LUZERNE COUNTY KIDS FOR CASH JUDGES PLEA AGREEMENTS REJECTED
In a major reversal, U.S. District Judge Edwin M. Kosik issued an order rejecting plea agreements for two former Luzerne County Court Judges accused of taking kickbacks for sending juveniles to for profit detention centers.
The reasons in the order being the following regarding both Judges. Conahan, 57, “refused to discuss the motivation” for his conduct during a pre-sentence investigation, “attempted to obstruct and impede justice” and failed to demonstrate “acceptance of responsibility” for taking kickbacks to help facilitate the development of a pair of private juvenile detention centers, U.S. District Judge Edwin M. Kosik, said. Ciavarella, 59, “continues to deny what he terms ‘quid pro quo,’ ” Kosik said in a five-page memorandum, despite evidence of “his routine deprivation of children’s constitutional rights,” by failing to inform them of their right to an attorney and sending them to the same private facilities he and Conahan had been bribed to promote. Ciavarella has been “less obstructive” to the pre-sentencing investigation, but has resorted to “self-serving” public statements, Kosik said. Prosecutors say Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA Child Care LLC and a sister company, Western PA Child Care LLC. The judges were charged on Jan. 26 and removed from the bench by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court shortly afterward.
Chester County Rants is Raving over this Judges Decision to reject the pleas of these two Judges who only saw dollar signs and didn’t care about the long term suffering of these kids. Judge Edwin M. Kosik, we applaud you, we applaud you for doing the right thing and not just helping other Judges and Court Officials who are doing wrong or who are corrupt, and not turning a blind eye to it. Thank you for picking these bad apples out and calling them on it.
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