Philadelphia Enquirer
SCRANTON - A federal jury Friday found former Luzerne County Court Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. guilty of racketeering in one of the nation's worst judicial scandals, a crime in which prosecutors said the former judge used children "as pawns to enrich himself."
In convicting Ciavarella of racketeering, the jury agreed with prosecutors that he and another corrupt judge had taken an illegal payment of nearly $1 million from a juvenile detention center's builder and then hidden the money.
The panel of six men and six women also found Ciavarella guilty of "honest services mail fraud" and of being a tax cheat for failing to list that money and more on his annual public financial-disclosure forms and on four years of tax returns. In addition, they found him guilty of conspiring to launder money...
[Full Article]Judge behind ‘cash for kids’ scheme confronted by mother of victim
Daily Paul
A judge is found guilty in a "kids-for-cash scheme" where he sent juveniles to detention centers owned by friends.
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/02/19/exp.nr.kids...
Audio: Mother of alleged Ciavarella victim speaks to Times Leader (WARNING: explicit language)
Sandy Fonzo, mother of an alleged "Kids for Cash" sentencing victim, speaks to Times Leader reporter Terrie Morgan-Besecker follwing the verdict in the corruption case of former Luzerne County judge Mark Ciavarella.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf2hBgmN1cE
Heartbreak and frustration after verdict comes in - VIDEO
The Times Leader
SCRANTON – The distraught mother of a man who was jailed as a juvenile by former Judge Mark Ciavarella angrily confronted him outside a federal courthouse Friday, accusing him of being responsible for her son’s suicide.
Sandy Fonzo of Wilkes-Barre interrupted a press conference Ciavarella and his attorneys held after a jury rendered its verdict in his corruption trial, hurling expletives at him and telling him she hopes he “rots in hell.”“My kid’s not here anymore. My kid’s not here anymore because of him. He ruined by (expletive) life,” Fonzo screamed through sobs shortly after Ciavarella’s attorney, Al Flora, began speaking.
Fonzo, who stood amid a crush of media interviewing Ciavarella, continued the verbal assault, pushing toward Ciavarella, who appeared stunned.
“Do you remember me? Do you remember my son? He was an all-star wrestler and he’s gone. He shot himself in the heart,” she screamed, her voice hoarse with emotion. “You scumbag. You ruined my (expletive) life.”
Fonzo was escorted away by security after she pushed forward and poked Ciavarella with her finger. She continued to yell at Ciavarella from across the street, gasping as she choked back tears.
“He was my son. I don’t have kids now. I don’t have anything. I’m not a mother. I’m not anything,” she sobbed...
Ciavarella speaks after verdict (WARNING: explicit language)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCExlbGTX_M
Former Luzerne County judge Mark Ciavarella and his attorney, Al Flora, speak to reporters following the announcement of a verdict in Ciavarella's corruption trial on Friday, February 18, 2011. A bystander can be heard shouting explicit language at Ciavarella following the remarks.
Video by Times Leader employee Gerard Hetman.
Audio: Mother of alleged Ciavarella victim speaks to Times Leader (WARNING: explicit language)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf2hBgmN1cE
Sandy Fanzo, mother of an alleged "Kids for Cash" sentencing victim, speaks to Times Leader reporter Terrie Morgan-Besecker follwing the verdict in the corruption case of former Luzerne County judge Mark Ciavarella.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Son died after his detention
When Sandy Fonzo chided Mark Ciavarella following the verdict in the disgraced judge’s trial Friday, Karen Adamski knew too well the anguish the mother was experiencing.
“I know exactly what that mom was going through (Friday) when she was screaming and yelling about her son that committed suicide,” Adamski said. “It’s just the most horrible thing ever.”
Like Fonzo’s son, Adamski’s child, Brandyn Robbins, was incarcerated at the PA Child Care juvenile detention center, was sentenced by Ciavarella, and later committed suicide. Adamski, of Larksville, said Friday that while she can’t say precisely why her son killed himself, his brush with Ciavarella was a turning point for the worse in his life.
“I don’t know why he took his own life, but I know that had an impact on him,” Adamski said. “He was a very outgoing kid; always lit up a room, had a smile on his face, active in sports, and it just, it changed him.”...
