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Title: 'Cash for kids' judge took $1m kickback from private jail builder to lock children up
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URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... dren-up.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Published: Feb 21, 2011
Author: DANIEL BATES
Post Date: 2011-02-21 16:16:51 by Mad Dog
Keywords: news, you never, heard
Views: 22805
Comments: 40
A former judge has been convicted of taking a $1million kickback from the builder of a juvenile jail in the notorious ‘cash for kids’ scandal. Mark Ciavarella sent hundreds of children and teenagers to the private prison for minor crimes after being given the money by the company which ran it. Some of the children jailed were as young as 10 and at least one killed themselves because the excessive sentences ruined their lives. Cash for kids: Mark Ciavarella is confronted by Sandy Fonzo, whose son was locked up by the judge for a minor offence and subsequently killed himself Ciavarella, 61, left the bench in disgrace two years ago after the allegations came to light and is now expected to be jailed for at least 13 years. But instead of being caged immediately he was allowed to walk out of court - right into a barrage of abuse from the mother of an all-star wrestler who committed suicide after he sent him to jail. Edward Kenzakoski, 17 was never the same after being jailed for a first-time minor drug offence, his mother Sandy Fonzo raged. Distraught: Mrs Fonzo said her son was never the same after he was jailed for a first-time offence of possession of drug paraphernalia. ‘Do you remember my son? Do you remember my son? He was an all-star wrestler and he’s gone,’ she screamed. ‘He shot himself in the heart. You scumbag, you ruined my ******* life. ‘I'd like him to go to hell and rot there forever’. The ‘cash for kids’ investigation has widely been seen as one of the worst cases of judicial malpractice in U.S. history. Prosecutors said it involved Ciavarella and a second judge, Michael Conahan, 58, using juvenile delinquents as ‘pawns to enrich’ themselves to the tune of $2.3million. Ciavarella worked in Luzerne County in Pennsylvania where he was known as ‘Mr Zero Tolerance’ for his tough sentencing. But the court was told there was another reason for his hardness - he has taken nearly $1million from the owners and builders of a privately-run juvenile detention centre. The court was told the two judges closed the existing youth jail in 2002 and arranged for the construction of the PA Child Care facility near Wilkes-Barre. Ciavarella, who presided over juvenile court, ensured it was busy by sending hundreds of teenagers and children there, even if they had never been in trouble before. Some were locked up even after probation officers recommended against it - one teenager was jailed for two years for joyriding with his parents’ car. The extent of the scandal only became clear afterwards when a a court in Pennsylvania dismissed 4,000 cases of his judgements. Now a jury in Scranton has convicted Ciavarella of 12 counts, including racketeering and conspiracy, and acquitted him of 27 counts. Incredibly as he walked out of the courtroom his lawyer tried to pass it off as some kind of victory. Al Flora Jr said: ‘There was never a bribe. This was not a "cash for kids" scandal.' Ciavarella himself added that he ‘never took a dime to send a kid anywhere’. Miss Fonzo ambushed him outside the court because she was furious he was allowed to walk free and return to his family and not be sent to jail. She revealed that Ciavarella has sent her son to a four-month boot camp and 30 days in the youth jail for possession of drug paraphernalia, his first offence. Afterwards he did not get the athletic scholarship he had been expected to get and his life spiralled into depression and crime. At the age of 23 he shot himself dead last June. ‘My son was my life. That’s all I had. Now it’s gone,’ Ms Fonzo said. Conahan has already reached a plea deal in which he will admit to fraud fraud charges and be jailed for 87 months. He will also resign his judicial position and be disbarred. Charges have also been brought against nearly 30 officials including a string of court officials, a county judge and former State Sen. Robert Mellow, Democrat, Lackawanna.
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#1. To: Mad Dog (#0)
They should add up all the fines he levied. Then they should add up all the time he sentenced people to. Then that should be his sentence.
You know who is prince of THIS world. IMO His and the rest of the guilty people's true punishments for this will not happen in this life. BUT they WILL happen.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
We will all be judged righteously in the end.
. We will ALL answer for ALL of our sins. There is absolutely NO doubt about that.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
That's what happens when you privatize govt functions.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
I don't support privatizing prisons, never have. I don't favor privatizing the post office, never have. I don't support privatizing the roads, never have. Those are legitimate government functions. There may be some things that I support privatizing. I would have to know what they are on a case by case basis.
Imagine what would have happened to your social security funds if the Republicans privatized those accounts and had you put them in the stock market?
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Stocks have doubled in the last 2 years. The fastest doubling of stocks since the 1930's during the great depression. That is according to Barons. People are forced to pay into social security. I know that is wrong. It is not freedom. People should be able to do what they want with the money they earned. If the government is going to force people to do socialist insecurity then a portion of those funds should be able to be invested by the individual as they see fit. You seem to have a problem with individual rights.
Spoken as the good little libTURD tool you are gooberloserton. All libTURD dogma and talking points all of the time eh TOOL? Do you tools even have the ability to think or act like individual Americans? Hell no, you are just herd dwelling cud chewing tools of tyranny. "All HAIL the messiah "king" obammy!"
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
Do you support privatizing prisons? I sure don't. They are bad enough as it is.
There is a sucker born every minute and they tend to vote Republican....
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
I heard it on Clark Howard on the way home less then an hour ago. Are you telling me that Clark was lying to his audience?
I support "privatizing" everything that can be "privatized". They are supposed to be "bad". Gooberment is not the solution, gooberment is the problem. "That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves." Thomas Jefferson 3rd president of US (1743 - 1826)
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
There ya go Gooberloserton, I fixed it for you. SUCKER thy name is libTURD.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
They are supposed to be "bad". They are supposed to be humane. Besides how is it supposed to be cheaper if they are trying to make a profit off of it? Besides this articles shows abuses that occur with dumb ideas like this. Government does tons of stuff wrong. But there are legitimate functions too.
Billionare Mark Cuban says: The Stock Market is still for Suckers and why you should put your money in the bank
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
So did it double or not? Also I would say Real Estate is where it is at. But I'm just a little guy. So my perspective is flipping houses and rental properties. Neither of which i have at the moment.
Actually I do agree with Gooberloserton on this particular point. That the stock market at this time and place in history is a place for "suckers". Although the numbers say exactly what you have said they say re: the stock market, the problem is that those numbers are based on nothing. Look at it this way. There is NO economic recovery. It's going to get way worse when inflation hits us full force. The economy and value of the companies that are sold on the market are based on air. What true value that does exist is degrading at an almost unhreard of rate. In the end you have nothing but paper when the excrement impinges the rotary device. This doesn't even address the messiah "king" obammy's illegal, un-Constitutional, un- American de facto nationalization of American industries. Did you see how the real owners of GM were treated by the messiah 'king" obammy? They just stole the company from the shareholders and gave it to their political butt buddies. Do you really want to risk your future on these wannabe tyrant's whims? In a LAWLESS nation where the stock market is gamed by the big boys there is no real place for a sane small person/investor. Unless you really have too much money and want to toss it away of course. Hence the movement of many of us into commodities. In times like these it's best to own the asset, NOT just paper. Do as you will of course. But in a year or so precious metals and commodities will look almost like they were free NOW.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
I don't disagree with that necessarily. I've never owned stock in my life. I'm to poor. I think Real Estate is where it is at. Probably because that is where my trade is. I can fix houses up myself on the cheap.
They just stole the company from the shareholders and gave it to their political butt buddies. Yeppers
Sigh. Look man, the only thing that gooberment does better than the private sector is WASTE money. Private prisons have every reason to keep their places running smoothly with no problems from the inmate populations. As long as they are run in a totally transparent manner, I see no problem with private prisons. Humane is a given in that case. I have a couple of friends doing time down in Arizona in the private prison that Alaska has a contract with. Obviously they don't like it. BUT it is no worse than the state prisons here. Their main complaints are how hard it is for family and friends to get down there to visit them. I'm no anarchist. I understand that there is a role for gooberment. BUT that is a LIMITED role. Or at least it's supposed to be.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
The mistake market worshipers make is that people will act rational. For profit enterprises operate under the principal of providing the least amount of service they can provide for the dollar. While I have no problem with a prisoner being made to work for his daily bread the purpose of a prison is punishment and or reform not profit.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Humane is relative.
How is that different from teachers?
. I know, from hard experience, that by the time we little guys find out about ANYTHING regarding stock market movements it's long over. I tend to agree with you about real estate, as long as you pay attention to where you are buying it. IF I had any money/cash I would spend it all on real estate and precious metals. Because the inflation that IS COMING in the USA will make Weimar Republic inflation look like chump change. Soon, even a thousand dollar a month bill will seem absurdly small because a loaf of bread will cost $5000., (maybe of course). I bought a sawmill three years ago, because the price was already rising over 15% per year. So in three years I have already "saved" about 45% on the cost. I'm cash poor, but I have my mill completely paid off, and it will make me money for as long as I own and operate it. IMO those who will get through these coming troubles best will be folks who have or make things that people NEED, and who have the lowest overhead. People NEED lumber, even when new construction falls because that usually means that remodels will go up. But it's going to be VERY bad. I worry about being able to buy fuel for my mill and tractor and other stuff. It will be over $5./gallon this time next year imo, (it's already almost $4./gallon for #1 diesel here right now), if things keep going this way. But ... We will survive.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
The mistake that socialist worshippers make is that they forget that people who have a direct fiduciary interest in a business will always do what is required to make that business a success. They also assume that business is a scam, which is to say business is in the business of cheating or mistreating people. They discount and dismiss out of hand that MOST businesses are interested in providing goods and services at a fair price and superior delivered value. That's how businesses STAY in business. Prison is punishment, rehabilitation is a sad sick tragic libTURD FRAUD. And btw gooberloserton my friends who are doing time in the PRIVATE joint have better access to so called rehabilitation than they did in gooberment joints according to them anyhow. BOTH guys are artists who carve Ivory and bone and baleen pieces in the joint and then they send them north to sell them through their families up here. Which is part of how they support their families. They were artists before they had legal problems, so it isn't rehabilitation is it?
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
Yea, like bribing a judge to send children to a for profit childern's prison,,,,,,
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
LMAOAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are a word parsing snot nosed libTURD child. I understand that basic logic and thinking is beyond your limited abilities azz wipe. "The EXCEPTION does not disprove the rule", you gibbering FOOL.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
At 1% interest? I may as well keep it under the bed. At least that way I don't have to worry about losing my money because the bed failed.
"I hate this damn job" - Sarah Palin
Stock market investment is for suckers.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
I'm a woodworker. Among other things. That was my first trade.
Well, this sucker made 25% last year.
"I hate this damn job" - Sarah Palin
Good for you.
. I've been honored and happy to work with logs for almost twenty years. Building scribe fit cabins etc. and also making lumber. That and concrete. You picked a good trade for a first trade imo.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
We will survive. Of course you will, drunky. You're on welfare. Your whole state is.
LOL! You have ME confused with YOURSELF bitch. I neither drink or get ANY checks/money/whatever from anybody you craven little bitch. I get money just one way you little gibbering bitch, I WORK for it. Have you ever peeled even one little log in your little pussy life you weak little bitch? As to Alaska as a state. You have no room to talk. YOUR state takes more than we ever did. What state do you stain again yabba dabba do? Do you even know what "Federalism" means you weak little bitch? LOL! Spit ...
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
You're a pole smoker, Abdul.
So does your mom.
Does yours work for nothing, pole smoker?
. Once again, you insipid little cowardly bitch, you confuse ME with YOURSELF. Although, unlike you, I actually know who MY mother and father are.
Living in mouth breather's empty noggins 24/7/365 totally rent free!
#2. To: A K A Stone (#1)
#3. To: Mad Dog (#2)
BUT they WILL happen.
#4. To: A K A Stone (#3)
#5. To: A K A Stone, Mad Dog (#1)
#6. To: Godwinson (#5)
#7. To: A K A Stone (#6)
(Edited)
#8. To: Godwinson (#7)
Imagine what would have happened to your social security funds if the rRpublicans privatized those accounts you put them in the stock market?
#9. To: Godwinson (#5)
That's what happens when you privatize govt functions.
#10. To: Mad Dog (#9)
#11. To: A K A Stone (#8)
Stocks have doubled in the last 2 years. The fastest doubling of stocks since the 1930's during the great depression. That is according to Barons.
#12. To: Godwinson (#11)
There is a sucker born every minute and they tend to vote Republican....
#13. To: A K A Stone (#10)
#14. To: Godwinson (#11)
There is a sucker born every minute and they tend to vote demonRAT....
#15. To: Mad Dog (#13)
I support "privatizing" everything that can be "privatized".
#16. To: All (#11)
#17. To: Godwinson (#16)
The Stock Market is still for Suckers and why you should put your money in the bank
#18. To: A K A Stone, Godwinson (#12)
#19. To: Mad Dog (#18)
That the stock market at this time and place in history is a place for "suckers".
#20. To: Mad Dog (#18)
Did you see how the real owners of GM were treated by the messiah 'king" obammy?
#21. To: A K A Stone (#15)
#22. To: Mad Dog, A K A Stone (#21)
Private prisons have every reason to keep their places running smoothly with no problems from the inmate populations.
#23. To: A K A Stone (#15)
They are supposed to be humane.
#24. To: Godwinson (#22)
The mistake market worshipers make is that people will act rational.
#25. To: A K A Stone (#19)
#26. To: Godwinson, A K A Stone (#22)
The mistake market worshipers make is that people will act rational. For profit enterprises operate under the principal of providing the least amount of service they can provide for the dollar. While I have no problem with a prisoner being made to work for his daily bread the purpose of a prison is punishment and or reform not profit.
#27. To: Mad Dog, A K A Stone (#26)
The mistake that socialist worshippers make is that they forget that people who have a direct fiduciary interest in a business will always do what is required to make that business a success.
#28. To: Godwinson (#27)
Yea, like bribing a judge to send children to a for profit childern's prison,,,,,,
#29. To: Godwinson (#16)
The Stock Market is still for Suckers and why you should put your money in the bank
#30. To: Skip Intro (#29)
(Edited)
#31. To: Mad Dog (#25)
I bought a sawmill three years ago, because the price was already rising over 15% per year.
#32. To: Godwinson (#30)
Stock market investment is for suckers.
#33. To: Skip Intro (#32)
Well, this sucker made 25% last year.
#34. To: A K A Stone (#31)
#35. To: Mad Dog (#25)
But ...
#36. To: Abu el Banat (#35)
#37. To: Abu el Banat (#35)
You're on welfare
#38. To: Mad Dog (#36)
I get money just one way you little gibbering bitch, I WORK for it.
#39. To: Abu el Banat (#38)
So does your mom.
#40. To: Abu el Banat (#38)
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