The "Cash For Kids" Scandal In Luzerne County-Former Judge Michael T. Conahan Convicted
Former Luzerne County, Pennsylvania judge Michael T. Conahan was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in a federal prison and was fined $900,000.
Conahan pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy last year. He and former judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. were charged with taking bribes from the builder of a pair of juvenile detention centers and extorting cash from the facilities' co-owner in what has been called the "cash for kids" scandal.
Ciavarella was convicted at trial. He was sentenced last month to 28 years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Houser stated
"Mr. Conahan abused his power to enrich himself and his friend Mark Ciavarella. The justice system in Pennsylvania was shaken to its very foundation."
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had to overturn 4,000 convictions of kids that Conahan and Ciavarella issued between 2003 and 2008.
