glaringly and in a harsh tone said I swear the witnesses in my courtroom, and I mean I was embarrassed momentarily for myself and also for the Judge because when things like this occur, there are other people in the courtroom, and you can kind of see like little snickers and rolls of the eyes like, okay, it's that kind of day.

Q. Can you tell the Court about these moods? What do you mean by that, these moods that you've referenced?

A. Well, the randomness of her moods, you know, there will be times in the courtroom when she is very kind and solicitous to witnesses and attorneys. And then in a moment's time, her moods become demeaning, demanding, and that's what I mean by her moodiness.

Q. Are there things that precipitate that mood change?

A. It could be anything or it could be nothing. It could be as little as --you know, there may be lawyers or litigants in the back of the courtroom making too much noise or looking at her in a way that she thinks is not appropriate or it could be something that we can't even determine. The other difficulty --did you want me to go on about the difficulties? (N.T. 714-16).

It was reported recently by Michael Sisak of the Citizen's Voice that the Judicial Conduct Board argued against Lokuta's efforts seeking a new trial. In March, 2009 the Board's counsel called her actions "desparate."

Francis J. Puskas, deputy chief counsel for the JCB, says Lokuta has failed to demonstrate how the federal investigations have any relationship to her claims that dozens of witnesses conspired to provide false testimony against her at her misconduct trial. To suggest so is “absurd and has no foundation in reality.”

Mr. Puskas, we respectfully disagree. Did you investigate whether there was any correlation between the testimony and the pay raise?

Contrast your Opinion with this editorial written for the Legal Intelligencer, Lokuta's Case Is a Potential Bomb for the Supreme Court By Hank Grezlak.

Sources routinely tell me that the county is going to implode and that "we're not done with the 'Holy shit!' moments."

The people who run the state's judicial disciplinary system need to understand that. They need to view Lokuta's case in that context. They need to understand that many judges believe that Lokuta was a victim. If judges and the public come to believe in the end that Lokuta was set up by corrupt judges and crushed by a disciplinary system that didn't take time to examine her accusers, then the system will lose credibility.

The justices, the board and the Court of Judicial Discipline are not helpless in this. The Court of Judicial Discipline can give Lokuta a fair hearing and consider a new trial. A new trial is probably the only way to guarantee an outcome that is viewed by all as fair and untainted. If she's tried again and still removed, it would eliminate any doubt and validate the fairness of the process and the judicial disciplinary system.

The board, instead of simply pushing hard to prove its existing case, should consider, in light of all the evidence that has surfaced, checking their case for holes. The board should consider interviewing courthouse employees and lawyers who didn't testify against Lokuta last time and see what they have to say. Ask those people what they think of her conspiracy theories. Maybe those folks will validate and strengthen the board's case. Or perhaps, if they tell you what many have told me, the board will rethink its case and reconsider whether it, like so many others, was the victim of corruption.

Olszewski Caught In "PARTY" Politics

Micahel Sisak Photo Citizen's Voice

In a story that appears in today's Citizen's Voice by supersleuth Dave Janoski(and Hazleton Standard Speaker) Judge Peter Paul Olszewski maintains that a photo leaked to the media showing him with Micahel Conahan, Ron Bellitiere, and attorney John Kennedy from Forty Fort is a smear attempt to influence his retention bid this November.

Olszewski said he was unaware of either man's alleged criminal activities when the photo was taken in 2005.

"It's obviously being done to embarrass me before the election," Olszewski said of the photo, which shows him, Conahan, the convicted dealer and a Luzerne County attorney holding drinks and liquor bottles in a Florida condominium that Conahan allegedly used to launder kickbacks in the kids-for-cash case.

In a tense, hour-long interview with The Citizens' Voice editors and reporters Thursday, Olszewski said he believes the June 2005 photo was mailed anonymously to the media by Conahan and/or his codefendant, former county Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., to hurt his bid for a second 10-year term in November.

"If you publish this, you're doing Mark's bidding," Olszewski said. "You're doing what the most corrupt judges in the world want you to do."

Olszewski said he clashed with Ciavarella during Ciavarella's last months as president judge, before Ciavarella and Conahan were charged in the kids-for-cash scandal in January. Olszewski said he disagreed with a lawsuit Ciavarella filed against the county commissioners to stall proposed cuts in court staffing and other administrative decisions made by Ciavarella.

Olszewski said shortly after Ciavarella's arrest in January, Ciavarella left him a "rambling," angry voice mail message "castigating" him for comments he made to the media about Ciavarella's tenure as president judge.

Olszewski said three people have told him Ciavarella is still "seething" over the criticism.

I read his editorial explanation/commentary in the Times Leader on why he didn't know what was going on in Ciavarella's courtroom. As Gort said over in his fantastic blog, why was it that everyone knew what was going on in Judge Ann Lokuta's courtroom and no one knew what was going on in Ciavarella's?

Whether or not the electorate will believe him will be born out in the Novemeber bid. Unfortunately, Judge Burke needs to separate himself from this mess. I have heard nothing but admirable accolades about his service and integrity. That is not to contrast in any way with any assessment of Olszewski's work on the bench.

Communication in any relationship is key to its survival. Right now the voters are angry, not just with Luzerne County, but the Pennsylvania legislature, Congress, and the President. They need to be made whole again with respect to government's duty to the people, not to themselves. If any incumbent wants to survive the next few years of election it will be sincere efforts, not pandering that will retain his/her seat.

Getting back to the picture. I have an associate who worked for the CIA for 23 years. One of the tenents in his training was "Dont worry about who you are looking at worry about who is looking at you." Who took the picture? It's not who we see but who we don't see. Who else is missing from the picture that may have been at the condo at the same time.

You may want to revisit my post from May 11, 2009.

Breaking News: Judicial Conduct Board Received Complaint in 2006

Today's indictment of former judges Conahan and Ciavarella underscores a rampant judiciary that evaded scrutiny for years. According to the Legal Intelligencer a detailed complaint was filed against one of the judges in 2006.

The Legal Intelligencer

By Hank Grezlak And Leo Strupczewski

September 09, 2009

A detailed complaint was filed against former Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan with the Judicial Conduct Board in 2006, alleging wide-spread corruption including case-fixing, mob ties and the improper placement of juveniles in a privately owned juvenile detention facility.

The same anonymous complaint was also sent to and received by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg around the same time in the fall of 2006, sources have confirmed to The Legal.

Publicly, there is no evidence the JCB did anything with the complaint.

The reporters detail more of the complaint and details surrounding it.

The complaint lays out a number of allegations the federal government has already made against the judges or that sources have made to The Legal. It portrays a culture of rampant case-fixing in both civil and criminal cases, providing specific names of attorneys and cases, as well as case numbers.

More importantly, given that it was filed in late 2006 — more than two years before Conahan and Ciavarella were accused by the government of taking $2.6 million from attorney Robert Powell, co-owner of PA Child Care, and Robert Mericle, the facility's builder — it lays out the close relationship between the former judges and Powell, including trips to a condominium in Florida and the use of Powell's yacht, "Reel Justice."

The complaint also ties them to the increased placement of juveniles at PA Child Care.

"Attorney Robert Powell is co-owner of [PA Child Care]. When Judge Conahan became president judge, he assigned Judge Ciavarella to Juvenile Court, while in the past, Juvenile responsibilities were shared among Judge [Chester B.] Muroski and at times, Judge [Ann H.] Lokuta," the complaint alleges. "A stringent pattern of placement in the Powell owned facility can be readily revealed by reviewing Judge Ciavarella's placements. In the past, the other judges placed in a variety of facilities ... ."

The complaint also alleges that Conahan and a local attorney regularly met with reputed mob boss William "Billy" D'Elia, something that witnesses have testified to in open court and other sources have told The Legal in the past.

The existence of the complaint and its timing raises serious questions about what the JCB did with the complaint, whether its board members were aware of it, and why the JCB allowed the two former judges to testify against former Luzerne County Judge Ann H. Lokuta in the board's case against her.

Lokuta raised a serious allegation about the case against her with Pennsylvania's highest court as reported on August 22, 2009.

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.com
Law & Order Reporter


HARRISBURG – Former Luzerne County judge Ann Lokuta has asked the state Supreme Court to take jurisdiction of her case from the Court of Judicial Discipline, alleging the disciplinary court has shown a bias toward her in its rulings.

The petition, filed Thursday, alleges the disciplinary court has failed to follow the Supreme Court’s directive regarding the standard of review it should apply in reexamining Lokuta’s misconduct case.

It also again challenges the refusal of attorney Richard Sprague, who headed the panel, to recuse himself given his representation of Robert Powell, one of the key figures in the judicial corruption probe.

Likewise the Scranton Times chronicles the events prior to the judge's arrest.

The Court of Judicial Discipline held a hearing May 13 and granted Ms. Lokuta 90 days to collect evidence related to a narrow scope of "corruption," related to the charges against Mr. Conahan, Mr. Ciavarella and Mr. Sharkey - all key witnesses against her at her misconduct hearing.

The court blocked Ms. Lokuta and her attorneys from issuing subpoenas, leaving them "both hog-tied and hamstrung in a travesty of justice that threatens to pull the judicial process into further disrepute," she alleges.

Efforts to reach Frank Puskas, deputy chief counsel for the Judicial Conduct Board, the state agency that investigates and prosecutes allegations of ethical violations against judges, were unsuccessful Friday.

Judge Sprague, who has represented another corruption figure - Drums attorney and former detention center co-owner Robert J. Powell - has refused to leave the case despite mounting evidence of "at the very least, an appearance of impropriety," Ms. Lokuta claims.

Robert Mericle- No Miracle Could Avoid Pleading Guilty

Times Leader Photo

Thursday, August 13, 2009 11:26 am Times Leader website

UPDATE: Mericle to donate $2.15 million to benefit children under conditions of plea agreement

SCRANTON - Developer Robert Mericle has agreed to voluntarily donate $2.15 million to a fund that will benefit the welfare of children in Luzerne County as part of a plea agreement to federal charges.

The agreement, which was signed Friday, 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.

It was inescapable that a businessman would allow money to pass through his account and not be "accountable"- pun intended.

Judge Ann Lokuta- I Have Witnesses

Personally, I always felt Judge Lokuta received an unfair trial before the Board of Discipline. I had people try to convince me about her behavior but if anyone was put in a pressure cooker like she was I am sure those subjected to it would crack.

The Times Leader is reporting that Judge Ann Lokuta has filed statements with the state Court of Judicial Discipline that verify her allegations that Mark "The Chiv" Civarella and Michael "The Con" Conahan conspired to have her removed from the bench.

Well, back to the whacky side. The court held off making a ruling, however, after Lokuta advised members she had witnesses who would link Conahan to the Mafia. Its just Ann being Ann.

Ciavarella Donated To Skrepenak and Vonderheid in 2005

Recipient FRIENDS OF SKREPANAK & VONDERHELD
PLAINS, PA 18705
Date 11/5/2005
Amount$2,500.00
Description: DONATION
Filer/Payer: CIAVARELLA, MARK JUDGE RETENTION COM
Report: 2005 Cycle 6

Was it a reward? Sitting judges are not to donate to political campaigns according to the Judicial Cannon No. 7.


CANON 7: Judges should refrain from political activity inappropriate to their judicial office

(1) A judge or a candidate for election to judicial office should not:

(c) solicit funds for or pay an assessment or make a contribution to a political organization or candidate, attend political gatherings, or purchase tickets for political party dinners, or other functions, except as authorized in subsection A(2);

Only The Shadow Knows For Sure

Bloggers everywhere are writing about Senior U.S. Judge Edwin M. Kosik's recent decision to reject the plea deals reached with Conahan and Ciavarella. There are a multitude of mainstream newsprint articles on the subject.

Jerry Lynott in the Times Leader writes Senior U.S. Judge Edwin M. Kosik’s order voiced displeasure with the conduct and statements of the two men since they pleaded guilty on Feb.12 to participating in a $2.6 million kickback scheme related to the construction of two juvenile detention facilities and the placement of youths in the facilities.

A report the U.S. Probation Office prepared on Conahan for sentencing purposes indicated he “refused to discuss the motivation behind his conduct, attempted to obstruct and impede justice and failed to clearly demonstrate affirmative acceptance of responsibility with his denials and contradiction of evidence,” Kosik wrote.

Ciavarella has been less obstructive, but, Kosik noted, the former judge “has resorted to public statements of remorse, more for his personal circumstances, yet he continues to deny what he terms ‘quid pro quo.’ ” Ciavarella said he did not take money for placing juveniles in the centers and described his payments as a “finder’s fee” for having the centers built in Pittston Township and Butler County.

“Quid pro quo can be implied from the evidence,” wrote Kosik, adding the government does not have to show “explicit promise to perform official acts in return for payment.”

In a visit to the past one must look at a previous case involving Conahan where he escaped prosecution.

Government witness Neal DeAngelo testified Judge Conahan called him in 1986 and said he had heard Mr. DeAngelo’s brother, Paul, had been buying cocaine from a dealer who was under investigation. Judge Conahan offered to put the DeAngelos in contact with a Florida dealer, Mr. DeAngelo testified.

Mr. Belletiere, who is a former Hazleton resident, subsequently called Mr. DeAngelo at Judge Conahan’s request, according to testimony, and the DeAngelo brothers and another man traveled to Miami to buy $26,500 worth of cocaine from Mr. Belletiere.

The federal prosecutor in the case, during a “sidebar” conversation with the judge out of the jury’s earshot, called Judge Conahan an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the case, according to a transcript.

From a Citizen's Voice article published July 16, 2008

“Fourteen years ago, Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan said allegations that he helped connect a Florida cocaine dealer with a Hazleton buyer were “bogus” stories told by “common criminals” hoping to curry favor with federal prosecutors.

Four years ago, the convicted cocaine dealer and Conahan’s wife, Barbara, formed a Pompano Beach used-car business, according to an official with the company who said Monday that he met with Conahan, Conahan’s wife and the former dealer in Florida to discuss setting up the business in 2004.”

The Times Leader published the following in January of this year.

Paul DeAngelo was sentenced by Judge Kosik to 18 months in prison for his guilty plea to aiding with the distribution of a kilogram of cocaine in 1987.

Judge Kosick would be the same Senior U.S. Judge Edwin M. Kosik who rejected the plea deal. Do you think the Judge is sending a message? "You escaped my courtroom once but it won't happen a second time."

As the Times Leader published ’91 case casting shadows on today



"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

Here's How The Republicans Can Rise To The Occassion

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under Fast Eddy Rendell is $3 billion in the hole.
Below is a list of donations made to the Luzerne County Democratic Party as well as state and federal Democratic office holders. And the press has the audacity to blame the Republican party for the world's woes.

Recipient Date Amount
LUZERNE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
PLYMOUTH, PA 18651 10/31/2005 $500.00
Description: DONATION
Filer/Payer: CIAVARELLA, MARK JUDGE RETENTION COM
Report: 2005 Cycle 6
Go to Top Go to Bottom
22 Expenditure Details 22
Recipient Date Amount

LUZERNE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
PLYMOUTH, PA 18651 4/19/2005 $6,000.00
Description: DONATION
Filer/Payer: CIAVARELLA, MARK JUDGE RETENTION COM
Report: 2005 Cycle 5
Go to Top Go to Bottom
23 Expenditure Details 23
Recipient Date Amount

LUZERNE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
PLYMOUTH, PA 18651 9/30/2005 $6,000.00
Description: DONATION
Filer/Payer: CIAVARELLA, MARK JUDGE RETENTION COM
Report: 2005 Cycle 5

Recipient Date Amount
COMMITTE TO ELECT MARY ANN PETROLL (Mary Ann Petrilla)
BULLEN TWP, PA 12/24/2003 $5,000.00
Description -
Filer/Payer: CONAHAN, MICHAEL COM TO RETAIN
Report: 2003 Cycle 7

Recipient Date Amount
LUZERE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COM.
WYOMING, PA 18644 9/9/2003 $1,000.00
Description: DONATION
Filer/Payer: CONAHAN, MICHAEL COM TO RETAIN
Report: 2003 Cycle 4
Go to Top Go to Bottom
33 Expenditure Details 33
Recipient Date Amount
LUZERNE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMM
WYOMING, PA 18644-0221 8/22/2003 $2,000.00
Description: DONATION
Filer/Payer: CONAHAN, MICHAEL COM TO RETAIN
Report: 2003 Cycle 4

Conservatives for Good Government <------------------------------------------------------------------------ Powell In disguise
Sugarloaf, PA 18249 2/8/2007 $5,000.00
Occupation: -
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2007 Cycle 2

Contributor Date Amount
Conversatives for Good Government
Sugarloaf, PA 18249 3/29/2005 $10,000.00
Occupation: -
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2005 Cycle 5

Contributor Date Amount
Robert Powell
Drums , PA 18222 6/12/2006 $340.00
Occupation: lawyer
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2006 Cycle 4


Multi-Candidate Committee
Pittsburgh, PA 15259 2/8/2007 $500.00
Occupation: -
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2007 Cycle 2

Pittsburgh Future PAC
Pittsburgh, PA 15219 3/15/2007 $1,000.00
Occupation: -
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2007 Cycle 2
Wonder where they come from

Onto Cigarette Money from the guy who champions health causes

Altria Group, Inc. PAC
Washington, DC 20001 7/25/2006 $340.00
Occupation: -
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2006 Cycle 4

Contributor Date Amount
Altria Group, Inc.PAC
Washington, DC 20001 1/26/2006 $500.00
Occupation: -
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2006 Cycle 1

Contributor Date Amount
Altria Group, Inc.PAC
Washington, DC 20001 1/26/2006 $500.00
Occupation: -
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2006 Cycle 1


Friends of Dave Lupas
Pittston, PA 18640 10/26/2006 $125.00
Occupation: -
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2006 Cycle 6

Contributor Date Amount
Friends of Dave Lupas
Pittston, PA 18640 1/10/2006 $125.00
Occupation: -
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2006 Cycle 1

Bob Powell Campaign Donations

CARNEY, CHRISTOPHER
VIA CARNEY FOR CONGRESS
09/15/2006 1000.00 26930454491
01/18/2007 2100.00 27930554825

POWELL, ROBERT
DRUMS, PA 18222
SELF-EMPLOYED/ATTONEY-AT-LAW

KANJORSKI, PAUL E
VIA PENNSYLVANIANS FOR KANJORSKI
10/16/2006 500.00 26930504848
POWELL, ROBERT
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18201
ATTORNEY

KLINK, RONALD P
VIA CITIZENS FOR RON KLINK
06/18/1999 500.00 99020071438

POWELL, ROBERT
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18201
ATTY-AT-LAW

KANJORSKI, PAUL E
VIA PENNSYLVANIANS FOR KANJORSKI
01/18/2000 1000.00 20035374539

POWELL, ROBERT
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18201
THE POWELL LAW GROUP

KLINK, RONALD P
VIA CITIZENS FOR RON KLINK
03/08/2000 500.00 20020101072
03/08/2000 500.00 20020101072
06/30/2000 500.00 20020182550

POWELL, ROBERT
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18202
SELF EMPLOYED/ATTORNEY

EDWARDS, JOHN
VIA EDWARDS FOR PRESIDENT
03/31/2003 2000.00 23990753014

POWELL, ROBERT
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18202
SELF-EMPLOYED/ATTONEY-AT-LAW

KANJORSKI, PAUL E
VIA PENNSYLVANIANS FOR KANJORSKI
10/26/2002 500.00 22992803736

POWELL, ROBERT
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18202
THE POWELL LAW GROUP

DASCHLE, THOMAS ANDREW
VIA NEW LEADERSHIP FOR AMERICA PAC
08/11/2004 1000.00 24020882189

POWELL, ROBERT
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18202
THE POWELL LAW GROUP/ATTORNEY

GEPHARDT, RICHARD A
VIA GEPHARDT FOR PRESIDENT INC.
06/30/2003 1000.00 23991413028

POWELL, ROBERT J
HAZLETON, PA 18201
THE POWELL LAW GROUP

EDWARDS, JOHN R
VIA EDWARDS FOR SENATE
08/13/2002 1000.00 23020030061
POWELL, ROBERT J
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18201
ATTORNEY

CASEY, PATRICK RAYMOND
VIA CASEY FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE
10/26/1998 500.00 98033964986

POWELL, ROBERT J
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18202
POWELL LAW GROUP

HOEFFEL, JOSEPH M
VIA HOEFFEL FOR SENATE COMMITTEE
06/30/2004 1000.00 24020612151

POWELL, ROBERT J
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18202
POWELL LAW GROUP/ATTORNEY

KERRY, JOHN F
VIA JOHN KERRY FOR PRESIDENT INC
05/27/2004 2000.00 24981235798

POWELL, ROBERT J ATTY
WEST HAZELTON, PA 18201
THE POWELL LAW GROUP

CASEY, PATRICK RAYMOND
VIA CASEY FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE
10/13/2000 500.00 20036350484

POWELL, ROBERT J ESQ
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18201

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR JUSTICE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (AAJ PAC)
12/21/1999 -10.00 20035340116

POWELL, ROBERT J ESQ
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18202
SELF EMPLOYED/ATTORNEY

EDWARDS, JOHN
VIA JOHN EDWARDS FOR PRESIDENT
02/12/2007 2300.00 27930590513

POWELL, ROBERT J ESQ.
DRUMS, PA 18222
THE POWELL LAW GROUP/ATTORNEY

PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY
10/06/2006 5000.00 27930756092

POWELL, ROBERT J ESQUIRE
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18202
THE POWELL LAW GROUP/ATTORNEY

CASEY, ROBERT P JR
VIA BOB CASEY FOR PENNSYLVANIA COMMITTEE
06/30/2005 900.00 26020571636
06/30/2005 2100.00 26020571721
12/31/2005 1000.00 26020623257
POWELL, ROBERT J
WEST HAZELTON, PA 18201
POWELL LAW GROUP

PENNSYLVANIA SENATE 2000
06/28/2000 2500.00 20020182372

POWELL, ROBERT S MR.
SKILLMAN, NJ 08558
SELF/REAL ESTATE

KERRY VICTORY 2004
05/28/2004 500.00 24961686861
POWELL, ROBERT J
WEST HAZELTON, PA 18201
POWELL LAW GROUP

DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE
06/29/2000 2000.00 20020231266

Contributor Date Amount
Powell Law Group
West Hazleton, PA 18201 10/17/2000 $100.00
Occupation: -
Employer: -
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2000 Cycle 5

Contributor Date Amount
Powell Law Group
West Hazleton, PA 18201 6/20/2001 $250.00
Occupation: -
Employer: -
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2001 Cycle 7

Contributor Date Amount
Robert & Debra Powell
West Hazleton, PA 18201 9/15/2000 $400.00
Occupation: -
Employer: -
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2000 Cycle 5

Contributor Date Amount
Robert Powell
Drums, PA 18222 10/21/2004 $250.00
Occupation: -
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2004 Cycle 6

Contributor Date Amount
Robert Powell
West Hazleton, PA 18201 8/4/2004 $750.00
Occupation: Lawyer
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2004 Cycle 4

Contributor Date Amount
ROBERT POWELL
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18201 5/5/2004 $500.00
Occupation: LAWYER
Employer: POWELL LAW GROUP
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18201
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: EACHUS, TODD FRIENDS OF
Report: 2004 Cycle 3

Contributor Date Amount
Robert Powell
Drums , PA 18222 6/12/2006 $340.00
Occupation: lawyer
Employer: PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2006 Cycle 4

Contributor Date Amount
Robert Powell
West Hazleton, PA 18201 5/16/2002 $150.00
Occupation: -
Employer: -
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: FRIENDS OF TODD EACHUS
Report: 2002 Cycle 3

Contributor Date Amount
ROBERT POWELL
WEST HAZLETON, PA 18201 3/5/2004 $500.00
Occupation: LAWYER
Employer: POWELL LAW GROUP
HAZLETON
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: EACHUS, TODD FRIENDS OF
Report: 2004 Cycle 2

Contributor Date Amount
Robert Powell
Drums, PA 18222 7/12/2005 $260.00
Occupation: Attorney
Employer: Powell Law Group, P.C.
PA
Description: Monetary Contribution-
Recipient: Friends of Todd Eachus
Report: 2005 Cycle 5

Tina Garley and Robert Powell- Powell Law Group

Tina Gartley is a candidate for judge in Luzerne County. Her slogan is "The Change We Need- The Justice We Deserve." On her website she mentions that she is married to Scott Gartley. Welll....

Let's go over to Robert Powell's website to take a look. A press release talks about a rumored $10 million dollar settlement for a crash on the Airport Beltway in Hazle Township.

Settlement negotiations began immediately following a hearing Tuesday before Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski, who imposed sanctions against GM for discovery violations related to trial of a civil lawsuit.

Olszewski ordered GM to pay expenses of $20,000 to Powell plus $500 for preparation of a motion for sanctions.

The judge also fined GM $100 a day from Aug. 5 to Oct. 4 for missing a court-imposed deadline to turn over engineering change reports related to design of the fuel system of the Blazer.

Attorney Bob Powell said he agreed after the hearing to give GM lawyers 48 hours to obtain corporate approval of the settlement "or we would pull any offer off the table."

Powell said the lawyers called at 4 p.m. Thursday and stated "GM was prepared to meet all of our demands. They insisted on two more caveats. One was confidentiality."

Powell said he called his clients around 6 p.m. and obtained their approval.
Confidentiality??

The battle over GM documents resulted in Olszewski appointing local attorney Scott Gartley to determine which ones were protected by attorney-client privilege.

The judge approved the payment of a $26,925 fee to Gartley and apportioned $22,886.25 to GM and $4,038.75 to the plaintiffs.

The question I have for Tina Gartley is this? How close were you or your husband with Robert Powell? Have you or any member of your family ever been a guest at the Florida condominium connected to judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan?

Tensions Are Rising In And Around The Luzerne County Courthouse

The Legal Intelligencer's Peter Hall wrote an article that can be found here concerning the rising tensions inside the Luzerne County Courthouse over the expanded investigation into uninsured and under insured motorist cases(UM/UIM).

The FBI subpoenaed about 80 case files April 2 from the Luzerne County Courthouse as part of the agency's investigation into allegations regarding a possible scheme to inflate uninsured motorist/underinsured motorist arbitration awards by having plaintiff-friendly neutral arbitrators assigned to their cases.

Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. handled 12 of the neutral arbitrator appointments -- more than any of the other nine judges on the list except Conahan and Toole.

Of the remaining 27 cases, nine were handled by former judge Ann H. Lokuta, who was removed from the bench by the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline last year for reasons unrelated to any criminal investigation; seven were handled by Judge Hugh F. Mundy; six by Judge Joseph M. Augello; two by Judge David Lupas; and one each by Judge Thomas F. Burke and President Judge Chester B. Muroski. One case on the list did not include the name of a judge assigned to handle it.

The Law Weekly first reported rumors that federal authorities were investigating alleged case fixing in UM/UIM arbitration cases in February. In the wake of that story, Muroski launched a review of the court's procedures to appoint neutral arbitrators.

Sources later confirmed the FBI's investigation was ongoing.

Well, you know you can click on the link to read the entire article. However let me highlight the following:

According to court records examined by the Law Weekly involving a selected group of 10 major auto insurance companies, plaintiffs lawyers filed petitions to appoint neutral arbitrators on 43 occasions between 1995 and 2008.

In 29 of those cases, the same six law firms represented the plaintiffs. In 13 of the 43 cases, attorneys from the same six firms, all of which market themselves as plaintiffs firms, were also appointed as neutral arbitrators. Twice, there were no records for plaintiffs attorneys. The names of the appointed arbitrators were not recorded in seven cases.

In 22 of the 43 cases, the judge was either Conahan or Ciavarella. There was no record of a judge in two of those cases.

The outcome of arbitration in which the lawyers named participated is not a public record. There is no evidence to suggest that the result of arbitration in the cases examined was improper. Nor is there anything to suggest plaintiffs law firms did anything improper to be appointed neutral arbitrators. Ciavarella and Conahan have not been charged with anything related to allegations of fixing UM/UIM cases.

From the Citizens Voice

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered an evidentiary hearing into an alleged case-fixing allegation involving disgraced Judges Conahan and Ciavarella. Dave Janoski writes the story in today's Citizens Voice.

The Citizens’ Voice will get a hearing on evidence of alleged case-fixing in a $3.5 million defamation verdict against the newspaper handed down by former Luzerne County Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

The court named Lehigh County President Judge William H. Platt to hold a hearing “as soon as practically possible” and ordered him to recommend whether the newspaper should be granted relief, possibly including a new trial.

D’Elia associate Robert J. Kulick, a convicted felon awaiting sentencing on a federal firearms charge, gave a sworn declaration to attorneys for the newspaper in February alleging that he, D’Elia and Conahan met twice a month in an unnamed Wilkes-Barre restaurant to discuss pending court cases for nearly eight years. Kulick said Conahan acted on his requests to give a “fair shake” to plaintiffs Kulick supported in cases handled by Conahan and other, unnamed judges.



Read the Order
Read Kulick's declaration