The house of cards that is Luzerne County PA.

I looks like the winds of change are a blowing in Pennsylvania and the house of cards that is the judicial system better look out for the big bad wolf. It seems that the DA Jackie Musto Carroll is not pleased with the way things are being handled by the court system and she has asked the FBI to become involved. With the attacks by former president Judge Michael Conahan towards fellow Judge Ann Lakuta and he and his wife’s ties to a used car selling former Drug dealer in Florida it was just to much for poor Jackie to take.

There is also the thing about his brother in law who milked the county for more than a million dollars for psych evaluation's and his close ties to attorney Robert Powell former owner of the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care centers who had they’re financial records seized in June by the FBI in a case related to the placement of juveniles by former President Judge Michael Conahan and current President Judge Mark Ciavarella. It seems that they were not telling the people who appeared in front of their bench that they had the right to an attorney. Then with the evaluations they would send the children to Robert Powell and his PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care centers.

Oh yeah there is also the little business deal that they had with Powell to build condos. This deal came under scrutiny after it was revealed the three had current or former ties to W-Cat Inc., a real estate development firm building a townhouse project in Wright Township. Powell, a former county solicitor, was part owner of PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care in Butler County.
Powell has acknowledged he was part owner of W-Cat, but said he sold his interest to Luzerne County Prothonotary Jill Moran in 2004. Moran is a partner in the Powell Law Firm. He also announced on June 10 he had sold his interest in both firms and another business to his partner Gregory Zappala. Earlier this year.

Powell’s relationship with President Judge Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan was made public. A senior judge, Conahan and President Judge Ciavarella each listed financial ties to W-Cat on statements of financial interest they filed for 2007.
The revelation of the financial ties prompted commissioners Maryanne Petrilla and Stephen Urban in May to call for an investigation to determine if that relationship influenced the decision to utilize PA Child Care.

The county’s relationship with PA Child Care has been fraught with controversy since the courts began sending youths to the facility in February 2003 – two months after Conahan said he would no longer allow youths to be sent to the county-owned juvenile detention center on North River Street. Conahan maintained the county’s facility was too dilapidated to house youths, even though the state Department of Public Welfare had deemed it safe.

The controversy continued in 2004, when then-Commissioner Todd Vonderheid, who has since left office, and Commissioner Greg Skrepenak had voted to enter into a 20-year, $58-million lease of the facility despite concerns raised by DPW that the lease was a "bad deal."DPW continued to raise objections to the cost of the lease, ultimately forcing Skrepenak, Petrilla and Urban to vote in December 2007 to terminate the contract.

On a side note Judge Conahan is also the same judge who had the criminal charges against Bryan Kocis reduced 4 years after he was convicted so that he would not have to register for Megan’s Law. Al Flora was Kocis’ attorney on that case and he heads the public defenders office. President Judge Mark Ciaverella is the same Judge who deemed it proper for Harlow Cuadra to be represented by the public defenders office which I might add is run by the same attorney who represented Bryan Kocis in the matter that Conahan had the charges reduced. Looks like that house of cards is about to collapse.


This is Elmysterio and I’m out