The LuLac Edition #1950, February 18th, 2012

CIAVARELLA VERDICT: 1 YEAR LATER

Today marks the first anniversary of the conviction for former Judge Mark Ciavarella. The guilty verdict came in shortly before 1pm on a Friday afternoon at the Scranton Federal Courthouse. The verdict was the culmination of a two week trial where the former Judge took the stand and admitted guilt to income tax fraud but not to the kids for cash scandal.
After the verdict, Ciavarella and his attorney Al Flora stood on the steps talking about the case. They were interrupted by an irate parent who publicly blamed Ciavarella for her son’s suicide.
Ciavarella originally plead in 2009 and was to serve 7 years. That was thrown out by Judge Edwin Kosik when it was determined that Ciavarella and another former Judge Michael Conahan were not showing enough significant regret for what they had done. If the first plea bargain had stood, both Ciavarella and Conahan would be halfway through their sentences right now. (Ciavarella got 28 years, Conahan 17 ½).
All of the principles in this case are now serving jail time, except for developer Robert Mericle who has yet to be sentenced.,
The Judiciary in Luzerne County has been revamped with 8 new Judges in the course of two years. Hopefully, we’ll never see another Judicial scandal like this one ever again in our history

Ciavarella Trial Verdict Part One from David Yonki on Vimeo.