Clerk of Courts seeks to intervene in Ciavarella suit against commissioners

When will this circus ever be over. I wonder if this is the court clerk who will be going to the big house with Conahan and Ciaverella. Would that just be a hoot. He looks like he has something to hide.


Clerk of Courts seeks to intervene in Ciavarella suit against commissioners
By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.comLaw & Order Reporter
WILKES-BARRE – Luzerne County Clerk of Courts Robert Reilly on Friday filed a petition seeking to intervene in the lawsuit filed by President Judge Mark Ciavarella that challenges cuts commissioners made in the court’s 2009 budget.
Reilly
The petition, filed by attorney Peter John Moses, argues that decisions affecting the funding of the court system directly impact the operation of his office. It seeks to grant Reilly the right to take part in various court proceedings related to the lawsuit.
Reilly is upset by the commissioners’ decision not to fund four positions within his office. The loss of the positions has left his office incapable of fully meeting its responsibilities and has “threatened the adequate administration of justice,” the petition states.
The clerk of courts handles the filing of criminal cases and associated duties, including collecting and distributing court costs and restitutions, collecting and returning bail money, certifying and distributing court orders and the scheduling and conduction of hearings and other proceedings, the petition says.
“If the clerk of courts is unable to timely file documentation of criminal cases, alone, for example, trials may not be timely scheduled and criminal defendants could be released and charges dismissed for a lack of a speedy trial,” the petition says.
Ciavarella filed suit against the county, its commissioners and salary board in December. The suit contends personnel cuts the commissioners made to the court’s 2009 budget will impede the administration of justice.
Senior Judge C. Joseph Rehkamp of Perry County, who was specially appointed to preside over the case, issued a preliminary injunction barring commissioners from implementing cuts in court branches. That order did not protect the clerk of courts office, however, because it is funded out of the county’s general fund.
Moses said a hearing will be scheduled at which Rehkamp will hear evidence and rule on whether Reilly’s office can intervene.
Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7179.


I wonder oif this is the same county clerks office that screwed up on the charges for Bryan Kocis. I would think that they might want to keep their mouths shut and not draw attention to the fact that they are incompetant. I was reading some of the comments left at the timesleader with regards to the pending arrests and I can only say that Luzerne County is not kind when it comes to saying how they feel about those Judges.

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Judges to be charged

Updated: Today at 6:26 AM Sources: Judges to be charged
County court system has been under investigation
By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.com



Law & Order Reporter for the Times leader
WILKES-BARRE – Two sources familiar with federal investigations involving the Luzerne County judiciary said authorities have concluded their probes and are expected to file charges soon, possibly as early as next week.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said two county judges and a county court official are expected to face charges. The sources could not say what those charges will be.



They also declined to publicly identify the suspects because the charges have not been filed.
Speculation that the filing of charges was imminent has run rampant throughout the county courthouse during the past few weeks.
U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson declined to comment when reached late Wednesday afternoon. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has a standard policy of not confirming or denying the existence of an investigation.


The investigations into the county have been public knowledge for several months as federal agents have served search warrants and subpoenas on several court offices.
Federal agents in June served a search warrant on the county’s Juvenile Probation Department seeking financial records related to the placement of juveniles at the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care centers. Those centers were formerly owned by attorney Robert Powell of Butler Township.


Paul McGarry, administrative director for the court system, said previously that the FBI sought administrative records, including billing statements and records for the number of children who were placed at the centers.
In August, FBI agents served subpoenas on the county treasurer’s office seeking records related to the court system. Sources previously said that investigation focused on whether money confiscated from gambling raids was turned over to the treasurer’s office.


The sources said the investigation began after it was learned that some court orders directing the forfeiture of gambling proceeds did not go through the District Attorney’s office, but instead were presented directly to the court administrator’s office – a departure from standard procedure.


It could not be determined Wednesday whether the pending charges are related to those investigations, or whether other persons may also face charges.



Also in the citizens voice they have this story.



Court appointments won’t be processed,
chief clerk explains
Luzerne County Manager/Chief Clerk Doug Pape said the recent appointments by the court judiciary will not be processed because they don’t fill vacancies.

THE CITIZENS’ VOICE FILE

BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER STAFF WRITER
Published: Thursday, January 22, 2009 3:47 PM EST
WILKES-BARRE — Senior administrators for Luzerne County commissioners said Wednesday they are not going to process personnel appointments ordered by Luzerne County President Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr.It’s the latest flap in an ongoing struggle between county commissioners and judges over how much taxpayer funds will go to the judicial branch this year. On Tuesday, Ciavarella issued a court order to transfer his executive secretary Ann M. Hoedl to a new job in court administration and another order to appoint Joseph A. Dessoye as a senior law clerk for Judge Joseph M. Augello.“There are no vacancies for these positions, so we will not process them at this time,” County Manager/Chief Clerk Doug Pape said.Director of Human Resources Doug Richards said Hoedl and Dessoye won’t be paid unless they are appointed to replace someone in a job that had been approved by the county salary board.



Hoedl would take a pay cut from $45,703 to $39,338 in her new job, and Dessoye’s salary would be $39,455, according to court and county documents.
Last month, the judges obtained a temporary injunction to stop cuts in court spending of $3 million, and officials agreed to maintain 2008 personnel and funding levels in the judicial branch while the case is litigated. On Tuesday, Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla said the order to transfer Hoedl violated the agreement, but Ciavarella maintained it was allowed under the agreement because her new job is “an open position in the 2008 budget.”Judicial officials did not respond to messages seeking comment on Wednesday’s development.



The 2009 budget adopted by county commissioners last month eliminated funding for 138 full-time jobs, including 55 in the judicial branch. The litigation stopped plans to lay off 34 court employees.The budget eliminated funding for 65 vacant jobs, and judges have filled at least 10 of those jobs with court orders issued over the last six weeks. County chief solicitor Vito DeLuca said county administrators “will honor” appointments to court jobs that existed in 2008. The county has roughly 1,700 full-time employees, and about 360 work for the judiciary.



mbuffer@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2073



Can you say oops!



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Who is Leon Jackson

click the picture below to see his audition video.





Well I was browsing around on you tube thanks to Mason Wyler and his post about cute guys who can sing. I was looking at all of the videos of the cute guys and I found a video about a show in England called Xfactor. I saw this video of this sort of cute guy who looked like he was going to cry he was so nervous but when he opened his mouth he gave me chills. Guess who was a judge on the show no body but Simon Cowell. Leon totally looked like he could play Oliver Twist. I was expecting him to ask for some figgy pudding. He was just so cute you could not help but root for him.


Well Leon was so nervous that I think the judges felt sorry for him. He went to the audition alone and when he got accepted to be on the show he cried. Through his tears of happiness he called his mother and told her he had made it on the show. Now when I see someone who has a dream and it comes true it just makes me feel good. Leon had a dream to be a singer and he went for it and he won the competition. A shy 18 year old kid from Scotland who started singing in public in a karaoke pub. If you watched American Idol last year you might remember Simon saying to David Archuleta that he had a number one single with the Mariah Cary song that David sang, well this is the guy who had that hit.
Click on picture below to go to videos


I got sucked in and watched all of the videos of him on Xfactor and I saw a star being born. It really is amazing what a good hair cut and some grooming and getting your teeth fixed can do for ones self esteem. The fact that he has a great voice does not hurt him either. Oh yeah and after all of the fixing that they did the boy is just plain hot now. At the ripe old age of 20 he has a album out and it is really good. So if you like Sinatra and Michael Buble and jazzy pop music that swings you will love this guy. Check him out he has a website where you can see his videos and listen to his music.



This song really swings.

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Officials: Conahan ordered deposits to his bank

This is a previously unpublished post. I thought with the turn of events that it was a bit more relevant now.

Well it would appear that there is a serious problem in Luzerne County. And it is getting worse by the minute. while searching the Internet for information about Luzerne County I came opon this jewel. I wonder how Conahan will explain this away







I also found this article and then we have this lovely article .
BY DAVE JANOSKI
PROJECTS EDITOR
Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:03 AM EDT
Former Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Conahan directed millions of government dollars to a bank of which he is a director by ordering the county’s magisterial district judges to deposit their fines there, county and state officials say.

First National Community Bank — where billionaire casino owner Louis A. DeNaples was chairman of the board until his recent indictment on perjury charges — handles about $7 million in deposits from those magisterial district courts each year, state and county audits show.

Conahan, whose financial holdings are a focus of an ongoing FBI investigation into the county courts, did not return phone messages seeking comment Tuesday.

Conahan’s decision to direct district court deposits to the bank came shortly before or after he was named to the bank board in 2003, county Court Administrator William Sharkey said Tuesday. Before that decision, the county’s 17 magisterial district judges, who handle traffic tickets, small civil cases and preliminary hearings in criminal cases, used banks of their own choosing.

Sharkey said the change was made because First National Community Bank, headquartered in Dunmore, offered a countywide courier service with daily pickup.

“Some of the magistrates had some concerns for security reasons. They weren’t too thrilled about taking deposits to the bank every day,” Sharkey said.

Sharkey said he didn’t know if the bank approached the county or if Conahan sought proposals from other banks.

“I’m not quite sure how that happened,” Sharkey said. “I’m not sure if they contacted the county and they offered the courier services or vice versa.”

James Koval, communications manager for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, confirmed that First National Community Bank is the depository for all district courts in Luzerne County. He said decisions about where to deposit fines from district courts are left up to the president judge in each county. The fines are divided between the state and county, with more than two-thirds typically going to the state.

Koval said his office exercises no oversight over the selection of the banks and has no rules governing the selection.

“I’m not aware of any rule that addresses this head-on,” Koval said.

Joseph A. Massa Jr., chief counsel for the state Judicial Conduct Board, which enforces the state Code of Judicial Conduct, did not return phone messages Tuesday.

Conahan was paid $57,583 as a director at First National Community Bancorp Inc. in 2007, according to the bank’s U.S. Security and Exchange Commission filings. He owns 55,927 shares in the bank worth $755,014 at Tuesday’s closing price of $13.50 per share.

DeNaples, a Dunmore businessman with holdings in landfills, used auto parts and real estate, owns about 10 percent of the bank’s 15.8 million outstanding shares. His brother and son, who are also directors of the bank, own about 9 percent. The DeNaples’ shares are worth $40 million.

The bank reported having $945 million in deposits in 2007.

DeNaples took a leave of absence from the bank board on Feb. 6 after he was charged with lying to state gaming regulators about ties to organized crime figures when seeking a license for his Mount Airy Casino Resort in Monroe County, which opened last year.

Federal banking regulators subsequently suspended him from the board and prohibited him from participating in the affairs of the bank while the charges are pending. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board barred DeNaples from Mount Airy and appointed a trustee to oversee the casino until the criminal case is concluded.

DeNaples, 67, and bank President and CEO J. David Lombardi, who is acting chairman of the board, did not return phone messages Tuesday.

Conahan, who retired last year at age 56 and is now a senior judge presiding over the county’s Drug Treatment Court, has declined comment on the ongoing federal probe.

Courthouse sources speaking on condition of anonymity say the FBI and IRS have questioned them about Conahan’s links to the former owner of a juvenile detention center. The center made millions from county contracts after Conahan decided to stop sending juveniles to an aging county-owned facility in 2003.

Conahan has described the former co-owner of the facility, Butler Township attorney Robert J. Powell, as a personal friend. The FBI seized county records detailing the county’s dealings with Powell’s center last month.

The Standard-Speaker first reported in May that Conahan and current President Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., who presided over juvenile court for a dozen years, have a financial interest in a townhouse development firm headed by Powell’s law partner, county Prothonotary Jill A. Moran. Powell owned half of the townhouse firm until the second half of 2004.

The townhouse firm, W-Cat Inc., is building an 86-unit development in Wright Township called The Sanctuary with $4.5 million in funding through First National Community Bank. Another director of the bank, Michael G. Cestone, is president of the construction company building the townhouses, S.G. Mastriani Co. Inc.

Cestone did not return a phone message Tuesday.

djanoski@citizensvoice.com

Can we say oops, you are going to get busted. Bad judge go to jail and do not pass go.

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Bryan's little secret?

I find it very funny that there were several people who had contact with Bryan Kocis who all made it a big production that that they were all HIV negative after they had contact with him. Now I dont want to go and make assumptions about what Bryan's HIV status was but it would seem that it could be a problem. Brent Corrigan made a big deal on his blog about being negative and so did Harlow and Robert Wagner even makes it known on his manhunt profile that he is HIV negative.







We all know that Bryan had a thing for bareback sex and he had sex with his models so that in and of it self could be a problem and also a motive in his death. Bryan was also known to drug models so that he could have his way with them. Bryan Kocis could very well be dead because he told Harlow after they had sex that he was positive and that he had infected Harlow. If someone just drugged you and fucked you bare back and they told you that they were positive that could explain the viciousness of the killing. Bryan was known for drugging models and having his way with them. He did it to that 15 yearold boy. He did it to Brent Corrigan and what makes you think he did not do it to Harlow.

The facts in this case have never made any sense to me and the viciousness of the killing never made any sense either. Bryan was a nasty person in my opinion and I would not put it past him to do something like that. If you read the transcripts from Blacks Beach tapes you can pretty much figure it out, it was Harlow who was drugged. Harlow says that Bryan knew who he was. Harlow also said that seeing that fucker going down felt good. That statment alone is very telling. Robert Wagner, Brent Corrigan and Harlow were all victims of Bryan Kocis as well as that 15 year old boy.

The Pennsylvania Judicial System let that man go free and unencumbered to molest more boys and young men. He should have been a registered sex offender but Judge Conahan trying to save face over a clerical error tried to cover it up. That mistake is what let Bryan go on doing what he was doing and eventually brought about his death.

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Eartha kitt Dies 1/17/1927-12/25/2008

I am deeply saddened to report that Earth Kitt has passed away. I met Earth Kitt in 1983 or maybe 1984 when she was promoting her record Where is my man. She performed at Trocadaro Transfer in San Francisco. It was a great night.
There was a funny incident, I was dancing right in front of the stage. I had the record and I knew it backwards and forwards. She was looking at me when the music track started and when she started to sing I shook my head and said no when she almost started to sing too soon. She laughed and then I gave her the cue to sing. She grabbed me and and I grabbed my friend Tyrone and drug him on stage with her. It was too much fun but I was so totally embarrassed about being drug on stage. She was very nice and we chatted after she performed. She even hung out and danced with us later. She thanked me for saving her when I walked her out to her awaiting white limo. It was a great night.
You can read more about her career at IMDB . She was the best Catwoman, sorry Julie Newmar but it is the truth. She had that role down like she was meant to be Catwoman.

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Have a Jazzy Holiday and Funky Christmas

Merry Christmas From a Mysterious place

Ken Starr to defend proposition 8 and other things that I am thinking about

This is a bit of old news but I was reading over on Former Damon fan and it is the lead story on The Unmentioned Ones Blog. Seems he is staying totally abreast of all that is happening in the world of Gayness and keeping us all posted on "Bradgate". Seems like Brad Star had a head transplant. His dad Ken Starr is defending prop 8 because he is mad at Angel for corrupting his baby. Hows that for a lead story Kentie, it has all the flavour you so love and its full of lies. Anyway getting back to the subject of this post Kentie's revelation is based on old news and he was certainly not the first to post about it. Here is a link to a news site that mentioned this hot piece of news almost a month ago. I like Queerty because they are free of an agenda, except a gay one.

The picture above is Brad Star from a rencent photo shoot for South Beach Diaries. borrowed from Angel Skye . The picture to the right is Ken Starr, He is not Brad's father.


My opinion on Ken Starr is that he is a sexually frustrated old fart who has not had any sex in 50 years and he hates the world because of it. He did not succeed with Bill Clinton and he will not succeed here. Attitudes are changing and you can not take away the rights of some and not effect the rights of all. This has been proven several times yet there are those who claim that gay people have an agenda but I think it is just the opposite.

President Elect Barack Obama and Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church.




Fear and ignorance fueled the vote on proposition 8 and through education we can right that wrong. I think President Elect Barrack Obama should be taken to task for who he picked for his invocation. This is a man who goes against everything that you represented Mr President. I can understand Mr President Elect trying to appease a certain segment of the population but in doing so he alienated another. I think that this could have been handled better. When it comes to human rights I do have an agenda and that is for fairness.


John Roecker is pictured to the right he directed the here tv documentary Everything you wanted to know about gay porn stars






I would also like to mention that I saw the John Roecker's Everything you wanted to know about gay porn stars/episodes/1/6. The Harlow Cuadra segment and I will just say this I came away from that just a little depressed. Harlow gives some insight in to his family life and his childhood and how he came to meet Joe but it never really gets that deep. I Knew most of what was talked about already. This documentary just put a face to it. The one thing that really hit home is when I heard his voice actually describe his situation. In the phone conversations that we had before he was arrested and after we never talked about how he felt. I just tried to give him hope. All I can say is that I hope Harlow can hold out long enough for the truth to be told.
pictured on the left is Harlow Cuadra who is featured in John Roecker episode 6 of everything you always wanted to know about gay porn stars.








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President Bush greated with a shoe in Iraq

A man identified as an Iraqi journalist threw shoes at -- but missed -- President Bush during a news conference Sunday evening in Baghdad, where Bush was making a farewell visit. Bush ducked, and the shoes, flung one at a time, sailed past his head during the news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in his palace in the heavily fortified Green Zone. The shoe-thrower -- identified as Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network -- could be heard yelling in Arabic: "This is a farewell ... you dog!" You can read the complete story here

I would say that judging by the quick reflexes exhibited by the President he has had a shoe thrown at him before most likely by his mother. Ducking a shoe is like riding a bicycle you don't forget how to do it. What is sad is that getting the shoe is like getting the finger. So I guess George W was told to get fu--ed by the Iraqi media. All this while he was on his farwell tour of Iraq.

As funny as the idea of a shoe being thrown at George "W." Bush is this man just may go to jail for the rest of his life if not worse.

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1950s pinup model Bettie Page dies in LA at 85

LOS ANGELES – Bettie Page, the 1950s secretary-turned-model whose controverisal photographs in skimpy attire or none at all helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution, died Thursday. She was 85.
Page suffered a heart attack last week in Los Angeles and never regained consciousness, her agent Mark Roesler said. Before the heart attack, Page had been hospitalized for three weeks with pneumonia.

"She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality," Roesler said. "She is the embodiment of beauty

Betty Page: April 22, 1923 - December 11, 2008

You will be missed

You can read the rest of the story here

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