2 Pa. judges sued in kickback scheme

[February 13, 2009]  SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) -- A class-action lawsuit has been filed against two Pennsylvania judges accused of taking more than $2 million in kickbacks to send youth offenders to privately run detention centers.

The civil suit names Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan and 14 other defendants. It was filed on behalf of hundreds of children and their families who were alleged victims of the corruption.

Prosecutors allege Ciavarella and Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA Child Care LLC and a sister company, possibly tainting the convictions of thousands of juvenile offenders.

The judges pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court in Scranton on Thursday. Their plea agreements call for sentences of more than seven years in prison.

[Associated Press]

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