Posted on 06/12/2009 5:52:31 AM PDT by Born Conservative
WILKES-BARRE - Attorney Robert J. Powell came wired to his meetings with two judges who demanded kickbacks for helping his juvenile detention centers flourish, recording "incriminating conversations" that were "instrumental" in bringing the judges to justice, federal prosecutors say in a legal document obtained Wednesday by Times-Shamrock Newspapers.
That cooperation could earn Mr. Powell, who has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an accessory to the Luzerne County judges, a shorter prison sentence than the 21 to 27 months he would normally face under federal sentencing guidelines.
The legal document, prepared by federal prosecutors with input from Mr. Powell's attorneys for presentation at his plea hearing in U.S. District Court in Scranton next week, paints Mr. Powell as fearful of retaliation from the judges, who could "ruin" him by stopping the flow of juveniles to his centers.
The document also provides new details about the role wealthy developer Robert K. Mericle, who built the centers, allegedly played in the kids-for-cash scheme. The judges recommended Mr. Mericle to Mr. Powell when Mr. Powell approached them in 2001 with plans to build a detention center in Pittston Twp., according to federal prosecutors.
In January 2003, when the center was nearly complete, Mr. Mericle, who has not been charged in the case, agreed to pay the judges a $2 million "finder's fee" without Mr. Powell's knowledge, the document says.
When one of the judges, Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., later directed Mr. Powell to funnel the $2 million to the judges through his own accounts to mask the source of the payments, Mr. Powell felt he couldn't refuse: The document says Mr. Powell "felt that the judges 'had him over a barrel' and acceded to the demand."
The judges later demanded that Mr. Powell pay them for closing a county-owned center and sending juvenile detainees to his centers in Pittston Twp. and Butler County. As the document says, "Ciavarella told Powell that he (Powell) was making a lot of money from the youth detention center and that he had to pay for the privilege."
Mr. Powell eventually paid the judges $772,500, the document claims, and the judges continued to demand payments even after they were aware that a federal grand jury was investigating their finances. Mr. Powell agreed to help investigators only after that probe had commenced, according to the document.
The document appears to support contentions by Mr. Powell's attorneys that he was victim of extortion who was "strong-armed" by Mr. Ciavarella and former county Judge Michael T. Conahan, who face 87 months in prison after pleading guilty to fraud and conspiracy.
The document also asserts that Mr. Powell was unaware Mr. Ciavarella was jailing juveniles for minor offenses, failing to inform them of their right to counsel and overriding court officials who recommended probation over detention "for the purpose of maximizing profits" for Mr. Powell's former company, Pennsylvania Child Care LLC. Mr. Powell's partner bought his interest in the detention centers last year after the ongoing federal corruption probe at the Luzerne County Courthouse became public.
One of Mr. Powell's attorneys, Mark B. Sheppard, declined comment on the document Wednesday because it has yet to be officially filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office. But Mr. Sheppard confirmed the document was authentic. He said it was the final version of the "statement of offense conduct" that both sides agreed will be read into the record when Mr. Powell pleads guilty next week to failing to report a felony and being an accessory to a conspiracy.
Efforts to reach U.S. Attorney Martin C. Carlson were unsuccessful Wednesday.
The document is the first in the kids-for-cash case to name Mr. Mericle as the builder who paid millions to the two judges. Other documents filed in the case refer to him only as an unnamed contractor who built the juvenile detention centers, but indicate that payments to the two judges were made by Mericle Construction Inc.
Mr. Mericle and his attorneys did not return phone messages Wednesday. Mr. Mericle's company has released a statement saying he is cooperating with federal investigators.
Mr. Powell, 49, who made millions from the detention centers and his personal-injury law practice, has agreed to forfeit his private jet and yacht, purchased for $3.9 million, to the federal government as part of his plea agreement. The Rice Twp. resident faces a maximum of 5½ years in prison and $500,000 in fines and could face disbarment or suspension of his law license by the state Supreme Court. Federal prosecutors could recommend a much more lenient sentence, depending on his level of cooperation, according to his plea agreement.
Mr. Ciavarella, 59, and Mr. Conahan, 57, are free on bail pending their sentencing, which has yet to be scheduled. They were removed as judges by the state Supreme Court after they were charged in January. They could not be reached for comment.
Just ONE of the dirty little secrets about our “justice” system.
(psst, it’s run by crooks)
It isn't just a juvy thing either. This is going on across the country at all levels. Think "war on drugs."
Violating one’s Oath of Office should be a Death Penalty Offense, it will eliminate all this crap overnight.
Agree completely. Doesn't an oath mean anything anymore? I guess not.
Ciavarella is a Democrat.
JUDGE HOPEFUL CIAVARELLA STRESSES COURT EXPERIENCE
Times Leader, The (Wilkes Barre, PA) - Friday, April 7, 1995
Author: JIM VAN NOSTRAND; Times Leader Staff Writer
WILKES-BARRE —
“Mark Ciavarella Jr . won’t need any on-the-job training to be a Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas judge, he said Thursday.”
snip
“A registered Democrat , Ciavarella has cross-filed on the Democratic and Republican tickets for the May 16 primary.”
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