Compassion rarely was on the docket in former Luzerne County Judge Mark A. Ciavarellaâs courtroom, where he denied hundreds of teenagers their civil rights and routinely marched them off to detention.
He and his partner in crime, former Judge Michael T. Conahan, were co-architects of one of the worst judicial scandals in American history. They received payments of $2.8 million from private detention center operators after moving to close Luzerne Countyâs own center, and helped fill the private centers at public expense. The aptly titled scandal became known as âkids for cash.â
Conahan was sentenced to 17.5 years. Ciavarella was sentenced to 28 years.
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