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Another Nudo favorite goes down the dumper



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 16th 11, 06:45 AM posted to alt.collecting.8-track-tapes
DeserTBoB[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 41
Default Another Nudo favorite goes down the dumper

Another fine, upstanding Eye-talian Republican judge from Luzerne
County goes down on racketeering charges. I wonder if Cholly Noodlez
contributed to THIS goombah's campaign fund??! Maybe Noodles
should've taught him how to eBay those kids for extra pocket money!
After all, "he needed the money!"

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM, Associated Press

Michael Rubinkam, Associated Press – Tue Feb 15, 8:33 pm ET

SCRANTON, Pa. – A former northeastern Pennsylvania judge admitted
Tuesday that he was deep in debt and living beyond his means when he
accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the builder of two
privately owned juvenile detention centers, but he insisted the
payments were legal "finder's fees" and not bribes as the federal
government has alleged.

Ex-Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella took the witness stand at his
federal racketeering trial and tried to stem the damage from a week of
testimony that he took more than $2 million in illegal kickbacks from
the builder of the juvenile lockups and extorted hundreds of thousands
of dollars from the facilities' co-owner — a scandal known as "kids
for cash" that resulted in the dismissal of thousands of juvenile
convictions.

At times, he seemed like a witness for the prosecution.

Ciavarella, 61, admitted that he filed false tax returns related to
the payments. He also admitted that he plotted with former Judge
Michael Conahan to defraud the federal government of the taxes they
owed — and that he took steps to conceal the payments because he knew
they would look bad to the public.

"I made the wrong decision and I paid dearly for that," Ciavarella
told jurors at the federal courthouse in Scranton. "And that's OK
because I have to suffer the consequences of my decision."

Prosecutors allege the judges shut down the decrepit county-run
juvenile detention center in 2002 and arranged for the construction of
the PA Child Care facility outside Wilkes-Barre. Ciavarella, who
presided over juvenile court, stocked the private jail with young
offenders whose crimes were often minor. Many of the teens had never
been in trouble before, and some were locked up even after probation
officers recommended against it.

Ciavarella, who has denied any link between the payments he received
and the youths he sent to the facility, said he viewed the money as
legitimate.

He said the builder, Robert Mericle, offered to pay him a "finder's
fee" because Ciavarella had introduced him to Robert Powell, the
developer and co-owner of PA Child Care. He said he took Mericle at
his word that the payment was legal. Ciavarella said he thanked
Mericle and considered the payment "manna from heaven."

That's because he needed the money.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Houser used cross examination to
portray Ciavarella as a man swimming in debt and looking for a way
out. When Ciavarella received a $330,000 payment from Mericle in late
January 2003 — the first of what would be three hefty payments from
the builder related to the construction and expansion of PA Child Care
and a sister facility in the western part of the state — the judge
immediately sent two dozen checks to creditors, primarily credit card
companies.

Ciavarella also repaid a $150,000 loan from Barbara Conahan, Judge
Conahan's wife. In all, he eliminated $311,000 in debt from the
proceeds of the money he got from Mericle.

"We were living beyond our means," he acknowledged.

Houser said the debt showed Ciavarella had a clear "motive for the
crime."

The former judge testified clearly and confidently as he responded to
questions from his own attorneys Tuesday morning, rejecting the
government's allegations that he took bribes from Mericle and extorted
money from Powell, a high-powered attorney.

He said Powell couldn't be touched.

"You didn't demand anything from Bobby Powell," Ciavarella said. "He
had an ego bigger than this room. . There was absolutely nothing I
could do to hurt Mr. Powell financially."

Powell has said that he was forced to pay $590,000 to a company
controlled by the judges and another $143,000 in cash to Conahan. The
judges allegedly disguised the payments as rental income from a
Florida condo owned by their wives. Powell testified that Conahan and
Ciavarella pressured him to make payments, going so far as to request
more money even as a federal investigation was under way.

Ciavarella called Powell's testimony "ludicrous and ridiculous."

He insisted Powell's payments were rent, and had nothing to do with
the juvenile detention centers. He said Conahan told him that Powell
had agreed to pay $15,000 a month for 60 months for use of the condo —
a total of nearly $1 million. He testified that Conahan made those
arrangements, not him.

Houser was incredulous. He asked Ciavarella why Powell — a wealthy,
successful businessman and personal injury lawyer — would agree to pay
nearly $1 million in rent on a condo that the judges' wives had
purchased for only $785,000, and for which Powell would receive no
ownership interest.

"That's what Powell wanted," Ciavarella insisted.

He said Powell didn't want to own the condo because his wife would
then have a claim on it — a reference to earlier testimony by a
defense witness that Powell was having an affair and planned to get a
divorce. Powell's attorney has denied the allegation.

Houser also pointed out the Pennsylvania Constitution forbids judges
from accepting payment of any kind, other than salary, "for the
performance of any judicial duty." Ciavarella responded that he wasn't
acting in his official capacity as judge when he put Mericle in touch
with Powell, but as an elected official trying to do right by the
county's troubled youth.

But he said he knew how the enormous sums he got from Mericle and
Powell would be perceived.

"I didn't want the publicity and I didn't want the scrutiny. That's
what I was trying to avoid," he said. "I did the wrong thing."

Houser was merciless, grilling Ciavarella for more than three hours
and getting one damaging admission after another.

Almost as an aside, Ciavarella acknowledged that he pocketed $15,000
to $20,000 in cash from a golf tournament fundraiser held in 2005 as
part of his judicial retention campaign. He said he kept the cash in
the house, used it for personal expenses such as dinners out, and
failed to list it on his campaign finance report.

The defense expects to rest its case Wednesday. Closing arguments will
follow.

Conahan, the other judge, has pleaded guilty to racketeering
conspiracy and awaits sentencing.



Ads
  #2  
Old February 19th 11, 12:35 AM posted to alt.collecting.8-track-tapes
Wereo_SUPREME
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 50
Default Another Nudo favorite goes down the dumper

On Feb 16, 12:45*am, DeserTBoB wrote:
Another fine, upstanding Eye-talian Republican judge from Luzerne
County goes down on racketeering *charges. *I wonder if Cholly Noodlez
contributed to THIS goombah's campaign fund??! *Maybe Noodles
should've taught him how to eBay those kids for extra pocket money!
After all, "he needed the money!"

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM, Associated Press

*Michael Rubinkam, Associated Press – Tue Feb 15, 8:33 pm ET

SCRANTON, Pa. – A former northeastern Pennsylvania judge admitted
Tuesday that he was deep in debt and living beyond his means when he
accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the builder of two
privately owned juvenile detention centers, but he insisted the
payments were legal "finder's fees" and not bribes as the federal
government has alleged.

Ex-Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella took the witness stand at his
federal racketeering trial and tried to stem the damage from a week of
testimony that he took more than $2 million in illegal kickbacks from
the builder of the juvenile lockups and extorted hundreds of thousands
of dollars from the facilities' co-owner — a scandal known as "kids
for cash" that resulted in the dismissal of thousands of juvenile
convictions.

At times, he seemed like a witness for the prosecution.

Ciavarella, 61, admitted that he filed false tax returns related to
the payments. He also admitted that he plotted with former Judge
Michael Conahan to defraud the federal government of the taxes they
owed — and that he took steps to conceal the payments because he knew
they would look bad to the public.

"I made the wrong decision and I paid dearly for that," Ciavarella
told jurors at the federal courthouse in Scranton. "And that's OK
because I have to suffer the consequences of my decision."

Prosecutors allege the judges shut down the decrepit county-run
juvenile detention center in 2002 and arranged for the construction of
the PA Child Care facility outside Wilkes-Barre. Ciavarella, who
presided over juvenile court, stocked the private jail with young
offenders whose crimes were often minor. Many of the teens had never
been in trouble before, and some were locked up even after probation
officers recommended against it.

Ciavarella, who has denied any link between the payments he received
and the youths he sent to the facility, said he viewed the money as
legitimate.

He said the builder, Robert Mericle, offered to pay him a "finder's
fee" because Ciavarella had introduced him to Robert Powell, the
developer and co-owner of PA Child Care. He said he took Mericle at
his word that the payment was legal. Ciavarella said he thanked
Mericle and considered the payment "manna from heaven."

That's because he needed the money.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Houser used cross examination to
portray Ciavarella as a man swimming in debt and looking for a way
out. When Ciavarella received a $330,000 payment from Mericle in late
January 2003 — the first of what would be three hefty payments from
the builder related to the construction and expansion of PA Child Care
and a sister facility in the western part of the state — the judge
immediately sent two dozen checks to creditors, primarily credit card
companies.

Ciavarella also repaid a $150,000 loan from Barbara Conahan, Judge
Conahan's wife. In all, he eliminated $311,000 in debt from the
proceeds of the money he got from Mericle.

"We were living beyond our means," he acknowledged.

Houser said the debt showed Ciavarella had a clear "motive for the
crime."

The former judge testified clearly and confidently as he responded to
questions from his own attorneys Tuesday morning, rejecting the
government's allegations that he took bribes from Mericle and extorted
money from Powell, a high-powered attorney.

He said Powell couldn't be touched.

"You didn't demand anything from Bobby Powell," Ciavarella said. "He
had an ego bigger than this room. . There was absolutely nothing I
could do to hurt Mr. Powell financially."

Powell has said that he was forced to pay $590,000 to a company
controlled by the judges and another $143,000 in cash to Conahan. The
judges allegedly disguised the payments as rental income from a
Florida condo owned by their wives. Powell testified that Conahan and
Ciavarella pressured him to make payments, going so far as to request
more money even as a federal investigation was under way.

Ciavarella called Powell's testimony "ludicrous and ridiculous."

He insisted Powell's payments were rent, and had nothing to do with
the juvenile detention centers. He said Conahan told him that Powell
had agreed to pay $15,000 a month for 60 months for use of the condo —
a total of nearly $1 million. He testified that Conahan made those
arrangements, not him.

Houser was incredulous. He asked Ciavarella why Powell — a wealthy,
successful businessman and personal injury lawyer — would agree to pay
nearly $1 million in rent on a condo that the judges' wives had
purchased for only $785,000, and for which Powell would receive no
ownership interest.

"That's what Powell wanted," Ciavarella insisted.

He said Powell didn't want to own the condo because his wife would
then have a claim on it — a reference to earlier testimony by a
defense witness that Powell was having an affair and planned to get a
divorce. Powell's attorney has denied the allegation.

Houser also pointed out the Pennsylvania Constitution forbids judges
from accepting payment of any kind, other than salary, "for the
performance of any judicial duty." Ciavarella responded that he wasn't
acting in his official capacity as judge when he put Mericle in touch
with Powell, but as an elected official trying to do right by the
county's troubled youth.

But he said he knew how the enormous sums he got from Mericle and
Powell would be perceived.

"I didn't want the publicity and I didn't want the scrutiny. That's
what I was trying to avoid," he said. "I did the wrong thing."

Houser was merciless, grilling Ciavarella for more than three hours
and getting one damaging admission after another.

Almost as an aside, Ciavarella acknowledged that he pocketed $15,000
to $20,000 in cash from a golf tournament fundraiser held in 2005 as
part of his judicial retention campaign. He said he kept the cash in
the house, used it for personal expenses such as dinners out, and
failed to list it on his campaign finance report.

The defense expects to rest its case Wednesday. Closing arguments will
follow.

Conahan, the other judge, has pleaded guilty to racketeering
conspiracy and awaits sentencing.


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