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Former Pennsylvania judge found guilty in kids-for-cash scheme
A federal jury on Friday found a former Pennsylvania judge guilty in a so-called kids-for-cash scheme, in which he took money in exchange for sending juvenile offenders to for-profit detention centers.
Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. was accused of taking $2.8 million in bribes and kickbacks for putting juveniles into detention centers owned by friends.
The jury in Scranton found him guilty of racketeering, money-laundering conspiracy, fraud and filing false income tax returns.
The jury found him not guilty, however, of seven counts of extortion and 10 counts of bribery.
The former judge faces a maximum sentence of 157 years in prison. The jury also ruled he must forfeit $997,600.
"The jury did its job," said U.S. Attorney Peter Smith afterward in a news conference broadcast on local radio.