Harlow Cuadra is sentenced to Life in prison

Harlow Cuadra has been sentenced to Life in prison. After testimony by his mother and his attorneys pleading for his life and testimony from a psychiatrist his fate was in the hands of the jury. The prosecution is claiming that Harlow is the one who did the killing while Harlow says it was Joseph Kerekes. The defenses argument was that Joseph was very controlling and he was the one who planned this. Harlow testified that he was afraid for his life and that is why he did not tell the police. The jury did not appear to be moved by Harlow's testimony on the witness stand and they convicted him of first degree murder. The Jurors did not even look at Harlow as they walked just a few feet away from him when they left the court room. After some confusion with the parameters for sentencing they ultimately sentenced him to life in prison.

Guilty

Harlow Cuadra was found guilty on all counts. It is over for Harlow.

You can read about it here and here. If you want to celebratre you can do that here and here.

The evidence that matters is inconclusive.

With the cameras that can not be confirmed and the lack of DNA evidence it really is no wonder that the prosecution is going all out to make it look like Harlow is a hardened criminal. The Beach tapes and the Crab catcher tapes were their big hope of getting Harlow but the truth is Joe and Harlow knew they were being recorded. What is really interesting is the motive for all of this. Joe and Harlow killed Bryan to work with Sean and Cobra Video was their main competition in the gay porn business. Now the settlement did not preclude Sean from working with anyone but Cobra models. The only one named specifically was Brent Everett.

The settlement did have a stipulation that Sean would pay Cobra Video 20% of his fee for the use of the name "Brent Corrigan". Now the fact that Sean and Grant are claiming that they could not work with Joe and Harlow while they were in Las Vegas is strange because at the time there was no signed settlement. The settlement was not signed until the 18Th of January 2007. There were still issues with the settlement while they were in Las Vegas and they did not get ironed out until they were back in San Diego.

Also of note during the civil suit Sean and Grant said that the contract with Cobra could not be enforced. The contract in question that Sean breached would have expired in 2006 anyway. The civil suit was really about the name Brent Corrigan and nothing else. Bryan could not get that contract enforced because Sean could have fulfilled that contract by just showing up and that is all he had to do. You can not enforce a contract for sex, that would be prostitution and that is illegal. Also the production of pornographic material is illegal in the state of Pennsylvania.

Yet the prosecution is trying to use it as means for a conviction. They turned their back on the illegal activities of the victim until he was killed. All of a sudden he was a "business man" and he was killed so that someone could get his "prized actor". Give me a break, this is such a sack of shit. It stinks just like all of the other illegal activity that that court house is famous for. The truth of the matter is that Luzerne County should have removed themselves from prosecuting this case.

They do not have a definite time of death for the victim and every time it is reported it is a different time frame. As far as I am concerned the time frame is between 7:50pm and 8:20 pm on January 24Th. Based on the last time someone spoke to the victim and the time that Amy saw the car leave the scene. That gives the killers 30 minutes to kill Bryan and clean up and loot the house and flee the scene with the items that they are accused of taking. Did the police check the drain traps for blood trace? The killer would have been covered in blood based on the way that the victim was killed. Did they check to see how much blood the victim had lost during the autopsy? Did they check stomach contents of the victim, he supposedly got some food that day.

The police did not find any DNA evidence in the victims house or in the SUV that was rented by Harlow. They can not prove that the video cameras were in fact those of the victim. To tell you the truth they can not really prove that Joe and Harlow were actually at the victims house. That has always been the case. There is a witness sighting of the SUV from earlier that evening but it could that have been the Recon mission. As the email stated that Harlow was not scheduled to arrive until 7:15 pm. So unless Harlow was early then Macias is mistaken about 6:30 being the time that the "model" arrived.

Bryan was not expecting him until 45 minutes later. Perhaps it was just Bryan taking another phone call. Macias did talk to Bryan at 7:50 pm so Bryan was still alive at that time. There are just to many unanswered questions. No real proof that Joe and Harlow were at Bryan's house Just a vehicle that looked like the one Harlow rented. I wonder how many silver Nissan Exterra's there are out there? Did anyone actually see Harlow or Joe at the crime scene?
Is the knife found at the scene the one that Joe and Harlow purchased in Virginia Beach?

Why slash his throat they has a gun they could have shot him. It is January, its cold no one would have any windows open and most houses would have had double pained windows. No one would have heard the gun shot if you used a pillow to muffle it. Why would two crazed killers call Sean and Grant and tell them that they just killed someone. They must have known that Sean and Grant would be blamed for it. Non of this makes any sense to me, it never has.

At last the trial: Day four

Well today I was blog hopping and reading the newspapers and I found some information on the case and I thought that I would share my impressions of it all.
An alternate juror in the Harlow Cuadra capital murder trial in Luzerne County was excused due to illness. Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. identified the juror as alternate #3, a male who is a diabetic.Olszewski said the alternate juror's wife contacted the court last night to say her husband was ill. Olszewski said he spoke on the telephone with the alternate juror this morning, and was told the alternate juror became ill overnight. Due to the developments, Olszewski met with prosecutors and Cuadra's lawyers before trial proceedings, and it was agreed to excuse the juror and continue the trial with three alternate jurors.


Testimony continued Friday in the murder trial of Harlow Cuadra of Virginia. He is accused of killing Bryan Kocis in the Back Mountain in 2007.

Trooper Michael Boone, with the state police is a member of the forensic services unit, Friday morning. He testified that Kocis' home was severely damaged by a fire, and he found five loaded handguns inside the home.

An employee of ATT&T testified about phone records before the morning break.

Jurors saw crime scene photos and heard from several witnesses, including the man prosecutors said Cuadra and his partner, Joseph Kerekes, killed for.

Quickysrt who is at the trial added some commentary about the trial . he answered questions of the commenters on PC's blog

quickysrt said....
jim said... Quicky, how is the jury holding up, and reacting?I'm a bit worried the prosecution may be overdoing it a bit, and possibly boring the jury with excess trivial evidence.A burned door and TV hauled in, for example. Did that stuff actually have an impact on the jury?----

I guess the burnt items were to be discussed, but they just never got around to it with so many pictures shown. I'm sure today will be those items mentioned.The jury seems to be doing fine, a lot of people in court are coughing and one on the jury has a really rough sounding cough.Harlow glanced at many of the pictues and then looked away at his note pad, not looking very long at any of the pictures. He is taking notes through out and talking with his council during other testimony.




citizensvoice
Friday Sean Lockhart took the stand, he is a key witness for the prosecution. Lockhart is a gay pornography businessman and an actor. Lockhart told the court he and his partner agreed to work with police by wearing a hidden microphone. He told jurors he was under contract with Kocis and Cobra Video.

Sean Lockhart testified he had several "internet interactions" with Harlow Cuadra beginning in December 2006. Lockhart said Cuadra and he talked several times over MySpace, email and the phone. Cuadra was "eager" to work with Lockhart and offered to "pay you 10 K" for acting in his video. Lockhart, testified that Cuadra's partner, Joseph Kerekes, recorded the video on Black's Beach, a nude beach, on April 28, 2007. Lockhart said Cuadra and Kerekes were "opening up" about the murder. This made Lockhart upset, he testified, and he fell behind.
"Cuadra dropped back, he touched my arm and he said, 'don't worry, it was quick, he went quick,'" Lockhart testified while nearly sobbing.

Now I will interupt this tesimony and add my two cents. Sean Lockhart testified that he was under contract with Cobra Video, that was something that I would have thought the defense would have asked more questions about. During the the civil suit Sean and Grant said that the contract was unenforcable. Yet there is still the claim about him being under contract. What I also find intersting is that there was no mention about the validity of the Cobra Video contract that Sean spoke of.

He also spoke of his working underage for Cobra Video. But from what I gather he was not asked about how he obtained the fake ID he used. or how he was introduced to Bryan Kocis. There seems to have been no mention of Chris Henriquez during the trial. There has been much speculation on how he aquired that ID. But the subject was not brought up. There is also the statement of Bryan Kocis from the civil suit about the Id but that was not brought up either.

Lockhart further testified that he was "17" years old when he did "two shoots that were spread onto four DVDs," adding that his first film was for Cobra Video, operated by Bryan Kocis, 44. Lockhart, who is now 22, said he owns his own adult production company based in San Diego, Calif.

Judge PPO removed the jury and this took place:

WILKES-BARRE - Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. excused the jury to inquire if Sean Lockhart wanted a lawyer after Lockhart made "potentially incriminating" statements that he worked in adult films as a minor.
Lockhart was answering questions from Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick about his background in adult films when Olszewski stopped the proceeding and excused the jury from the courtroom.
Olszewski cautioned Lockhart that he may have "incriminated himself criminally" by admitting under oath he provided a false identification and was performing in adult films while a minor.
Olszewski gave Lockhart several options, to include speaking with a lawyer or declining to speak with a laywer and continue to testify.
Lockhart declined to speak or have a lawyer, and Olszewski returned the jury to resume the trial.
Roy carried a recording device hidden in a key chain during the meeting, Lockhart said.
Cuadra's attorneys said Lockhart had a difficult relationship with Kocis and they said there is no recorded evidence that Cuadra admitted to knowing about the Kocis murder. But Cuadra’s statement doesn’t appear on the tape.“It’s not on the tape?” defense attorney Paul Walker asked during cross-examination.“Harlow pulled me back for discretion,” Lockhart said.

Walker questioned Lockhart on specifics of his communication with Cuadra, pointing to several instances when Kerekes was the one sending messages on Cuadra’s MySpace account.“It was Roy who first contacted Cuadra (about a film), correct?”“Yes,” Lockhart said.

A few days after Kocis died, Kerekes called Lockhart, he said, and then handed the phone to Cuadra who told him to go to WNEP-TV’s Web site, where the top story was the fire at Kocis’ Midland Drive home.“(Cuadra said) ‘I guess my guy went a little overboard,’” Lockhart said.

Walker, during cross-examination, had Lockhart reiterate his statement that Cuadra had said “his guy” went “overboard,” and not him.

Before Lockhart finished testifying, Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. held a sidebar with Lockhart to discuss his legal rights.

Lockhart admitted during testimony that he forged documents in order to act for Kocis when he was 17. Lockhart turned down legal counsel, saying he was aware of his right to not incriminate himself.


And now for some color comentary from Quikysrt:

quickysrt said....
Friday, February 27, 2009 6:45:00 AM
ok, well it was quite a moment in the week, a week which wrapped up with star witness Sean taking the stand.He arrived wearing a cherry red sweater, dark gray dress slacks, and crisp white collared shirt, he looked stunning. The pants were perfect fitting and his posture screamed confidence. It became apparent he was going to answer the questions his way, and even request that some questions be restated. Several times, he stopped to consider the wording of a question and asked if it could be repeated. He actually took control of the pace of his entire testimony. While he looked all of 17 years old, he showed some skill at handling this kind of stress no 17 y/o would have.The under age videos would be delved into in detail, what time frame his summers in PA, when he met Grant, and exactly what kind of relationship they had. Everything about Bryan's ideas for Sean's future with him, and the settlement which was going to be good for him financially and well as professionally both outside of Cobra, and with his own production company.And of course the Vegas dinner and all email, myspace, AIM, and cell phone correspondence with Harlow were gone over.I noticed that almost every seat has been taken while Sean is on the stand. Like word got out that this is the feature attraction or something. On cross exam. Sean's posture changed, he was just slightly more slumped in seat with arms bracing him up rather than his back being perfectly straight.But he still refused to let defense attorney put words into his mouth without adding his own reasoning to the record. Like 'you seem to be good at pretending to be into it" (after black's beach video was played in full) Sean answered that he knows when he "has" to do something, he does it, and he had to do this.btw, the video from the nude beach was surreal, to be seeing this full frontal nude video in court, it was 7 min. long but felt like 45 min. Harlow did not look at the screen at all during it, nor did his Mother. Normally you hear coughs in court, or bits of whispering now and again. During the play of this video is was deadly quiet, not one sound in the room at all.The point early on when asked about lying about his age for porn, he was stopped by the judge who asked him to consider a lawyer, consider not answering some questions without an attorney present, and offered him an attorney to be arranged.There was a break while jury left the room to discuss this with Sean. Sean decided that it had been five years with no criminal complaint against him, and that he should not worry now about the past, and just carry on. Jury returned and carry on he indeed did.It was pure balls, and I felt it gave his testimony even more edge. It also kept up the impression that Sean was running the show concerning his testimony. This court was not going to keep him from telling this story his own way.It was damaging for the defense, and on cross examination the only thing they managed to prove is that Joe made some of the myspace add friend requests to Sean's page.There were a few gasps, and laughs, like when the video title "Young Bucks In Heat" was mentioned. A few of us laughed and looked at each other.Unreal day, and unreal end to the week.
Friday, February 27, 2009 5:38:00 PM


Quicky also answered a nagging question that some still have.

quickysrt said.....
Well, I can say BB is NOT RW. After his testimony he sat in the court room and listened to the other witnesses of the day take the stand.During a break we talked and exchanged who we are. I asked so you are not BB? NO. Think Sean and Grant had anything to do with it? He just shook his head no. It was a ridicules question I wanted to ask once and be done with it.Robert was approachable and mild mannered. But he asked who I was, and so I didn't have to approach him.I spoke with Byran Kocis' family the first day I attended, it was his father who came up to me and asked who I was. He has since always waved hello when we pass when coming or going. When pictures of the house on fire were shown, BK's mother turned her head down, and his father kept looking but had to wipe away tears.I noticed each time pictures were shown of burnt out house and Bryan's body, the Kocis family were told to pleased leave. So the house on fire might have been the worst they have had to see in court. And it was hard for them.It was good that they left the room, as the pictures got more graphic, and eventually, after picture #80 got to autopsy photos showing stab wounds after body was cleaned. Defense objected to something, not sure what. But day of court was ended after endless series of pictures.The pictures were bad enough, but during lunch break, items of evidence were rolled in, including Bryan's front door and the front panel of big screen TV. They parked these items at first directly in front of the Kocis'. I felt awful about it sensing their reaction to these huge blackened items. They were later moved further away from where they had been.It seemed like hours of pictures shown. And their was after hours of other stuff like credit card statements, etc. It was a long day.
Friday, February 27, 2009 12:41:00 AM

Quicky also addressed questions as well.

quickysrt said.....
Geoff Harvard said... Quicky, you are going wobbly. What about the issue of Robert pimping Sean's body to an apparent Cobra client on or about July 4, 2004, when Sean was 17----

Both sides forgot to bring it up. Perhaps they are waiting until Sean takes the stand to get the matter aired in court? No... I doubt it.Interesting that Robert was the only high profile witness that sat down in court and listened to other's testimony after he left the stand.

Rob said... Quicky--Thanks for the in the court commentary.Sean was composed.Sean was confident in answering questions.The instigators of the correspondence to Sean and Grant were Harlow and Joe.My, my those shakey finances of Harlow and Joe's raises its head again. Joe hit on Sean because of the high Alexa ratings. Makes sense.As for the BB's prediction of Sean arrested, dust in the wind----

Exactly, Sean said on the stand that Harlow's rush for a production so quickly seemed "desperate". There was no cross exam on this point.And thanks Noah, a few kind bloggers made it possible for me to be the unofficial official something or another. We'll see how much more detail we can get.

Quicky srt reports this on Jim's blog

quickysrt said...
Sean was briliant on the stand! The bright red sweater as well as the whole look was a sharp clean presence. His response to each question showed a guy who is smart, and has indeed been around the block once or twice. I think the jury was impressed, I was, as was the person I sat with and left with. We both thought Sean earned many points on the truth scale.Sean called Harlow's productions poor, but thought he was a good performer in the videos he sent to them in San Diego. He thought of Harlow as a "good find." But that he needed to work out and firm up a bit if and when they might film together, so that "they both looked their best" in any filming they might do.He said after the Vegas dinner that he and Grant had no idea the both of them were "skewed" until the murder of Bryan was confirmed. This was after the fire was in the news. The body was not id'd until later.
February 27, 2009 10:57 PM


quickysrt said...
jim said... Very interesting. What was the jury/courtroom reaction when he got tearful over the "he went quick" comment? I have to imagine that was a moment.----

That was an emotional moment at trial for sure, but I thought that it was a description of the Crab Catcher event (when Harlow said it), and not one in the court.It was a damning moment for sure, nobody missed it.
February 28, 2009 4:30 AM

quickysrt said...
I had another talk with RW today during a break as he has been in court most of the day watching, and talking with BK's parents, another blog follower, and myself.I asked him what is the bad blood between yourself and S&G? He said that there are bloggers who have made statements against them that are attributed to him. I said so it is not you nor a friend or boyfriend or yours? He said no, as a matter of fact the DA asked that he not blog at all because it could harm the case.I then asked if he had seen Grant, and said hello, it is not me, shake his hand and walk away?He said as a matter of fact today I was walking by saw him, and it was an awkward moment, so I decided just to shake Grant's hand and say hello. He said it did not feel like Grant was completely accepting of this as a good kind gesture, but it was better than walking by with the awkwardness that was there.I said good, then you have done your end of it, and moved on, and good for you. Everybody needs to do that.I added that there must be nut cases out there saying things and attempting to ride the fame of someone else. There is no other reason.I really don't think RW has been saying shit about S&G all this time. It is "unmentionable" types out there basking in disputes and enjoying the rifts. We know there is one who has a Lite Bright page, and another who has been allowed to post around here. So why the fuck can there not be another (or one of the same) who wishes to make Grant and Sean miserable? It does make perfect sense. And this case has brought out of the woodwork some real works of art.I think I am correct, I did the leg work here.
February 28, 2009 4:46 AM

quickysrt said...
BB is not RW Grant. Just another nut case out there who wants the minimal amount of name recognition some other people have.It's the wanna-bes, and never-was that wish to leach off of others. The porn world is full of them, you should know by now.Let this one go the way of Kentie Loser. Forget it.
February 28, 2009 4:59 AM

So I guess we finally get the truth about the Wagner-BB connection. There is none BB is just what everyone has always thought, A kruezer wannabe. I guess we will have to wait until Monday to see anymore real action in this murder trail. I hope we get more info now that PC and Quicky are both on the seen. Quicky should get a job as a reporter since he gets to the bottom of what we all want to know.

At last the trial: part 3

Ten witnesses have been called to testify today, Cuadra's third day of his capital murder trial. Several witnesses who testified today reside on Midland Drive. They collectively told the jury that they saw a light colored sport utility vehicle driving on Midland Drive or parked in Kocis' driveway, and afterwards saw Kocis' home on fire.

Donna Yachim, who resides on Midland Drive, testified she was looking out her front window waiting for her husband to come home from work from 6:30 to 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2007. Yachim said she saw a vehicle slowly driving past her home.

"It was very abnormally slow, it looked like somebody looking for a property," Yachim said.
Yachim said just after 8:30 p.m. that night, her daughter said Kocis' home was on fire. Yachim called 911 and her husband ran to a neighbor's house to alert them to get out.

I am guessing about these witnesses since they did not mention the other names in the newspaper.


Amy Zamerowski testified during the preliminary hearing that on the evening of January 24, 2007, she was going to pick up her friend Amy Withers at 64 Midland Drive, Dallas, Bryan’s next door neighbor. She testified that she turned onto Midland Drive at around 8:26 p.m. She pulled into the Withers’ driveway, and there was a light colored SUV backing out of the driveway next door. Amy also testified that after the vehicle left she entered the Withers residence. About ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door warning them to get out of the house because the house next door was on fire.


James Gilbert testified during the preliminary hearing that he was a neighbor of Bryan Kocis. He said he was walking his dog on Midland Drive past the Kocis home, sometime around 7:35 to 7:50 p.m. on January 24, 2007. He testified that he noticed a silver SUV in Kocis’ driveway up towards the garage. He strange because vehicles did not normally park in the driveway of the Kocis home; they usually parked in a spot in front of the house.. Gilbert recalled seeing flames coming from the Kocis residence at approximately 8:15-8:30 p.m. that evening.

During the preliminary hearing Ms. Zamerowski was shown photos of a silver Nissan XTerra. She testified that she was previously shown these photos and informed the State Police that the Nissan XTerra could have been the vehicle she had seen backing out of the Kocis driveway on the evening in question.

Gilbert was also shown a photo of a silver Nissan XTerra. he witness positively identified the photo as the make and type of vehicle that he had seen on the evening of Wednesday, January 24, 2007 in the Kocis driveway

A representative from Discover Financial testified Harlow Cuadra used his Discover card to pay for a Silver Nissan Xterra SUV from a Virginia Beach, Va. rental dealer the day before Bryan Kocis was killed.

Robert Wagner, a former employee of Kocis testified Kocis was thrilled with his gay pornography business in January 2007. Wagner said he visited Kocis the weekend before his January 2007 death, to help with various aspects of the business. Wagner acted and shot video for Kocis who had just settled a year-long legal issue with one of his actors. Kocis was excited that he had a potential new model coming in to audition. Robert Wagner testified that Bryan Kocis didn't allow anyone inside his home unless he was expecting someone. Wagner, who described himself as Kocis' best friend, said Kocis was "reclusive" and never answered his door.

Wagner said Kocis asked him about Moilin as a new model for Cobra Video, a production company of gay pornographic films. After reviewing photos of Moilin, which appear to be Cuadra, Wagner told Kocis he didn’t think the prospective model would work out."I didn't think he would be good, he was muscular and older," Wagner said about Moilin. Kocis disagreed and planned to meet with Moilin on Jan. 24, 2007, the day he died. "(Kocis) was very excited, he thought (the model) was very cute," Wagner said. The two men talked numerous times about the prospective model, who called himself Danny Moilin of King of Prussia, but who prosecutors say was really Cuadra


Wagner further testified that he was with Kocis in Las Vegas, Nev., for the adult video news award ceremony in mid-January 2007 and met with Cobra Video actor Sean Lockhart and Lockhart's business agent, Grant Roy. At the Las Vegas meeting, Wagner said Kocis was about to do "cartwheels" because Kocis settled a federal civil lawsuit he filed against Lockhart and Roy. It was also at the adult video news ceremony, investigators alleged, that Cuadra and his partner, Joseph Kerekes, met Lockhart and Roy to discuss making films together.
Kocis had been in a legal disagreement with Sean Lockhart, stage name Brent Corrigan, and his partner Grant Roy. But the men had reached an agreement about filming rights in early January 2007 in Las Vegas and later San Diego, Wagner said. Everyone was happy with the new arrangement, he said. "The weight of the world had been lifted off (their) shoulders," Wagner said.

Quickysrt reported from the court room and gave us this bit of info.
Robert said on the stand that Bryan was interested in the possibility of sex with this Danny model (even if he was not right for the Cobra line of video).I found Robert Wagner to be very forthcoming on the stand. When asked, he brought up some of his organization duties, and tasks performed besides modeling, and seemed to be not holding back.The under age issue of Brent was also handled directly and swiftly without so much as a blink. Boths sides asked about it, and prosecution made sure to get the last word with Robert on the matter. False ID, product pulled and destroyed, end of subject.This issue will likely not be returned to at this trial.I got the impression Robert was a real friend of Bryan's, not just an employee. I mean this in a good way.



Andre Pappas, a Drug Enforcement Agency officer in San Diego. He testified to a recording device he helped investigators use to record a conversation between Cuadra, Kerekes, Roy and Lockhart at a nude beach in the San Diego area. The device was hidden inside a keyless car entry keychain.

Cuadra admitted to the crimes, prosecutors say, in the taped conversation, which hasn’t been played for the jury yet.

Funny I recall Wagner was booted to the curb in Vegas and there was a point that the settlement went downhill in Vegas as per Cad's email from Bryan. Things were not settled until San Diego and they were strained at best. Then you have Bryan and Lee conspiring to undermine the whole thing with their separate deal. Wagner's view of what was is with regards to the settlement is distinctly clouded as far as I am concerned. There are far too many other versions of what actually happened. Zane aka Jamison Harper's long testimony of what was going on is in direct opposition to what Wagner says and it is also backed up with what Cad says that Bryan told him. Jamison is the model that Bryan was parading around San Diego after he sent Wagner packing because he looked like Sean.

At last the trial: part two

Cuadra's jury trial before Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. began Tuesday. Prosecutors called four witnesses this morning in the capital case against Cuadra, 27, who could face the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree homicide in Kocis’ 2007 death. Prosecutors allege Cuadra killed Kocis, a rival producer of gay pornography, to further his own gay pornography business. Assistant district attorneys Michael Melnick, Shannon Crake and Allyson Kacmanski are trying to convince the jury that Danny Moilin is Cuadra.

Prosecutors continue to build their case against Harlow Cuadra, alleging the 27-year old fabricated two applications under another name, and purchased personal information on rival pornographic movie producer Bryan Kocis. Todays witness included Justin Hensley, Alex Puente, Jennifer Marie Ortega, Deborah Crane, Attorney Sean Ernesto Macias, Karen Vuaxon, Virginia Beach Police Officer, Gavin Pinchback, Chris Hurd

Two other witness testified this morning, a Virginia Beach Police Officer who testified about seeing the rental car at Cuadra's place, and Karen Vuaxon, who works for AOL and testified about records pertaining to Kocis' site.

Jennifer Marie Ortega, a representative from USA People Search based in Sacramento, Calif., testified that someone using a Discover credit card registered to Cuadra purchased personal information on Kocis on Jan. 20, 2007. The information, Ortega said, contained Kocis' address, telephone number and neighbors information and other facts about the Dallas Township man, the witness testified this morning. Jennifer Ortega, said Cuadra purchased the "comprehensive background report on Kocis four days before Kocis was killed,

The murder victim Bryan Kocis owned Cobra Video.

Alex Puente, of Miami, Fla., who was the Web master of Cobra Video’s online site, testified Tuesday that days before his death Kocis received two e-mails to the Cobra site from a man named Danny Moilin, who wanted to audition as an actor for Kocis. Alexander Puente also testified that Cobra Video - Kocis' production company - received two model applications from Danny Moilin on Jan. 22, 2007. Puente said the application was completed from the same computer, in which, Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick alleged was Cuadra's computer. Danny Moilin was the name that Harlow used to see Bryan. He sent the application to Cobra under that name and the Cobra Webmaster confirmed this. The five photos attached with the e-mail were shown to jurors and looked similar to Cuadra.

Upon questioning by Cuadra's lawyers, Joseph D'Andrea and Paul Walker, Puente said he wouldn't know who actually submitted the applications.

Sean Macias was the sixth witness to testify for prosecutors on day two of Cuadra's capital murder trial before Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski. Attorney Sean Ernesto Macias, of Los Angeles, Calif. took the stand today and said that he was on the phone with the victim when the "model" arrived. He testified that he was speaking with Kocis on Jan. 24, 2007, when Kocis put the phone down and answered his door."He seemed to be in a good mood," Macias said from the witness stand. "My conversation was brief with him; he said he was expecting a guest that day, a model or something."He went to answer the door, it sounded like he put the phone down and said Hello, the name started with a D," Macias said.

According to the Times Leader, Bryan Kocis was on the telephone speaking with his attorney when investigators suspect Harlow Cuadra arrived at his Dallas Township home. Macias represented Kocis in a federal civil suit filed against Cobra Video contract model, Sean Lockhart, and Lockhart's business agent, Grant Roy, a director of pornographic films. Macias said the suit, which alleged Lockhart violated the copyrighted name of Brent Corrigan, was settled sometime in January 2007.


Justin Hensley said he started working for Cuadra in April 2005 because he was very poor. When he worked for them Hensley said "Cuadra and Kerekes earned $225 per hour and up to $10,000 a week in their escort business in Virginia Beach". Hensley said "clients to the escort business was a U.S. Senator, government contractors working for the U.S. Military and physicians". He testified that while he was working as a male escort for Cuadra and Kerekes they wouldn’t let him leave their home for long.

Justin Hensley said he resided with Cuadra and Kerekes because they wanted him to be available at all times for potential clients. Hensley who is now engaged to a female said he left the home of Cuadra and Kerekes because they "wanted me to stay there and work all the time and not have a social life. I was only "allowed" to leave on the weekends and if I went out to get a sandwich, I had to come right back." "I could only leave for a short lunch.

Hensley said he was aware that Cuadra met Lockhart, known in the industry as Brent Corrigan, at an adult video news award ceremony in Las Vegas, Nev., in mid-January. Hensley said Cuadra and Kerekes wanted to make more money so they expanded into pornographic films. Hensley also testified that he knew they wanted to film movies with Sean Lockhart, an actor in gay pornographic films. "They would definately profit a lot of money," Hensely said if Cuadra and Lockhart produced films. "The only statements that I heard Cuadra say was Cobra Video is a main rival," Hensley said. Hensley’s testimony detailed Cuadra’s role in his companies, as an actor and producer of pornography as well as a prostitute, but he also presented Kerekes, 35, as aggressive and the more dominant of the two men.

During cross-examination from defense attorney Joseph D’Andrea, Hensley said Kerekes fired a gun inside the house where he lived with Cuadra. "I’m pretty sure he wanted to shoot Harlow," Hensley said, because of a fight between them. Hensley, who lived with the two men at their pornography and prostituting hub, moved out because of the incident and has enlisted in the military, serving two tours in Iraq.

Deborah Crane, an employee at Superior Pawn Shops in Virginia Beach, testified Cuadra and Kerekes purchased a handgun and a knife from the shop on Jan. 23, 2007. Melnick showed to the jury a surveillance video from the pawn shop illustrating Cuadra and Kerekes purchasing the items. "I can’t tell what (Kerekes) pulled from his pocket from this angle," pawn shop manager Deborah Crain said during cross-examination. "(Cuadra’s) credit card was used … he signed it."

So far from what I am seeing is that the defense is placing all of the blame on Joe Kerekes. But from the testimony of two witnesses I can see that the same thing is starting be proven. I had an issue with Joe where I saw how he can get angry. So I can understand Justin and Harlow's fear of Joe. I do have a question about Macias's testimony though. from the affidavit it show's that Macias had three different phone calls to Bryan. I listed a list of times below with what the prosecution has said was going on. based on the times listed there seems to be some inconsistancies.

All times below are EST and taken from the affidavit of probable cause.

2:23 PM Bryan sends a email to sean( email about meeting Danny with out pictures

4:02 PM Harlow logs into his email account

4:45 PM harlow sends email

5:03 PM Harlow sends email to mitchell

5:31 PM Danny Moilin logs on

5:35 PM Sean Macias talks to Bryan: the first call.


6:00 PM Sean Macias talks to Bryan: the second call: Macias advised that on the night of 1/24/2007 he was on the phone with the victim regarding the pending lawsuit as well as several items of issue regarding the members of LSG Media. Macias decribed the the Demaeanor of the victim at the time as "upbeat" and "in a good mood". the victim advised Macias that a "new Model" was coming over(to the victims residence). Macias added that at some point, the victim asked Macias to "hold on", as the model who had a name which began with a "D" arrived. Macias could not hear the entire name of the model. Subsequent to the model's arrival the victim's phone call with Macias concluded. Phone records obtained subsequent to this investigation illustrate that the victim did engage in telephone conversation(s) with Macias between the hours of approx 1735 and 1800 hrs' and at approx 1950 hrs EST on 1/24/2007

6:11 PM dmbottompa logs on

6:27 PM stareyes emails sales @*******.net

6:29 PM stareyes emails sales @*******.net

6:30 PM Aaron / Robert Wagner talks to Bryan. Did this call interupt Bryans call with Macias? Is this call the reason that Bryan asked Macias to hold on?

6:45 PM Harlow sends email Bryan: If Harlow was at Bryan's house why would he email Bryan?

6:51 PM Harlow logs into his email account

7:50 PM Sean Macias talks to Bryan the third call: this is the last time that we know that Bryan was alive, who called who: I would guess if Macias was talking to Bryan that I is assumed that he was still alive.

8:20 PM silver or white suv seen leaving the residence of the victim: Amy saw the car leave the Kocis residence but there was no sign of a fire.

8:34 PM fire department called and arrive in a few minutes. Amy also testifies that the fire department knocked on the door of the house and informed them that the house next door was on fire.

8:36 PM Email sent to wade @ hotmail .com 68.242.32.189

8:51 PM Harlow logs into his email account 70.10.229.19

9:13 PM Email sent from stareyes to sales@………net.

9:33 PM Harlow logs on as Danny Bottom email account

9:42 PM Harlow sends email to txbo…..@yahoo.com

11:09 PM Harlow logs into his email account

At last the trial: part one

With the court house testimony under way it seems that the prosecution is going for blood. They are showing that this was a planned out methodical venture designed to get rid of Bryan Kocis who the defendent(s) deemed as direct competition to their gay porn business. The defense strategy is to place all of the blame on everyone but Harlow which I guess is what they should do. With Joe in prison for life and Harlow free to blame it all on him.

The prosecution has presented several witnesses who are truly making it appear that Harlow is not the sweet and innocent school boy his apperance suggests. As far the testimony of the coronor and the police officers they are stating facts that they have ascertained from the collection of evidence that was present at the crime scene. Most of which was destroyed by the fire from thier direct testimony.


Anderew Shunk testified that Joe and Harlow wanted to get Brent Corrigan to model for them because it would net them a big payday. He also testified that Harlow told him that Bryan Kocis was competition for their gay porn business. He also testified to the star power of Brent Corrigan, the prosecution refers to Brent Corrigan as the “Tom Cruise of gay porn” . Melnick also alluded to what was said at the Las Vegas dinner, He said that Joe and Harlow offered to kill Bryan for Sean and Grant.

The defense does not appear to have any strategy with regards to their cross-examinations on any of these witnesses so far though. I don’t really see any angle to the defense’s argument as of yet but this trial is just getting started. I guess we will just have to wait and see where they are going with this.


Now if you look at Andrew’s testimony it would appear that Brent Corrigan was the prize. Bryan stood in Joe and Harlow’s way of attaining of that prize. Hence the prosecutions premise that Bryan was in direct competition to them. There was also testimony offered to the subject matter discussed at the Las Vegas dinner that as far as we know there are two different versions of. The prosecution did not attend said dinner but they are using this as grounds for this murder. Now I don’t know about you but if you are going to kill someone do you tell someone who can testify against you about your plans?


There is also the testimony about how much Joe and Harlow were going to pay Brent Corrigan to do a couple of scenes. Andrew also testifies to the projected earning of the video scenes.

Now I have read the MOU and I don’t know all of the terms of the settlement but I do know that Brent was required to pay Bryan 20% for any work he did under the name Brent Corrigan. Now I really don’t know what Brent’s scene rate is but I would guess it is around $3000.00 per scene. So my question is why didn’t Brent take the $50,0000 and pay Bryan his share and be done with it.

That is the big question here, Bryan would be alive and Brent would be flush and Joe and Harlow would be happy. There is also the other question that I think needs to be answered why did Brent and Grant settle with Bryan. Bryan did not have a leg to stand on in the civil suit. It is a fact that Brent was under age when he worked on those first scenes for Cobra video. That is evident by the fact that they are no longer publicly available and by the fact that Brent’s age is no longer an issue. The settlement really makes no sense when you think about it. Brent walked away from Cobra Video in 2005 and he worked for Falcon studios as Fox Ryder. Bryan had no say in that endeavor.

Bryan did take out a trademark on the name Brent Corrigan but it was only in the state of Pennsylvania. The federal trademark had not been approved and to this day it still has not been approved. As far as the contract with Cobra Video goes it had no power to compel Brent to perform sex acts on film. No porn contract can compel a model to perform a sex act on film. The contract that Cobra had was useless in that aspect. So for the prosecution to claim that Brent Corrigan was under contract to Cobra video is a stupid mistake.

Coming clean about the bullshit

With all of the crap being spread about this murder case and Luzerne County and the shake up in the court system I think that it is time for me to come clean on a few issues. OK lets see where should I start. Well lets start with the instant message deal. It would appear that PC got a little miffed about something that I said on a blog and he decided to try and make it look like I threatened him. When the truth is it was Renee Martin who was making the threats. I was just conveying them to him via an instant message. PC initiated that instant message conversation with me. It was about Joe and Harlow getting their house back, PC instant messaged me about it and I asked him not to post it because the judge had not signed off on it yet. I just so happened that I was on the phone with Renee Martin at the time. Coincidence or what? I told her about what he was going to do and she got "pissed". What I did not know the time was that PC and Renee had planned that all along.

Yes it is true. I found out that Renee was playing me and that PC and her were working together all along. Now it is also true that she was the one who initiated the three-way phone calls between Joe and Harlow and me. I never asked her to do that. She is also the one who made first contact with me. She is also the one who told me that I was going to be called as a witness because of the three-way phone calls. She even told me to contact a police detective Steven Polishan with regards to the phone calls. Jimmy, Renee’s husband got mad at her and he spilled the beans about it to me. He also called the police and told them about what Renee was doing with regards to Joe and Harlow. Then Renee was *arrested and a bail bond was placed on her for $50,000.00 to make sure that she appeared in Luzerne County for this case. That is why Renee was arrested and is out on bond with regards to this murder case. Now I never said anything about it because I really thought I should just back away from the mess.

page 15 and 16 of docket sheet.
There were also those who were claiming that Harlow was going to take a plea deal early on in this whole mess. BB posted about it and several people tried to get me to go along with that as well. Harlow said that there was no plea deal so I believed him. And I never posted that there was one. As a matter of fact I said that Harlow denied there was a deal. I never went out of my way to contact anyone regarding this case. I was getting emails from several people all claiming to have information on the case. It was all just getting a little crazy if you ask me. There were several people telling me all of these contradictory stories about this case and none of it made any sense. After weeding through the bullshit I decided to stop posting about the case. What is strange is that I am still getting shit for it after I said fuck it.

I was accused of being off my rocker for saying that the Feds were investigating the Luzerne County courts and guess what bitches?

I was accused of being crazy for saying that Bryan Kocis was under investigation and guess what bitches?

I also said that Lee Bergeron was a dirty dealing back stabber and guess what bitches?

I also said that Joe and Harlow were being investigated for prostitution and guess what?

But I am the crazy one and I have been discredited for my black helicopter theories. Get real I was telling you what I knew and I guess that since it has been proven to be fact I am still considered crazy and discredited. I was being lied to by some to protect their own selfish interests. Now as far as Joe and Harlow killing Bryan I will let the courts deal with that. But as far as what I was told by several people who wanted me to post their lies on my blog well that is a different story.

I was told by a certain British barrister that Sean Lockhart was not under age when he worked for Bryan and that he checked the social security number and had proof of such. But guess what he was wrong. Sean is in fact 22 years old as of 10/31/2008 so he was in fact underage when he worked for Cobra Video. Bryan’s attorney Al Flora knew this and that is why he did not take the civil case. Sean Macias knew this as well but he was a shady lawyer and he just wanted to make the money off of that fool Bryan Kocis. Bryan Kocis is dead and he can no longer defend himself against all of the allegations made against him. That is really too bad because I wish he was alive because he would be going to jail along with Robert Wagner for the crimes that they both committed.

Robert Wagner was just as culpable in the ID fraud as Bryan because he to knew that Sean was under age when he worked for Cobra Video. Sean Lockhart was not the only underage model who worked for Cobra Video either. There were others and several of them have come forward and told their stories to the authorities. Once this murder case is done with, several others will be indicted on various charges with regards to the dealings of Bryan Kocis. The Kocis Family did not want this murder case to go to trial because it would tarnish an already sullied name even more. Bryan was lucky that he had a crooked court system in play when he went up on charges for molesting that boy in 2001. But now with the house cleaning that is in play I don’t think that it would work quite as well.

The Feds are well aware of what took place in that court system and I can tell you that it won’t be pretty for years to come. Everyone in the Luzerne County Court System is suspect. How could this happen unless the DA’s office turned a blind eye to what was going on. The DA is just as culpable in the matter of 500 kids who were placed in jail and denied their constitutional rights. The public defenders office is just as culpable, and don’t get me started on the hand picked Conflict Counselors that Ciavarella and Conahan picked.

As far as the lies that I was told, I have come to grips with those and those who fed them to me. I have told the truth as best I could in regards to this case. If you consider those who were feeding me their "version of the truth" it is no small miracle if we ever get to the truth. I am no longer blogging about this murder case and I have taken a back seat to those who continue telling the story. Some are so hell bent on pushing their agenda that they will ignore the truth. And some are so blinded by the bullshit that is being spread they don't have any idea what the truth really is.

Will we ever get to the truth as to why this murder occurred? I doubt it. With the evidence presented and the one-sided view that we are all being constantly feed it is no wonder that everyone thinks that Harlow and Joe committed this crime. We have not seen any of the evidence that the defense will be presenting and we will not until the trial is under way.
With Jury selection in the beginning stages and everyone getting ready for the big show I will just watch what happens and let the jury and fate decide how this will all end. Sad as it is there is a real person here whose life hangs in the balance. There will be 12 people who do not know him determining his fate. This is our justice system at work and we get to watch it play out on the blogs and the newspapers.

This is Elmysterio and I’m out

The under dog

It seems that I have been trying to stick up for the underdogs my whole life and it has not helped the cause one bit. I have been accused of all manner of things and I just think that it is funny that my accusers are on a mission to make me out as some kind of monster. Well that is your prerogative and you can do and say what ever you want about me if it makes you feel better.

I no longer care to get involved in the controversies of those who lie and cheat and steal and murder. That is what we have courts and lawyers for and I am neither. In the 50 years that I have been on this planet I have come to the conclusion that you can not please some people and no matter what you say there will always be someone who will take issue with it.

So I will only be blogging about things that I deem important to me and if you don't like it well then there are millions of other blogs to read. To those who think they have won the fight good for you. To those who think I have given up, deal with it. To those who don't care, keep on keeping on. As for me I am just going to state how I feel about what ever I want to talk about.

The purpose of this blog was never to talk about a murder or a rape. It just happened to be the topic of conversation. So I will leave it to Jim to debunk all of the lies and PC can be the expert on Joe and Harlow and they can have all of the people talk about it there.

So to those who have nasty things to say about me here is your chance to get it out of your system. Have fun with it cause I am going to celebrate my birthday with people who love me and none of you will be there. Kisses.

Just in case you don't know today is election day and I would advise you to go Vote and Stop worrying about the petty bullshit that you all seem to think is so important.


This is Elmysterio and I'm out

Joe and the truth

Well it appears that Joe Kerekes has spilled the beans on his plan to turn on Harlow Cuadra. Joe has spoken to several jail-mates and told them all about how Harlow killed Bryan Kocis. What I find interesting is that Joe has told so many different stories that it is hard to follow them. Joe claims that Harlow planned this whole thing and that he was just along for the ride. Joe also claims that during the murder he was at the motel surfing the Internet or was he in the car waiting for Harlow. From my perspective it appears that Joe is trying his level best to cause confusion in this murder case. His court room outbursts not withstanding.

First of all on my blog Joe states that he is not Mark but the fact is I knew who he was all along. He was MJT or Mark Joe and Trent. Joe contacted me through Email about a picture that I had of Harlow on my blog that he wanted changed. The date of our first email was Tuesday, April 17, 2007 2:58 AM. Contrary to the beliefs of certain bloggers that was our first contact other than his regular rants on my blog. As far as I am concerned with this case my motivation was to just write about it, no more no less. It seemed to take on a life of its own with the attacks and the fighting and blame throwing and it just got ugly.

The sad fact is that a man was murdered and several lives will be forever changed by that fact. Not withstanding that the victim of this murder had already ruined several lives with his bogus legal suits and his lies and his unscrupulous business practices. The fact is that Bryan Kocis was not a nice person and he was willing to do anything to destroy "Brent Corrigan" speaks volumes to his character. Dirty underhanded deals, public smear campaigns, bogus lawsuits, underage porn and child molestation all speak to his character.

Joe and Harlow were not the brightest couple in the world and I don’t think that they should have ever got involved in any of this but that is my opinion. The fact that Sean and Grant were having problems with Bryan was enough for me to know that I would have just avoided the whole situation if I were Joe and Harlow. But then again who knows what they were thinking. Fast cash in the porn industry is a joke but I guess Joe and Harlow were not aware of that.

The fact that I got involved in this whole debacle is something that I do not regret. I have been accused of aiding and abetting two criminals, illegal phone conversations, possession of stolen property and various other crimes by someone who claims to be on the inside of this investigation. I just want to thank PC for posting the arrest warrant that shows that I did not aid and abet two known fugitives. I would also like to thank Jim for confirming the first contact that I had with Joe and Harlow.

Now I do not believe that Barry Taylor was one of Joe and Harlow’s clients. The fact that if he were it would be grounds for his disbarment. I also really don’t understand why Joe would tell complete strangers about his part in this murder other than to gain some street cred in the jail. His claims of being straight and doing this for money and the privilege it provides are in my opinion is a bunch of crap. Joe has lied to the police on several occasions and I think that is his defense. "You can not believe a damn thing I say so I must not be guilty".


Harlow on the other hand has said very little about the case and in the few times that we have spoken after his arrest he has stated the same thing and he has never wavered on that one bit. Do I believe him well that I will just keep to myself as I am not on the jury and it really does not matter what I believe. You all can believe what ever you want and you can spout off about it as well. Just an small note to all of you who think that I am involved in this in any other way other than my blog you are sadly mistaken.

I am still waiting for the truth to be revealed and from what has been posted as relevant to this case it is not the truth. It is just pure speculation, the police are still grasping for a reason as to the why Bryan was killed. The evidence presented so far is purely circumstantial. The beach tapes are in my opinion a joke and it will backfire. The so-called involvement of several of the people mentioned on other blogs that is a joke as well.


Joe and Harlow were aware of the "trap" that was set by the FBI and all of the other police agencies with regards to the beach tapes. They were also aware of the whereabouts of the missing Maserati, as was I long before the beach tapes were made.
This case is really just becoming a joke, a comedy of errors and it will all play out in the fabulous Luzerne County court system which I might add is the biggest joke of them all. There have been claims that Robert Wagner was at Bryan’s house on the night he was murdered and I for one do not know if that is true but some seem to think so and that would explain the constant attacks on BB. I would like to think that BB is not involved and he is being attacked because he is not in agreement with the party line. BB is of the belief that Sean and Grant had something to do with this murder. That is what BB believes and I’m fine with that.

Do I think that Sean and Grant had anything to do with this murder? The answer would be yes. They contacted Joe and Harlow and invited them to Vegas. Joe and Harlow took them out to dinner where the subject of Bryan came up. Now common sense would lead you to believe that Joe and Harlow did not just bring up the subject of Bryan. That would have been Sean and Grant. Their deceitful partner Lee Bergeron was suckering Sean and Grant into a bad deal with Bryan. They were most likely pissed off about the pending deal and voiced there opinion about it to Joe and Harlow.

I don’t know who brought up the subject about making Bryan disappear and I don’t doubt it was brought up. I was not there so I can not attest to who came up with that idea. But for Joe and Harlow to just come out of the blue with something like that is a bit of a stretch. They did not even know Bryan or have any prior contact with the man. Sean and Grant did have prior contact with him and made their animosity well known.

Now as far as Joe and Harlow devising a plot to do away with Bryan on a promise to work with Sean that is a bit of a stretch. Bryan was not a threat to their business and the claim that they did all of this to work with "Brent Corrigan" is a stretch as well. Brent Corrigan is a commodity in porn but he is not the only hot twink out there. As far as Sean and Grant’s involvement in this murder, it is guilt by association. They know the accused and they knew the victim and the are a crucial link in the theory of the police as to why Bryan was killed.

I don’t think the truth will ever be known because there are just to many lies out there and not enough credible witnesses to make the truth available. The police have a theory and it seems that they will make the evidence work with that theory. The fact is that the evidence presented thus far has to prove the guilt of the accused. It could very well do just that but then again it could all be disproved. Did Harlow snap and kill Bryan? Did Joe kill Bryan? Was Bryan dead when Harlow arrived? Was Joe at the motel? Was Robert Wagner at Bryan’s house on the night he was murdered? This is for the courts to decide and I am more than willing to let them do they’re job with regards to that.

With all of the negative press on the courts of Luzerne County I do think that this will be a fair trail as they are being watched by the FBI. The Fed’s want this case over as soon as possible because of their investigation into Bryan’s other dealings. They want Robert Wagner so bad that they can taste it. Bryan had been under investigation for several months prior to his murder and that is why this case had so many different police agencies involved. There are those who deny this but the facts of this investigation prove otherwise.


This is Elmysterio and I’m out.

Judge Ciavarella defends his stance with regards to Vita

Judge Conahan pictured here


Luzerne county is coming under fire for its judicial practices. Citizens of Luzerne county speak out on the corruption in they're judicial system. Some are asking for a investigation into the court system. Judge Conahan and Dr. Vita, his brother-in-law could not be reached for comment. I am wondering if the citizens will start to question some of the Judges prior cases.
One case comes to mind with regards to Judge Conahan. That would be the "correction" of the record of Bryan Kocis. Maybe just maybe it is going to come back and bite them in the ass. Now I don't know about any of you all but the murder of Mr. Kocis is going to bring more attention to the practices of the Luzerne County Judicial system.
I have always wondered if it was just a coincidence that Judge Conahan retired right before Joe and Harlow were arrested. Was that a calculated move to protect himself from the fallout of his prior ruling with regards to the murder victims criminal past.

Murder victim Bryan kocis pictured left and murder suspects Joe kerekes and Harlow Cuadra pictured right


The arrest of Joe and Harlow and the subsequent trial would bring to light much negativity with regards to the Judge's ruling on the murder victims case. Could that be the reason that Judge Ciavarella stepped into Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. case and allowed the suspects to have the same attorneys as the victim. It is rumored that Judge Conahan hand picked Judge Ciavarella as his successor. It really makes you wonder what is going on in Luzerne County. The "Times Leader" seems to be questioning the conduct of the judicial system of Luzerne county. I myself think it is high time. I wonder if Ciavarella is related to Conahan or Vita. Also there is the question of the "good friend" of Conahan who runs the youth detention facility that most of the juvenile criminals are sentenced to.


More questions raised over services of county juvenile court psychologist
Woman says family forced to use Vita’s services, at a cost of thousands.
By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.comLuzerne County Reporter
A Plains Township woman said a Luzerne County judge forced her and family members to undergo counseling with psychologist Frank Vita as part of her son’s juvenile court proceeding, costing her thousands of dollars out of her own pocket.

Conahan
Times Leader Photo Store
Erica Michaliga said she now questions that court order in light of the recent revelation that Vita is the brother-in-law of Court of Common Pleas Senior Judge Mike Conahan.
But Court of Common Pleas President Judge Mark Ciavarella, who signed the court order, said Michaliga is completely off base because she and her mother-in-law requested Vita in the first place.
“They were so happy with Dr. Vita after the psych evaluation, that they asked if they could continue to see him,” Ciavarella said. “They requested Dr. Vita.”
Michaliga said she initially welcomed Vita’s counseling because she thought it would be temporary and covered by insurance.
Michaliga said she doesn’t believe the judge made it clear that she had a choice. She said she frequently told Vita she was having difficulty paying him. She plans to review the court transcripts because she believes she raised concerns about the cost of the payment in court.
Vita got involved with the case because the county had paid him to conduct a psychological evaluation of her son, she said. Michaliga said Vita told her he was recommending counseling to the judge and offered to provide it. She said she thought it was a good idea to stay with him because Vita played a key role in the judge’s decision on where her son would be placed.
Ciavarella said Michaliga and her mother-in-law, who was also involved in the counseling, were free to choose any counselor, and he said he never received a request to switch counselors.
“I didn’t care what family counselor they went to. I never would have ordered Dr. Vita without their input,” he said.
The mother-in-law was not named in the documents, and Michaliga said the mother-in-law was not willing to speak to a reporter.
Michaliga said she paid Vita thousands of dollars and has asked him for a copy of bills so she may determine the exact amount. Vita could not be reached for comment on several attempts.
On July 7, 2006, Ciavarella ordered her to pay Vita $1,075 in overdue payments within 30 days. He said Michaliga was trying to “stiff” Vita.
Michaliga and Ciavarella have clashed in the past over a court case involving an insurance claim at Atmosphere Salon and Day Spa, which she used to own.
The county has paid Vita $1.1 million since 2001 to provide psychological evaluations of juvenile offenders, county records show.
County officials plan to publicly advertise the work before July 1 – something that wasn’t done in the past – to determine if other psychologists are interested. The cost of the service will also be considered, county officials say.
Vita charges $90 per hour and usually bills between 14 and 19 hours for work associated with each juvenile, his bills show.
The county probation office, which determines which clients are evaluated by Vita, reported Thursday that Vita saw 120 juvenile offenders in 2007 and 40 offenders this year to date.
Vita was paid $180,360 in 2007 and $74,160 so far this year.
Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7333.

Luzerne county up to it's little secret tricks again

The Times Leader is a interesting read, they will tell all of the dirty little secrets of Luzerne County. I wonder if Judge Conahan got a kickback from his brother-in-law for all of the county work he got him?

Judge’s brother-in-law paid $877K
Psych services to court not bid out
By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.comLuzerne County Reporter
A Luzerne County judge’s brother-in-law has been paid $877,880 to provide psychological services to the court system since 2004, raising questions about why that work isn’t publicly advertised.

The psychologist, Frank Vita, is married to the sister of Mike Conahan, who is now a senior judge in the county Court of Common Pleas.
Psychology is considered a professional service by county officials.

The county’s 2004 purchasing policy requires public requests for proposals or qualifications for professional services over $7,500. The mandate is meant to give everyone a shot at the work and to gather cost comparisons, though there’s no requirement that the work will go to the individual or business that submits the lowest price.

Common Pleas President Judge Mark Ciavarella said he wasn’t aware of the county purchasing policy and has been abiding by the state County Code, which does not require public advertising for professional services.

Requests-for-proposals will be sought for the psychology service in the future, said county Chief Clerk/Manager Doug Pape.
Ciavarella said he has no problem advertising the psychology work, but he stressed that he does not believe the court is required to abide by the county’s purchasing policy.

“The court is a separate branch of government. They (commissioners) can’t dictate how I manage the court system, as long as I am in compliance with the state law,” Ciavarella said.
But Commissioners Stephen A. Urban and Maryanne Petrilla believe the courts must follow the county policy.

Urban said $877,880 is a lot of money to pay someone without shopping around for the prices and qualifications of other providers.
Petrilla said she knows of no county document or state law that exempts the courts from following county purchasing policies.

“Since the county is the funding source for the courts, and their budget is approved by the commissioners, I see no reason why they don’t follow all county policies,” Petrilla said.
Vita and Conahan could not be reached for comment.
Ciavarella said Vita “does an outstanding job.” Vita assesses juvenile offenders and recommends appropriate treatment to the judge. Ciavarella has been handling juvenile court cases in the county for years.

“When I first got on the bench, I received psychological reports that were not worth the paper they were printed on. His reports are 10 and 20 pages long and very extensive,” Ciavarella said.
Vita typically spends 10 to 16 hours evaluating each juvenile offender, Ciavarella said.
“In the juvenile system, it’s so important to get the child in the right program. Without that, we’re just wasting our money,” Ciavarella said.

Vita started providing psychology services to the court system when Joseph Augello was president judge, said county Probation Director Larry Saba.
Conahan then served as president judge from 2002 through 2006 until Ciavarella took over the role. The president judge decides who is hired in court branches and oversees the court’s administrative affairs.

The controller’s office did not have records on Vita’s payments before 2004.
Here’s the breakdown of what Vita was paid: $233,705 in 2004; $189,495 in 2005; $200,160 in 2006; $180,360 in 2007 and $74,160 this year to date.
Purchasing has become an issue in the county since the recent discovery that prison kitchen purchases were illegally piecemealed, or broken into smaller amounts to circumvent requirements to obtain quotes and/or bids.

County officials have started visiting each department and discovered other examples of purchases that did not comply with the county’s purchasing policy.
Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7333.

I wonder if they did the psych evaluation on Joe Kerekes as well as Bryan Kocis in his first case? It really makes you woinder what is going on in Luzerne County.