'Kids for cash' judge gets 28 years in Pennsylvania bribery case

Source: Associated Press

A long-serving judge has been ordered to spend nearly 30 years in prison for his role in a bribery scandal that prompted the state's high court to overturn thousands of juvenile convictions.

Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr was sentenced on Thursday to 28 years in prison for taking $1m (£617,000) in bribes from the builder of two juvenile detention centres in a case that became known as "kids-for-cash".

The Pennsylvania supreme court overturned about 4,000 convictions issued by Ciavarella between 2003 and 2008, saying he violated the constitutional rights of the juveniles, including the right to legal counsel and the right to intelligently enter a plea.

Ciavarella, 61, was tried and convicted of racketeering charges earlier this year. His lawyers had asked for a "reasonable" sentence in court papers, saying, in effect, that he had already been punished enough.

"The media attention to this matter has exceeded coverage given to many and almost all capital murders, and despite protestation, he will forever be unjustly branded as the 'kids for cash' judge," they said.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/11/kids-for-cash-judge-pennsylvania

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I learned about this case from watching Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story.

That piece of scum should be forced to serve his sentence scrubbing toilets in a juvenile facility with his bare hands.

'unjustly'? should be disbarred for such ignorance.

privately-run prisons.

Less than 3 days per kid?

Of course, he's not likely to fare too well in prison. Fuck him anyway.

Prisons and landfills are two growth "industries" in this state.

The other two are gambling and fracking. What a freaking state to be trapped in. I think that the scum sucker got off too easy. They should have let his child victims determine the sentence.

Our society has changed dramatically and similar things are happening all over the country. It is chilling.

I guess that the only good thing about this happening here was that we received a lot more coverage of this debacle.

Luzerne county is also the county where the former mayor of Hazelton made national news.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-10-pennlaw10_ST_N.htm
A Hazleton, Pa., law that targeted illegal immigrants and served as a model for similar laws around the country was struck down by a federal appeals court Thursday.

It's also very near where this news item that made national headlines took place.

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=100291
Teens charged in beating that killed Mexican national in Shenandoah

it is often difficult to comprehend that it is real.

"A Hazleton, Pa., law that targeted illegal immigrants and served as a model for similar laws around the country was struck down by a federal appeals court Thursday."

Altoid_Cyclist,

do you know how this ruling from thursday will effect this pukes chances to get elected to the house?

In this area, it would probably enhance his chances. Of course, this area is a 2 to 1 (R) stronghold so he'd have a real good chance anyway.

the nation turn fascist.

sci-fi movies we've seen over the years. A future society run by a corporation(s) where everything has been privatized and the masses have been enslaved through fear and intimidation. They don't seem so far fetched now.

would be to become a child 4,000 times and be illegally convicted of a crime and sent to juvenile detention.

And what about the builders who paid the bribes so they could fill up their juvenile detention centers? Do they go unpunished?

He will not live long enough and cannot endure enough.

Not only does he not feel any remorse, he won't even admit he did anything wrong. What's scary is you know there are others out there who just haven't gotten caught. Privatizing prisons was a really bad idea.

was rather light in my opinion. Should have been life plus 1 day without any possibility of parole.

detention facilities. When is he or they scheduled for trial? The capitalist offering the bribe should get at least twice the 28 years.

I hope the dirtbag is going to one of the prisons for profit...seems like justice...:toast:

28 yrs means he`ll do maybe 14 yrs so he`ll be in his 70`s by the time he`s eligible. to bad it was`t a federal charge...that`s 85%.

Federal Judges do not prosecute and preside over state trials.

and can have an appellant role, not original jurisdiction, unless a state government official is charged with violating constitutional rights/federal law as in Mark C's case

Clarence Thomas as a cellmate for this dog doo. They'd be GREAT company for one another!

Private prisons should be ILLEGAL in and of themselves in this country. 'Land of the Free' my ass. :mad:

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I don't want him to learn to like it. Then that would be cool.

just like this one.

than reported.

The brother of Pittsburgh's current DA, and son of a former PA Supreme Court judge, Greg
Zappala, is one of the owners of this facility.

http://www.wtae.com/news/18711195/detail.html

How's that for some corruption!

Makes my blood boil!

I forgot about that connection.

With this sordid example of justice, not to mention the Orie clan, it really makes you wonder if the term PA Justice System isn't an oxymoron.

a/k/a Tangerine LaBamba (Annette Apollo) knew this guy when she was young, she grew up in the same area of Pennsylvania as he did. She was totally aghast about his conduct when this hit the news.

That is only 2.74 days for each person he unlawfully kidnapped and held in custody without just cause.

Seems like he should get at least a year for each person that he kidnapped.

He should never see life out of prison again.

Mark Ciavarella should rot in hell. He maintained his arrogance right to the bitter end. Justice has been served but it will never change the fact that he ruined the lives of too many young people who were pawns in his game.

Source: Reuters

A former Pennsylvania juvenile court judge was sentenced on Thursday to 28 years in prison for accepting payment to send juveniles to a for-profit detention facility in a scandal dubbed "kids for cash,".

Former Luzerne County Juvenile Court Judge Mark Ciavarella, 61, accepted nearly $1 million from a developer who built the detention facility, prosecutors said.

Under the "kids for cash" scheme, thousands of juveniles were shipped to the private center on minor or questionable charges by Ciavarella and another former judge, Michael Conahan, according to juvenile advocates.

"Mr. Ciavarella abused his position of trust and inflicted a deep and lasting wound on the community he vowed to service," U.S. Attorney Peter Smith said following the sentencing.

"The scheme involved a corrupt agreement with the operators of the for-profit juvenile facilities," Smith said. "It was a wholesale arrangement in which the judges concealed their interest and thereby did great damage to the public."



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/11/us-crime-kidsforcash-idUSTRE77A6KG20110811

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I hope this motherfucker rots in prison. He should get life without parole. One of the kids who was part of his scheme, a kid guility of a minor offense, committed suicide because this motherfucker overcharged him and sent him to a brutal detention facility. As such, he lost his scholarship, drifted into depression and killed himself a few years later.

Didn't see this was already posted. Delete or move.

It's only been there 9 minutes. :-)

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