Scranton is great, but New York is like Scranton on acid. No, on speed. Nah. On steroids.
- Michael Scott, The Office
The sleepy little town in the hills of Pennsylvania just got a hefty dose of publicity – the unwelcome kind. Known primarily as the fictional home Dunder Mifflin, the floundering paper company in NBC’s wildly popular (and one of my favorite shows) The Office, Scranton made national news, again, as the center of a judicial kickback scandal. Real life judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan made an appearance in Scranton’s federal court last week to plead guilty to wire fraud and income tax fraud in a scheme that has shocked the country. The two are accused of taking millions of dollars in financial kickbacks in exchange for sentencing teens to privately run youth detention centers. More than 5,000 teens were sentenced under Ciavarella during the scheme.
Under the plea agreement offered by Ciavarella and Conahan, each with serve 87 months in federal prison, a sentence that many believe isn’t long enough. Each has already been removed from their positions by the Pennsylvania Bar with a resulting loss of pension; they will be required to resign from the Pennsylvania bar.
Under the scheme, Conahan arranged contracts with two privately run detention centers to agree to accept the teens in exchange for kickbacks to the two judges; Ciavarella actually issued the sentencing to the teens. Payments for the contracts were made to a Florida company controlled by the two judges, to avoid suspicion. The source of the money was reportedly concealed as business expenses or rental payments.
The income, though gained illegally, was not reported properly on an income tax return and improper expenses were reportedly claimed for the years 2003 through 2006. According to the indictment (note that the link takes you to a pdf), the tax preparers for the judges were fed “material omissions and misclassifications” and have not been charged in the scandal. The plea agreement, which has not yet been accepted as filed, would not limit the IRS from collections activities in connection with the tax fraud.
The guilty pleas will perhaps mark an end to one of the most disturbing abuses of judicial power to surface in some time. An important part of our judicial system is a belief that the system works. Those who destroyed that belief have wronged more than those involved directly in the scheme: they have shattered the perception of a fair and just legal system. Hopefully, the families and courts of Luzerne County can find some peace with the understanding that those who broke that trust are being punished.
As for Ciavarella and Conahan? The two men, clearly hated (shouts of “Rot in hell!” resonated on the streets as they left the courthouse) remain free on bail until sentencing.
Image: Wikimedia, Creative Commons courtesy of Daniel Case
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Corrupt Judges in Sydney Australia
Thanks for the news on corrupt judges. Here in Sydney, Australia i am having to deal with corrupt judges as well and need all the help i can get.
NSW State Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton is currently under investigation by the NSW Judicial Commission. Chief Executive of the NSW Judicial Commission, Mr Ernie Schmatt, initially received the complaints in January 2009.
It is claimed in Sharpless V McKibbin Justice Brereton knowingly lied and deceived 121 times in his 41 page double spaced judgement. Justice Hamilton was initially hearing the case but resigned day two of the eight day case without stating the explicit reason for his resignation.
Plaintiff Sharpless’s solicitor was then called to Chief Justice Spiegelman’s office and told Justice Brereton was appointed to hear the case.
The defendant Paul McKibbin was the former deputy director of an Australian intelligence agency, senior intelligence analyst and Royal Australian Navy Commander.
Justice Paul Brereton is a current military reservist, military judge, and a State Supreme Court Judge. Justice Brereton said he did not believe he would be biased in his judgement. This proved to be totally incorrect.
Plaintiff Sharpless was told his court case would have to be completely recommenced with large additional costs if he did not accept Justice Brereton as the new judge. Plaintiff Sharpless was additionally told it would be more then 12 months before the case could be heard in the NSW Supreme court if he did not accept Justice Brereton.
The plaintiffs initial complaints to the NSW Judicial commission also included the actions of Justice Hamilton and the actual reasons for his resignation from Sharpless V McKibbbin. Once informed of the complaint Justice Hamilton seemingly prematurely retired. Sharpless’s solicitor has also sought legal advice concerning his meeting with NSW Supreme court Chief Justice Spigelman.
This is not the first time Justice Brereton has been accused of bias. A previous case being Rolah McCabe tobacco litigation where the law firm Slater & Gordon suceeded in having Justice Brereton disqualify himself.
The current allegations against Justice Brereton are many. They include knowingly perverting the course of justice multiple times and more seriously using his judicial position to conspire with his employer, the Australian Defence Force to enable cover-ups of major criminal activity by members of the ADF including the defendant. The allegations and investigations against Justice Brereton also include perverting the course of justice to cover-up the attempted murder of the plaintiff. The actual events meantioned in the Supreme court were over a 16 year period.
Despite the investigations and complaints Justice Brereton is still making judgements in Supreme Court cases and Paul Sharpless is still waiting for action by the NSW Judicial Commission.
This is “Law and Order in real time.” The story is still occuring.