Mark Ciavarella, Racketeering, Pennsylvania 2011

Former Judge Mark Ciavarella Faces Justice for Luzerne County Scandal

A three-member panel of the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia has upheld the conviction and 28-year sentence of former state court judge Mark Ciavarella. The ruling came after an 11-day jury trial in February 2011, where Ciavarella was found guilty of various charges, including racketeering, conspiracy, and mail fraud.

In August 2011, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik sentenced Ciavarella to 336 months (28 years) imprisonment and ordered restitution of $965,930 to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and $207,861 in restitution related to the tax charges.

The Court of Appeals rejected Ciavarella's attorneys' arguments that the trial judge was biased, had made incorrect rulings on evidence, and had imposed an unreasonable sentence. However, the court did agree to dismiss one count of the indictment due to the statute of limitations having run on the offense.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the dismissal of the count has no effect on the sentence, restitution, or the trial jury's findings that Ciavarella was guilty of racketeering, conspiracy, and mail fraud.

Ciavarella and his co-defendant, Michael Conahan, who also served as President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County, were initially charged in January 2009. The charges were the result of a federal investigation into alleged corruption in the Luzerne County court system. Conahan pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in April 2010 and is serving a 17-year sentence.

The case was investigated by the agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Scranton office. The inquiry, which began in 2007, expanded to include county government offices, state legislators, school districts, and contractors in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Overall, 30 local or state government officials and contractors were convicted in connection with the Luzerne County scandal.

The judicial scandal, described as the worst in Pennsylvania's history, has had major consequences, including the resignation of Ciavarella and Conahan from the bench in 2009, the vacating of thousands of juvenile convictions in Luzerne County, and changes aimed at safeguarding the constitutional rights of juveniles and improving the oversight and disciplinary process for judges in Pennsylvania.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/us-court-appeals-upholds-ciavarella-s-conviction-and-sentence