Article
Ciavarella Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison [USA]
...[F]ormer Luzerne County Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. was sentenced to...28 years...in federal prison...Ciavarella read a prepared statement at the podium during...sentencing hearing in which he said he had been unfairly demonized by the prosecution and the public, claiming Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon A. Zubrod had ignited a public outcry when he used the term "kids-for-cash" to describe Ciavarella's crimes after Ciavarella agreed to plead guilty to honest services fraud for allegedly receiving a payment from the builder of two detention facilities to which the county sent juveniles...A former juvenile delinquency court judge, Ciavarella was alleged to have taken more than $2.8 million from the builder and former co-owner of two private juvenile detention facilities, PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care...Prosecutors alleged that money was the fruit of improper kickbacks and extortion. Ciavarella denied those allegations...