Justice: Hell is for Children (with video) (Updated March 26, 2009) Clavarella Applies for State Pension While He Awaits Jail Sentence
Michael Morris
When a house of cards fall all of the face cards are exposed to the world that at one time ignored the truth.
Most of us who have followed world economics knew that it was not "bad debt" that harmed us but the morals and ethics that allowed the debt to be incurred by individuals and governments without any controls in place to insure that the asset and the debtor were capable of payment of the debt. But one good thing has come from all of the face cards being exposed, the absolute moral, ethical and financial corruption of this nation's court systems.
As many of you know, for years I have been screaming that the courts have been using people, especially children as a commodity for financial gain. The absolute proof of this was exposed by the FBI in Luzerne County Pennsylvania where two Judges, Judge Mark Ciavarella and Judge Michael Conahan pleaded guilty to intentionally placing children in prison in order to receive "kickbacks" in the millions of dollars from the company running the facilities. Over the years that this happened it is estimated that over 5000 children and their families could be involved. 5000 thousand families DESTROYED! But the evil goes much deeper.
As part of the "law", Luzerne County charged the parents under the child support laws, "child support" to keep their child in prison. Let's review; your child is wrongfully placed in prison, the parents are "levied" for that support, OVER AND ABOVE THE TAXPAYER DOLLARS, and then it gets even worse. (By the way, when did the families have to support prisoners over and above the tax dollars we pay that should have been allocated to support the prison? I know they do that in Mexico but I did not know we had become a third world nation.)
One set of parents, the Mott's, could not keep up with the payments (sound like what all the "deadbeat" dads say?) and because he could not keep up with the payments, he was thrown in jail and lost his job in this economy. (This was exposed by Jeanette Krebs at
http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2009/03/entire_families_suffered_from.html )
Sounds like to me the same psychopathic logic that permeates the entire child support system. But the evil is even deeper.
Because he was sent to jail under child support laws, the fed's had to pay the state $150.00 taxpayer dollars per day he was there. He got no credit towards his child support bill for this unlawful incarceration and you as a tax payer paid for it. (Stop worrying about AIG contracts that were in place before the bailout as you know full well that if that was YOUR contract you would fight for every penny and worry about how your tax dollars are used for BS like this!) If you want to be outraged at your tax dollars going to bonuses, scream and yell about how your tax dollars are being used to DESTORY families!
This is the first of many counties that are about to fall under the ax of real justice as the powers that be have finally realized, thanks to me and other reporters, that the corruption and BS passed as "law" is being utilized to steal taxpayer dollars just as surely as the corruption and BS stole this countries financial health.There is no better time in our nation's history than now to take our collective brooms and sweep clean the corruption and nonsense that has been shoved down or throats as right and wrong.
From Washington to your local community we ALL need to be involved in every aspect of our government, not just the money trail. It is time to hold our elected officials' feet to the fire each and every day and see through the entire BS for power grabs, wasteful spending, lies and outright disrespect of you as a citizen and taxpayer of this great nation. The cost of sitting on your butt and doing nothing, The Really Great Unending Depression!
Author's Bio: Michael C. Morris has been involved in racing since the age of twelve (12) when he took a summer job working at Terry’s Speed Shop located in Phoenixville PA. With the help of his brother John Morris, they teamed up and joined Razzberry Racing. In the 90’s, the team was building their own cars to complete in the Sports Car Club of America’s National Classes when in 1993 Michael joined Ed Arnold Racing with David Donahue, son of the legendary Mark Donahue, to run in the 1993 IMSA Supercar. Michael Morris is accredited and newly accepted journalist with the World Bank. Michael Morris as worked for ABC News Radio covering auto racing venues such as LeMans and SEMA. His special interests in journalism are politics with special interest in the nation’s court system, especially the Family Court System and the intentional use of children for profit by that system, and the special interest groups that control our nation’s courts.
www.opednews.com/articles/Justice-Hell-is-for-Child-by-Michael-Morris-090322-135.html
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UPDATE
Ciavarella applies for state pension
BY DAVE JANOSKI
PROJECTS EDITOR
While he waits to begin serving time for accepting kickbacks, former Luzerne County judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. wants the state to pay him $6,800 in monthly pension benefits.
Ciavarella, whose resignation from the county bench took effect on March 16, has filed an application with the State Employees’ Retirement System to begin receiving pension payments, a spokesman for the system said Tuesday.
Luzerne County Judges Mark A. Ciavarella, left, leaves the William J. Nealon Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Scranton in February. Pamela Suchy / Times-Shamrock
The application is being processed and no payments have been made, according to a letter from Robert R. Gentzel, director of communications and policy for the state agency.
Ciavarella, who is free on bail, could possibly collect a state check for several months because pension rights can be taken away only after a conviction, which occurs at sentencing, state officials say. Ciavarella’s annual judicial salary of $158,813 was cut off by the state Supreme Court after he pleaded guilty to federal fraud and corruption charges in February.
Ciavarella and his co-defendant, former judge Michael T. Conahan, will serve 87 months in prison under their plea agreements. Federal probation officials are expected to complete a pre-sentence report by April 13. But any disputes between the prosecution and defense over the contents of the report could delay sentencing for months.
If U.S. District Judge Edwin M. Kosik rejects the sentence in the plea agreement, the former judges could withdraw their pleas and continue collecting pension benefits as the case works its way through the courts.
Conahan, 56, has been collecting an $8,073 monthly pension benefit from the state since he retired in January 2008. Conahan worked as a part-time senior judge after his retirement, earning $483 per day.
When he retired, Conahan opted to withdraw the contributions he made to the state pension system during his 14 years on the county bench and 17 years as a magisterial district judge. With interest, the lump sum payment totaled about $300,000. The withdrawal lowered his monthly benefit.
It could not be determined Tuesday if Ciavarella wants to make a similar withdrawal of the contributions he made to the pension system during his 13 years on the bench. Such a withdrawal could only be made after his application for pension benefits is approved, Gentzel said.
Annual pension benefits for state employees are based on years of service, annual salary and the rank of the retiree.
Gentzel said Ciavarella’s pension application is undergoing the standard review performed for any retiring state employee. The agency that employed the retiree must submit salary and work history information and settle any disputes over unused vacation time and similar issues before benefits can be paid, he said.
Ciavarella, 59, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. His attorney, Albert J. Flora Jr., declined comment.
Ciavarella and Conahan pleaded guilty to accepting $2.6 million in kickbacks for helping two private juvenile detention centers secure $30 million in county contracts. Ciavarella, who presided over juvenile court for 12 years, is accused of organizing his court to make detention more likely, overruling court staffers who recommended against detention and denying juveniles their right to representation.
The judges were charged as part of a two-year-old federal corruption investigation at the courthouse that prosecutors say is continuing. Two other former high-ranking court officials also face prison in the probe.
djanoski@citizensvoice.com, 570-301-2178