UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

TAMPA DIVISION

In re: MARK A. ADAMS CASE NO.: 8:08-cv-01570-RAL

Appellant, e-x : 0
c:,. 1p
3 -n
v. -,:,
CORPORATE SPORTS
MARKTEING GROUP, INC., ET. AL., :c;.,,-: '5 ~ a
p?
-.>.;
p-;:.-
..
T,%',
-
M

A~pellees. I
E"",.
&i) ..' 4!
97 (I.5
c,,'.,
-iiG .F-
-
APPELLANT'S NOTICE TO THE COURT OF NEWS COVERAGE %%
CONCERNING PROSECUTION OF JUDGES AND OTHERS INVOLVEB IN CASE
FIXING AND PUBLIC CORRUPTION IN PENNSYLVANIA AND FLORIDA

COMES NOW, the Appellant, Mark A. Adams, and files this notice to the Court of news

coverage concerning prosecution of judges and others involved in case fixing and public

corruption in Pennsylvania and Florida showing:

I. Attached as Exhibit A is a newspaper article published on the front page of the

Perspective section of the St. Petersburg Times on Sunday, January 25,2009 titled

"Fighting corruption with the 'honest services' doctrine." The headline in the

Perspective section was "Honest Services Fraud." Please note that the Times reports that

people in Florida government are concerned about an investigation. They really should

be because plenty of evidence has been provided about them, to them and to President

Obarna's transition team for the Department of Justice.

2. Attached as Exhibit B is a newspaper article published in The Times Leader on January

27,2009 titled "Feds: Judges used system to enrich selves." This article reports on the

indictments of two judges for case fixing and violating the rights of criminal defendants.
3. Attached as Exhibit C is a newspaper article published in The Times Leader on February

1,2009 titled "A long history of controversies." This article has more information about

the judges who were indicted for fixing cases.

4. More news coverage about the prosecutions of judges in Pennsylvania can be found at

http:llwww.timesleader.com~news/hottopics/judgesThe news coverage includes articles

about members of the court staff being indicted and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court first

denying a petition to review the illegal sentences handed out by the indicted judges, but

after they were indicted, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided to grant a rehearing on

that petition. My sources there indicate that the sudden change was due to the realization

that the Justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court may become targets of the

prosecution for covering up the illegal activity of the indicted judges. Of course, it could

also be due to the fact that it is a crime to cover up a crime by approving an illegal ruling

issued contrary to controlling precedent by a lower court. For example, a violation of a

right made specific by statutes, rules or settled interpretations of them is a violation of 18

U.S.C. 5 242 which provides cri:riminal penalties for a deprivation of rights under color of

law. U.S. v. Lanier, 520 U.S. 259,267 (1997). Of course, there are a variety of criminal

statutes which come into play when a crime is cover-up, sce 18 U.S.C. 5 5 3 and 4, and

when someone who reports illegal activity to retaliated against, see 18 U.S.C. $rj 1511,

1513, and 3771.

5. A lot of the corruption in Florida has been covered by the North Country Gazette which

can be found at http:llwww.northcountrygazette.org/ The North Country Gazette has

covered the criminal conduct of Timothy W. Weber, the Battaglia firm,Judge Crockett

Farnell, the Second District Court of Appeal, the Florida Bar, Judge Gregory P. Holder,
 and the Florida Supreme Court in connection with the illegal persecution of me for daring

to expose Weber's boasts of his ability to improperly influence Judge Crocket Famell, for

filing a motion to vacate the void the sanctions judgments illegally obtaincd by Weber

from Judge Crockett Famell, for making criminal complaints about these illegal activities

to the appropriate authorities, and for otherwise exposing their criminal conduct.

6. The election contests which 1handled and in which we produced evidence showing that

votes were flipped from Democratic and Independent candidates to Republicans have

been covered by Scoop http://www.scoop.co.nz/ by Election Fraud News

http://www.electionfraudnews.com/ by News from the Underground

hrp://markcrispinmiller.com/ and by the Brad Blog http://www.bradblog.com/ in

addition to other news outlets.

7. As a result, of my efforts to defend myself from the crooks who run Florida, I've been

asked to speak at several judicial reform conferences, and I've spoken at twojudicial

reform conferences in Washington DC, one in the Cannon House Office Building which

included Professor Akhil Reed Amar of Yale Law School and one at the National Press

Club. Also, I've spoken at the National Judicial Reform Conference at Rice University

which can be viewed online at

http://video.google.comlvideoplay?docid=5135583133302349969

8. Due to my work in media reform and election reform, I've been a panel speaker at the

National Media Reform Conference in Memphis, Tennessee, and I've been invited to

write for 0pEdNews.com http://www.opednews.com/ for Republic Media

http://www.republicmedia.tv/ and The Daily Censored http://dailycensored.com/ which is

 the blog for Project Censored http://www.projectcensored.org/ the world renowned media

watchdog organization.

9. In addition, a large number of articles about my experience with judicial corruption and

my work in election refonn and media reform can be found on the internet.

10. More can be found on my channel on Blip.TV at http:llmarkadams.blip.tvl including my

video exposing a deputy clerk's admission that the Clerk of the Florida Supreme Court

enters orders without the approval of any of the Justices which can be found at

http:Nblip.tvlfilell339250 and don't miss the links below the video.

11. Also, I've been a guest on a number of television shows on public access television.

12. Finally, I'm a regular guest on a number of radio shows across the nation. For some

examples, see Project Vote Count's Election News at

htlp://vvww.projectvotecount.com/Electionewsaspx In fact, I'm already scheduled to

do two in the next week, and one is broadcast in Palm Beach County, Florida as well as

on the internet.

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certifi that I have served a true and correct copy of this document via U.S. Mail

to Stephen L. Meininger, Esquire, attorney for the Bankruptcy Trustee, at 707 North Franklin

Street, Suite 850; Tampa, FL 33602; to Donald R. Kirk, Esquire, of Fowler White Boggs Banker,

P.A., counsel for Timothy W. Weber, at P.O.Box 1438; Tampa, FL 33601; and to Timothy W.
Weber, Esquire, pro se of Battaglia, Ross, Dicus & Wein, P.A., at P. 0.Box 41 100; St

Pelersburg, FL 33743 on this 7'"L.

# ,
day of February, 2009.

Mark A. Adams JDMBA

4 129 Balington Dr.
Valrico, FL 33596
Telephone: 813-643-4412
Exhibit A
Fighting corruption with the 'honest services'
doctrine
By Lucv Morean, Times Senior Comespondent
In F'rifflt:Sunday. January 25,2009

It might be a good idea for public officials and those who lobby them in Florida to pay attention to what's going on
in federal courtrooms around the nation. Especially state legislators.

Federal prosecutors are winning cases using a doctrine called "honest services" fraud. It's a broad way to fight public
corruption.

In plain words the law presumes a public official owes the public a duty of honest services. When the official fails
and does so using the mail or telephones -or perhaps e-mail or BlackBeny -while concealing a h c i a l
interest, it becomes a crime.

In some states the law has been used to prosecute legislators who accepted jobs or gifts h m lobbyists or institutions
that receive public money.

Most of us are familiar with bribery and understand that it takes proof that a public official was willing to do
something in return for a corrupt payment. But "honest services" fraud is easier to prove than outright bribery.

The change came about in 1988 when Congress specifically rewrote mail and wire fraud laws to include schemes
designed to "deprive another of the intangible right of honest services!' Tbat decision came afier the U.S. Supreme
Court ovenuled lower courts and tossed out comption charges against Kentucky officials, saying those laws did not
prohibit schemes to defraud citizens of the intangible right to honest government.

As it frequently does, Congress reworked the statutes to make its intent clear in answer to a court rulii.
Convictions taken under the 1988 law have since been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and a number of appellate
courts. "Public officials inherently owe a fiduciary duty to the public to make governmental decisions in the public's
best interest," wrote the 1lth U.S. Circuit in a 1999 case.

Some officials have been prosecuted for omitting income on their fmancial disclosure statements and voting against
legislation affectingthe income that was not disclosed. Others have been prosecuted for taking sham jobs with
businesses and governmental agencies. A Missouri lawmaker was convicted after he accepted free lodging from an
insurance lobbyist. And some have been prosecuted for making and taking campaign contributions in expectation of
government action.

It's one of the reasons that public corruption indictments have risen more than 40 percent in the past two years, notes
the American Bar Association's White Collar Crime Newsletter. Defense attorneys complain that the charge loads
the deck against them, and appellate courts are divided. But hundreds of public officials have gone to jail on the
charge.

The charges were among those brought against Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, U.S. Reps. William Jefferson
and Randy "Duke" Cunningham and more recently in Palm Beach County corruption cases.

The way fodcral prosecutors see it, public officials have a duty to make decisions in the best interest of the people
who elect them. Whcn they make decisions based on personal interests, they are defrauding the public.

In one case city cmployces were prosecuted after they strnctured the hiring and promotion system so that those who
participated in the right political campaign got better jobs and more money.
A New Jersey lawmaker was convicted of the crime in November after he used his power and influence to oWm a
$35,000-a-yearjob at a state School of Osteopathic Medicine after he helped steer $10-million in state grants to the
school. A former dean at the medical school was also convicted of rigging the hiring process to create a job for the
legislator.

Sound familiar?

There are some differences in the New Jersey case and the acceptance of a $1 10,000-a-year college job by Florida
House Speaker Ray Sansom. The New Jersey official failed to disclose his job and funneled money to the college
aftcr going on the college payroll. On the day Sansom became speaker, Northwest Florida State College appointed
him to an unadvertised job as vicc president. A day later the college announced the appointment. Sansom had
h e l e d millions of dollars in construction money to the college. He has denied any wrongdoing but resigned from
the college earlier this month after news of the appointment created an uproar. Sansom did say he has consulted
Peter Antonacci, a Tallahassee defense attorney who is a former statewide prosecutor.

One governmental lawyer who has been paying a lot of attention to honest services fraud cases is Leon County
Attorney Herbert W.A. Thiele. He has written a lengthy memo on the subject and made presentations on the law for
city and county officials around the state.

Thiele says hc decided to look into the law after reading about the prosecutions in Palm Beach County

His advice: "If you have to think about whether you should be doing it, maybe you shouldn't he doing it."

Efforts to put an honest services h u d clause in to state law have so far been unsuccessful, but Sen. Dan Gelber, D-
Miami Beach, says he is making another attempt to get legislative approval of the measure this year. Gelber, a
former federal prosecutor, said it is a "useful tool that should be part of the arsenal that state prosecutors have."

A good look inside some ofthese cases might make Florida lawmakers and lobbyists thankful for the 2005 law that
prohibits lobbyists from giving gifts to legislators. Assuming, of course, that everyone has obeyed the law.

You might also wonder: Is an honest services investigation in Tallahassee's &me?

Acting U.S. Attorney Thomas Kiwin won't say. But some of Tallahassee's best defense attorneys admit they are
boning up on the law. And they won't name the potential clients asking for help.

Times researcher Caiyn Baird conrrdbuted to this report. Lucy Morgan can be reached at imorgan@sptimes.com or
(850) 224-7263.

About honest sewices fraud

In 1988 Congress, reacting to a Supreme Court decision that tossed out convictions of Kentucky officials, added the
phrase "intangible right of honest services" to mail and wire h u d law. The court had said the law did not prohibit
schemes to defraud citizens of intangible rights to honest and impartial government. The code is 18 USC 1346.
Congress specifically passed it to ovemun the court's ruling in McNally vs. US.483 US 350 1987.

Who has been convicted of honest services fraud

Jack Abramoff, a Washington, D.C., lobbyist sentenced in September to four years in prison for corrupting
politicians with golfjunkets, expensive meals, luxury seats at sporting events and o k r gifts. He is also serving a
sentence of almost six years in an unrelated h u d case involving a casino cruise line he purchased in Florida.

Wayne R. Bryant, a former Democratic New Jersey state senator, was convicted in November of multiple
corruption charges, including honest services h u d , for using his power and influence to obtain a low-show job at a
state School of Osteopathic Medicine in exchange for bringing millions of dollars in extra funding to the school.
Kevin Geddings, the former North Carolina lottery commissioner, a Democrat, was sentenced in 2006 to four years
for concealing work done for a lottery vendor when he accepted a seat on the state l o w commission in 2005. Hc
failed to disclose work for Scientific Games on his state ethics form.

Also convicted of honest sewices fraud

Jeff Skilling, the former %on CEO, was sentenced in 2007 to 24 years in prison for depriving Enron of his honest
services by using a widespread conspiracy to lie to investors about the company's financial health.

Rsndy "Duke" Cunningham, the former U.S. representative, R-Calif., was sentenced in March 2006 to eight years
in prison after pleading guilty to multiple corruption charges involving his acceptance of more than $2.4-million in
homes, yachts, antiques, Persian mgs and other items from defense contractors.

Bob Ney, a former U.S. representative and Ohio Republican, was sentenced in 2007 to 30 months in prison a h r he
admitted corruptly accepting luxury vacation trips, skybox seats at sporting events, campaign contributions and
expensive meals from Abmmoff.

Don Siegelman, the former Alabama governor, a Democrat, was convicted of multiple charges involving a
$500,000 contribution to his campaign to establish a lottery, allegedly in exchange for appointing the donor to a
board that regulates hospitals. Sentenced to seven years but has been released pending an appeal afte~widespread
publicity about the involvement of Republican operatives, including former White House political adviser Karl
Rove.

PALM BEACH COUNTY COMMISSIONER MARY McCARTY, a Republican, resigned earlier this month
after admitting charges of honest services fraud involving the acceptance of discounts, free hotel stays and other
undisclosed gifts provided by businesses doing business with the county. Four other city and county commissiouen
have been charged with similar crimes since 2006.
Exhibit B
Feds: Judges used system to enrich selves Page 1 of 5

January 27
Feds: Judges used system to enrich seives
Allegations are that Ciavarella, Conahan took $2.6M in kickbacks in exchange
for judicial rulings regarding detention centers.

By Ie~~kMoraan~B.eseckeflm~gan@timesleader~o.m
Law & Order Reporter

SCRANTON - For more than a decade, Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan served on the
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, developing reputations as hard-working judges.

Read more Luzerne County Judges articles

Related headlines

_Spokessman:~Judg~kely~!ose pensiolls
Judae Musto: 'Sad, vindicatedl
.Ciavarella3 lawyers filejapers

. Judge case_ewill~im~c_hoicefatingvoters
M ~ ~ r & . i ~ ~ . B i g _ c h a n afor
e scourts
Feds: Judges used system to enrich selves Page 2 of 5

legaIadvac.at%pacent: J u d q e l e t ~ w n y o u t h s
Muroski vows to-re:e_std_blish confidence
Judae aIIeaatiions.evoke reactions
Plansfor l _ i ~ e h ~ t~ss
s_hs_hort:ciirrccuIted
M o n d ~ a t glance
a

Related Document

Read thecompkte federal co.m~4aintaga~s.~.ud_~sIPPFI

On Monday, federal prosecutors revealed the longtime jurists were allegedly working equally
hard behind the scenes on a far less noble endeavor - enriching themselves at the expense
of the public and juveniles who appeared in Luzerne County Court.

They did so in the form of kickbacks - $2.6 million worth -that U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson
said were paid to the judges by two unnamed people in exchange for favorable judicial rulings
regarding the PA Child Care juvenile detention center in Pittston Township, and its sister
facility, Western PA Child Care in Butler County."This is a sad event when individuals who
took an oath violate that oath and violate the law," Carlson said at a Monday afternoon press
conference at the federal courthouse where he announced charges of conspiring to defraud
the IRS and devising a scheme to defraud taxpayers of their honest services had been filed
against the jurists.

Carlson said Ciavarella, 58, and Conahan, 56, have signed plea agreements that call for them
to serve 87 months in prison and to pay a yet-to-bedetermined amount of restitution.

The judges have also agreed to resign from office within 10 days after the court accepts their
pleas, and will immediately be disbarred from practicing law. Ciavarella resigned as president
judge on Friday.

The maximum combined penalty for the two offenses was 25 years in prison and up to
$500,000 in fines. Carlson said he believed the plea deal that was worked out serves justice.

The charges stem from a more than two-year investigation by the FBI and IRS that uncovered
a "flagrant violation of public trust," said Leslie DeMarco, special agent in charge of the IRS
criminal investigation unit.

"They sold their oath of office to the highest bidders and engaged in an ongoing scheme to
defraud the public," Deron Roberts, chief of the FBI's Scranton office, said at the news
conference.

The 22-page complaint details an elaborate scheme the judges developed to ensure PA Child
Care, then owned by Butler Township attorney Robert Powell and Gregory Zappala,
prospered financially. Gregory Zappala is the son of former Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Justice Stephen A. Zappala.

According to the complaint:

Feds: Judges used system to enrich selves Page 3 of 5

Conahan removed funding for the county-operated juvenile center on River Street in Wilkes-
Barre in 2002, ensuring its closure. The county began sending youths to PA Child Care when
it opened in February 2003.

Just prior to its opening, Conahan signed a "placement guarantee agreement" with the facility
that guaranteed the courts would pay an annual rental installment of $1.3 million.

Ciavarella, the county's longtime juvenile court judge, helped ensure PA Child Care had a
high occupancy rate by, at times, ordering children be detained there even when the juvenile
probation department felt it was not necessary.

Ciavarella did that in part by establishing a "specialty court" that created a potential for an
increased number of juveniles to be sent to PA Child Care.

The judges' actions assisted the two juvenile centers in securing agreements with Luzerne
County that were worth "tens of million of dollars" for the placement of juvenile offenders, the
complaint says.

The complaint also describes how two others involved in the scheme - identified as
"participant 1" and "participant 2" -funneled money to the judges by disguising the payments
as a "broker fee" or as falsely portraying them as rental payments for a Florida condominium.

Carlson would not identify the two participants, but details contained in the complaint indirectly
identifv them as Powell and Robert Mericle of Mericle Construction. the contractor who built
both the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care facilities.

The complaint notes that in June 2000, Ciavarella had a conversation with a Luzerne County
attorney "who was interested in constructing a juvenile detention facility" in the county.
Ciavarella then introduced that person to a contractor, a friend of Ciavarella who was later
hired by that attorney to build the center.

The complaint also notes several transfers of funds that were made by Mericle Construction
and Vision Holdings, a company owned by Powell, that prosecutors contend were made to
conceal payments to Conahan and Ciavarella.

No charges have been filed against Mericle, Powell or Zappala. Asked if any more charges
were forthcoming, Carlson would only say the investigation is continuing.

Powell could not be reached for comment Monday. In prepared statements, Mericle and
Zappala, who bought out Powell's interest in the centers last June, denied any criminal
activity.

"At no time did Robert Mericle or Mericle Construction ever make any payment to influence a
decision to secure a contract to build any PA Child Care facility," said Lew Sebia, general
counsel for Mericle Construction. "Mr. Mericle has cooperated with authorities with respect to
this investigation and will continue to do so in the future without exception."

William Brucker, attorney for PA Child Care, said Zappala did not have "any knowledge
whatsoever of the actions" described in the complaint.
Feds: Judges used system to enrich selves Page 4 of 5

"I can confirm only that no charges have been brought against the companies or its principal
owner, Gregory Zappala, and that none are anticipated," Brucker said.

Ciavarella's attorney, Al Flora, of W~lkes-Barre,said Ciavarella and Conahan also dispute

some of the allegations contained in the complaint.

"The information you have before you constitutes the government's allegations. It is not an
admission to all those allegations," Flora said.

Flora explained the plea agreement is a "conditional plea." The precise facts that Ciavarella
and Conahan will admit to will not be known until they actually appear before a judge to enter
their pleas, Flora said. No date has been set for that hearing.

At the time the judges appear in court, the U.S. Attorney's Ofice will have to recite evidence in
support of the various allegations, Flora said. Ciavarella and Conahan would then have to
decide whether to admit to those particular facts, he said.

Flora said Ciavarella will not admit to all of the information included in the complaint. If the
government presents facts in support of each of those allegations, Ciavarella will not agree to
enter the plea, he said.

"I can tell you, Judge Ciavarella will not admit to every one of those allegations," Flora said.

Flora said he is also speaking on behalf of Conahan, who is represented by attorney Philip
-
Gelso. He said he believes Conahan also will not admit to all of the alleaations contained in
the complaint.

It was not clear Monday whether the case will be heard by a judge sitting in Scranton, or be
transferred to a jurist within another section of the Middle District, such as Harrisburg or
Williamsport. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubrod.

Conahan and Ciavarella will remain free pending their court appearances. Asked why the
judges were not immediately taken into custody, Carlson said it is standard procedure to allow
anyone charged with a "white-collar crime" such as this to remain free until they are
summoned to enter the plea in court. He stressed that all proceedings involving the judges will
be public.

"While some might wish for a moment of high drama, that sort of perp walk &hellip justice
requires us to deal with these defendants like we would every other defendant in a similar
situation," he said.

Stressing the investigation is continuing, Carlson called upon anyone who may have further
knowledge relating to the case to contact the FBI or IRS.

Find this article at:

h t t p : l l w w w . t i m e s l e a d e r . w m l n e w s / h o t t o p i ~ l - 2 6 - 2 0 0 9 . h t m l
Feds: Judges used system to enrich selves Page 5 of 5

a Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article

Q 2008.The Tlmes Leader. All RWta Resewed

Exhibit @
A long history of controversies Page 1 of 6

LUZERNE COUNTY JUDICIAL SCANDAL

February I
A long histoy of controversies
Conahan, Ciavarella in earlier disputes
By Terrie-Morgan-Beseckertmoraan@tirnesleader.corn
Law & Order Reporter

-
WILKES-BARRE The controversies began even before they donned their judicial robes.

Read more Luzerne County Judges articles

Then-President Judge Michael Conahan is shown inside his chambers in this Nov. 1,2006
photo.

Fred Adarns file photo/The Times Leader

A long history of controversies Page 2 of 6

Judge Mark Ciavarella leaves the Luzerne County Courthouse after an afternoon meeting last
June 19.

AlMEE DILGER file Photorrhe Times Leader

Michael Conahan was accused of playing dirty politics in his successful 1993 campaign that
unseated Joseph Musto from the county bench.

Mark Ciavarella's political tactics in his 1995 campaign also were questioned by a rival, who
alleged Ciavarella's vow to sentence criminals to the maximum allowed by law violated judicial
canons.

More than a decade later, Conahan's and Ciavarella's judicial careers have ended as they
-
began mired in controversy.

The two long-time jurists were relieved of their duties last week by the state Supreme Court
following the filing of federal criminal charges.

They are scheduled to appear in federal court on Feb. 12 to enter guilty pleas that call for
them to serve 87 months in prison on charges they accepted more than $2.6 million in
kickbacks in exchange for rulings that favored the developers of a local juvenile detention
center.

The controversy, while the most explosive, is among a host of contentious rulings and battles
the two judges have engaged in throughout their years on the bench.

Questionable rulings, alleged drug ties pester Conahan

Alleged drug ties and questionable rulings dog Conahan.

The spotlight fimt shined on Conahan in the summer of 1994 when, just eight months in office,
testimony from a 1991 trial that linked him to a Florida drug dealer was made public.

Neal DeAngelo, a Hazleton area businessman, had testified that Conahan, then a district
- in Hazleton, introduced him to Ronald Belletiere. who was on trial for his role in the
-iudae
Empire drug ring that operated in the Hazleton area in'the mid 1980s.
A long history of controversies Page 3 of 6

A transcript of that trial, which became public during the 1994 sentencing of another
participant in the drug ring, revealed the prosecutor had referred to Conahan as an "unindicted
co-conspirator."

Conahan, who vehemently denied any involvement, was never charged in connection with
that investigation.

Belletiere sewed four years in prison and was released in 1995. His name surfaced again in
-
connection with Conahan last July when it was revealed that Conahan's wife, Barbara, and
Belletiere opened a car dealership in Florida in 2004.

Charles Rebhan, the former secretary for the dealership, RAB Auto Sales, said he was
present at a meeting with the Conahans and Belletiere at which they agreed to set up the
dealership.

After weathering the initial storm surrounding the alleged ties to a drug dealer, Conahan
sewed on the bench in relative obscurity until 2002, when he was elected president judge.

It was the beginning of a contentious, four-year stint in which he issued numerous rulings that
would be questioned -including decisions on the PA Child Care Center that led to the criminal
charges against him.

Conahan had been president judge for 10 months when he ordered the juvenile probation
department to stop sending youth to the county's juvenile detention center on River Street in
Wilkes-Barre.

He and Ciavarella, who oversaw juvenile court, declared in October 2002 that the center was
unfit for habitation, desDite the fact the state Deoartment of Public Welfare had iust insoected
the center and deemed it was acceptable to hobse youth.

Then-county commissioners Tom Makowski, Tom Pizano and Stephen Urban vehemently
protested the decision, but were powerless to overturn it.

Several months earlier, Conahan's judgment had been questioned when he awarded the
Woodlands Inn and Resort $13 million in a lawsuit that owners Mark and Gary Kornfeld filed
against a bank in connection with a legal dispute over two mortgages.

The state Superior Court later overturned the verdict, noting that the Kornfelds had
acknowledgd they did not suffer any financial harm: The court said Conahan had abused his
discretion in awardina an "enormous" verdict that "did not bear anv reasonable relationshio to
the actual damages hffered."

The court returned the case to county court and directed another judge be assigned. It was
given to Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr., who awarded the Kornfelds $900,000.

The controversies for Conahan continued in 2003, when, in a highly unusual move, he closed
his courtroom during a hearing for courthouse employee Molly Sheridan.

Sheridan had appealed the automatic suspension of her driver's license that was imposed by
A long history of controversies Page 4 of 6

the state Department of Transportation after she allegedly refused to take a blood alcohol test
following her arrest on suspicion of drunken driving.

Conahan maintained he closed the hearing because there was too much noise and he could
not hear - although several ~ e o ~inl the
e area told The Times Leader the noise was far from
excessive. The judge later issued a written opinion reversing Sheridan's license suspension.

In 2004, controversy regarding the juvenile center re-erupted after Conahan sealed a lawsuit
filed by PA Child Care that sought to prevent the disclosure of the state Department of Public
Welfare's audit of the facility.

The center alleged the suit contained "trade secrets." The Times Leader appealed to the state
Superior Court, which in 2005 overturned the ruling. In its decision, the court said Conahan
had provided no evidence to support his ruling that the audit contained trade secrets.

That was the first in a series of controversial rulings and decisions made by the judge that
year.

In March 2005, he ruled Wilkes-Barre Township had to issue an occupancy permit to the all
nude Club 10 Plus because township officials failed to give the operator a hearing within the
required time frame. The township appealed but the ruling was upheld.

Then, in June, Conahan unexpectedly transferred Judge Chester Muroski from his long-term
position as the family court judge.

The action came one week after Muroski sent county commissioners a letter that questioned
spending in the juvenile court system. Conahan insisted the move was not related to the letter.

At the time, Muroski declined to comment on a possible connection between the two. On
Friday, after he was elected president judge, he said he believed the move was in retaliation
for the letter.

More controversial decisions followed in the summer of 2005 when Conahan ordered Wilkes-
Barre resident Denise Carey to pay more than $11,000 in legal fees to the city in connection
with a failed petition that challenged the closure of a Heights fire house.

An appellate court later reversed him, finding that he "failed to take any evidence or issue any
finding" in support of the award.

Conahan retired in January 2007 amid widespread speculation that he was under
investigation. He continued to serve as senior judge until his removal last week.

Arguable sentences, juvenile complaints dog Ciavarella

In the 12 years he spent as a private practice attorney, Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. developed a
reputation as a brash go-getter who wasn't afraid to take on controversial cases.

He showed that style in 1993, when he filed suit against Wilkes University on behalf of Joann
Curley. Curley's suit alleged her husband, Robert, suffered a fatal exposure to the poison
A long history of controversies Page 5 of 6

thallium while working in a lab there.

The reality, the public later learned, was that Joanne Curley had methodically spiked her
husband's tea with rat poison. She pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in 1997 and was
sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison.

Ciavarella's penchant for taking on controversial cases and issues would follow him to the
bench.

Just four months in office, he ruled in April 1996 that a police roadblock used to nab drunk
drivers was illegal, leading to charges being tossed. It was the first such local challenge to the
roadblock issue.

That November, he fired the attorney for homicide suspect Richard Clark after finding the
attorney was emotionally unfit.

The next month, he detained Pittston Area School Board members and teachers
representatives at the courthouse for hours on a Saturday to force them to discuss contract
negotiations.

In 2001 he angered the public and the state OfFice of Attorney General when he sentenced
convicted pimp Al Carpinet to nine to 18 months in prison on drug and prostitution charges.
The AG's ofice deemed the sentence a "slap on the wrist."

The same claim would be made in June 2003, when Ciavarella dismissed the most serious
charges against coal company heir Louis Pagnotti Ill in connection with Pagnotti's abduction
of three children who were inside a car that he commandeered while in the midst of a
psychiatric delusion.

The ruling drew howls of protest from the victims' family members, who publicly questioned
whether Pagnotti had been give preferential treatment. Pagnotti later pleaded guilty to lesser
charges and was sentenced to probation.

By far, the most prominent controversies in Ciavarella's career centered on his dealings in
juvenile court.

Those complaints were first publicly aired in 2004, when the mother of a 15-year-old honor
student called The Times ~eaderto detail what she believed had been an overly punitive
penalty assessed to her child behind the closed doors of juvenile court.

The girl's story prompted the newspaper to run a three-day series of stories that examined the
juvenile court system and raised serious questions about Ciavarella's sentencing patterns.

No action was taken by any group or agency, however, until last year, when the Juvenile Law
Center in Philadelphia intervened.

The center filed a petition with the state Supreme Court in April seeking to overturn rulings in
hundreds of cases in which children appeared before the judge without an attorney.
A long history of controversies Page 6 of 6

The petition prompted numerous other parents to contact the media with allegations of how
their children were shipped off to treatment facilities following hearings at which they were
given scant or no chance to speak. But the high court declined to hear the case.

Conahan and Ciavarella are scheduled to enter their pleas next week, but the controversy
surrounding their dealings with the juvenile justice system promises to live on.

The Juvenile Law Center on Friday filed a new petition, asking the court to reconsider its
decision not to hear the case. The center based its new petition on the criminal charges filed
against Ciavarella and Conahan. Several law firms are also exploring multi-party lawsuits.

To read past stories about the Luzerne County judicial scandal, visit www.times

leader.com

Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7179

Find this article at:

http:l~.%mesleader.~0mIne~o/hottopi~ljudges/lN~ROBES~OF~CONTRO~RSY~O2-Ol-2OO9.hml

Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article

0 2008. TheTimes Leader. All Rights Resewed.