Cargo Airport - All for nothing.

[smitty97]

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Juvi...7-22-2009.html


Posted: July 22
Updated: Today at 7:04 AM
Juvie ‘trade secrets’ suit alive

Recent letter from lawyer for owner Greg Zappala critical of state auditors.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
A controversial 2004 Pittston Township detention center “trade secrets” lawsuit against former Luzerne County controller Steve Flood and two state welfare officials is still alive.
The suit had been inactive for years, but a lawyer for detention center owner Greg Zappala highlighted it in a recently released document about the welfare department’s critical audit of PA Child Care’s detention center in Western Pennsylvania.
Zappala and Butler Township attorney Robert Powell owned both detention centers until Zappala bought Powell’s ownership interest last year.
Attorney William G. Brucker said in a letter to state auditors that a draft audit of the Western Pennsylvania center was “intended to punish the principals” of the center.
Brucker said the state Attorney General’s Office had faxed a letter to PA Child Care’s legal counsel around the time the draft audit was issued requesting dismissal of the litigation against welfare officials Leonard Pocius and Thomas Crofcheck.
Brucker said some of the audit-cited expenses that made headlines were incurred before the time period covered in the audit. Those expenses included a $3,500 custom-made suit for former Hazleton Mayor Mike Marsicano, limousine rides to the King of Prussia Mall and NCAA basketball tournament and a fishing trip on Powell’s yacht.
Brucker alleged that the state “sought out” expenses incurred before the review period “to incite a scandal in an effort to harass and embarrass” Zappala to dismiss the trade secrets suit.
In response, the state said its audit “clearly explained” that the auditors had observed at least $84,000 in “questionable” prior period costs while they were reviewing 2007 expenses to determine which ones fell in the fiscal calendar covered by the audit.
State auditors were “obligated” to report the expenses, the audit says.
“In addition, disclosure of these questionable costs was particularly relevant as the practice of funding unallowable personal costs with Western Pa Child Care revenues was documented to have continued through the audit period,” the state audit said.
Brucker said the draft audit was released “with great fanfare” to the news media on Feb. 11 before it was received by Zappala, even though the draft contained a warning from the state that its distribution was to be limited.
“The premature disclosure to the media was the initial factor and basis for the original litigation filed by PA Child Care,” Brucker wrote.
State officials have stressed that they did not release the draft audit to the media.
The trade secret suit sought to prevent the release of an audit critical of the county’s $58 million, 20-year lease with PA Child Care to house juvenile offenders at the Pittston Township center. PA Child Care said the suit needed to be sealed because it contained "trade secrets."
Former county judge Michael Conahan sealed the suit, but in an appeal by The Times Leader, the state Superior Court overturned Conahan’s decision.
Attorney Richard Sprague filed a document in February withdrawing from representing PA Child Care in the trade secrets suit, according to the county prothonotary’s office. Brucker filed paperwork in February saying he would be the attorney handling the matter.
Conahan and former judge Mark Ciavarella are both awaiting sentencing on guilty pleas in connection with receiving $2.7 million in kickbacks in exchange for decisions that led to the county’s use of both detention centers.
Powell, who admitted to paying the former judges $772,500 in kickbacks, is also awaiting sentencing on his guilty plea to felony charges for failing to report illegal activity.
The state has subsequently released the Pittston Township audit, which led to the state’s reduction in reimbursement for juveniles lodged in the facility. The state also reduced reimbursement at the Western Pennsylvania facility.
County minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said he always believed the trade secrets suit was a “ruse to hide things from the public.”
“Anytime public money is involved, the public has a right to know how the money’s being spent,” Urban said.



Read more Luzerne County Judges articles

Related headlines

• Court imperils Ciavarella suits
• Juvie ‘trade secrets’ suit alive
• Ex-judges file to get Pa. pensions returned
• Grand jury hears Sharkey
• Bank given OK to sell Powell boat

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[jwtc36]

http://www.wnep.com/wnep-luz-judge-p...,4809993.story


We can only hope

[smitty97]

anybody mind me posting these? They go into inaccessible archives after a week, so i like to put them here

Looks like theyre rounding up everyone:
------------------------------------------
Posted: August 16
Updated: Today at 3:23 AM
Federal probe in NEPA not over yet

Records of other public entities in region have been subpoenaed.

By Terrie Morgan-Beseckertmorgan@timesleader.com
Law & Order Reporter
When former U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson stood before a room packed with reporters in January to announce charges against two Luzerne County judges, he stressed the investigation into corruption in Luzerne County was not over.


It was, Carlson commented, a sad day for Luzerne County. But he vowed his office would continue to vigorously investigate, to root out corruption and to hold those responsible accountable.
He wasn’t kidding.
Seven months later, it’s 11 down and counting.
On Thursday, local real estate developer Robert K. Mericle became the latest person to be charged in connection with the wide-ranging probe. He’s accused of taking part in the juvenile justice scandal that also resulted in charges against two judges and a prominent area attorney.
His arrest brings that portion of the corruption investigation one step closer to resolution as he and the other three key players – former judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella and attorney Robert Powell – have agreed to plead guilty.
But it’s clear that the work of federal prosecutors is far from over in Luzerne County.
In addition to completing the prosecution of the 11 defendants who have been charged, federal agents are continuing their probe of multiple other public entities that have been subpoenaed to provide records.
Those include: Luzerne County Community College; Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center; the Pittston Area, Wyoming Valley West and Wilkes-Barre Area school districts; the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre International Airport and the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority.
Investigators also are continuing to investigate allegations of bias in arbitration awards involving uninsured motorist insurance claims. The FBI in April seized 79 records from the county courthouse involving those awards.
A federal grand jury impaneled in Scranton to hear evidence of corruption also remains active. Several people with county connections recently testified before the panel, including Tom Marino, tipstaff for Judge Michael Toole; William Sharkey, former court administrator, and Greg Skrepenak, the father of commissioner Greg Skrepenak.
A source familiar with the corruption probe said agents are closing in on several more people. More arrests are expected soon.
Kickback kickoff

It all started on. Jan 26 with the announcement that Conahan and Ciavarella had agreed to plead guilty in connection with a more than $2.6 million kickback scheme tied to two juvenile centers the county utilized.
There had been some concern that the probe might falter after Carlson, who headed the investigation, resigned last week to take a position as a federal magistrate.
Acting U.S. Attorney Dennis Pfannenschmidt has done much to dispel those concerns, filing charges against three people – Mericle, Pittston Area School Board member Joseph Oliveri and Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority employee Karen Holly – in the past two weeks.
Fred Martens, former head of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission, which investigated organized crime, credited the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the speed it’s shown in bringing charges and in obtaining guilty pleas. Of the 11 defendants charged, only one – Wilkes-Barre Area school director Brian Dunn – has not signed a plea agreement.
“They’ve obviously got some good sources who are feeding them a blueprint of where to look,” Martens said.
Martens, now a private criminal investigator, said he suspects investigators have been aided greatly by those who have already been charged, most of whom agreed to expose the wrongdoing of others as part of their plea deals.
“Once people start flipping and become a witness, everyone wants to jump on the ship and get a good deal that doesn’t involve much jail time. They’re all trying to get on the ship early before someone says ‘no more on the ship,’ ” he said.
Federal prosecutors are not the only people who have their hands full, however.
Two federal lawsuits filed against Conahan, Ciavarella, Powell, Mericle and multiple others involved in the juvenile scandal are in their infancy. The suits, filed on behalf of hundreds of juveniles, involve complex legal issues and are expected to take years to resolve.
The county court system is also dealing with the fallout of other scandals tied to Ciavarella and Conahan.
A special master appointed to review Ciavarella’s juvenile cases recommended last week that all convictions from 2003 to 2008 be vacated and that retrials be barred in all but a handful of those cases.
Senior Berks County Judge Arthur Grim based his ruling on evidence that the majority of youths who appeared before Ciavarella were not represented by an attorney, depriving them of a fair trial. The Supreme Court is now reviewing Grim’s report.
Two weeks ago, a Lehigh County judge recommended the Supreme Court overturn a $3.5 million defamation verdict against the Citizens’ Voice newspaper after determining there was evidence that Ciavarella was biased. The high court has not yet ruled on the matter.
In addition, there are at least two other cases now pending that have been sent back to Luzerne County Court for new hearings based on allegations of judicial bias in rulings issued by Ciavarella or Conahan.
In April, the Supreme Court ordered a new hearing to determine whether a $1 million verdict entered by Conahan in an invasion of privacy case filed by Linda Ferris against Asit Patel should be overturned. That case is still pending.
Just last week, the court directed Luzerne County President Judge Chester Muroski to hold a hearing to determine if there was evidence that Ciavarella was biased in a case involving a land dispute filed by Emil Malinowski.
Muroski said he plans to meet with attorneys in that case next week. A hearing date will then be scheduled.
In the interim, Muroski has taken several steps to ensure abuses under Conahan and Ciavarella don’t occur again.
The courts have revamped the uninsured motorist arbitration process and installed a new computerized system that randomly assigns cases to judges. Judge David Lupas, who now presides over juvenile court, also ensures all juveniles are fully apprised of their right to an attorney.
As the corruption investigation continues, Muroski said it would behoove others under the scrutiny of federal prosecutors to follow the county’s lead.
“Every entity involved in this has to look at itself and resolve the issues that created the problem,” he said. “We have, as best we can, addressed those areas we think allowed these travesties to occur. Every other institution is going to have to do the same thing,” Muroski said.

Last week, real estate developer Robert K. Mericle became the 11th person to be charged by federal authorities in connection with the ongoing public corruption probe.
Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7179.

[Boring]

I just read all 8 pages and wow. Great to see justice working its way through this whole mess.

Kyle and Steph, Let us know if there is anything we can do.

John

[Freebird01]

was looking for a lawnmower key today and came across my PAP key tag....still waiting till i can use it again....

[altierior]

Originally Posted by Freebird01

was looking for a lawnmower key today and came across my PAP key tag....still waiting till i can use it again....

i still have mine. so hoping for the chance to use it!

[fyrfyter43]

Originally Posted by altierior

i still have mine. so hoping for the chance to use it!

My key tag is still on my keyring, and my PAP flag is still on my jeep. Along with the "Save Paragon" sticker.

[mpyusko]

My tag is on my keyring, my PAP stickers are still on the sides of my Jeep (though quite faded) and my flag goes on the Jeep whenever I wheel. I too am hoping for another ride at PAP.

[BIGCATDAVE]

.PopBoxImageSmall { border: none 0px white; cursor: url("http://www.tleader.net/images/magplus.cur"), pointer; } .PopBoxImageLarge { border: solid thick #333333; cursor: url("http://www.tleader.net/images/magminus.cur"), pointer; } September 2
Pa. court suspends Powell’s law license

Action taken as Butler Twp. lawyer awaits sentencing in federal corruption probe.

By Edward Lewis elewis@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
Attorney Robert J. Powell’s career as a lawyer has come to an end for now.
http://media.timesleader.com/images/judges_thumb.jpg Read more Luzerne County Judges articles

[IMG]http://media.timesleader.com/images/300*364/powell_09-02-2009_1QBNCAU.jpg[/IMG]click image to enlarge
Powell

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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday temporarily suspended Powell’s status as an attorney, citing a criminal conviction.
Powell, 49, pleaded guilty in July to federal felony charges for failing to report alleged illegal activities by former Luzerne County judges Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan.
The one-page order released on Tuesday does not contain an opinion by the Supreme Court stating its reason for suspending Powell’s law license. The matter has been referred to the Disciplinary Board.
The Disciplinary Board, an independent agency made up of 14 attorneys and two non-attorneys under the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction, regulates attorney conduct.
Attorney Paul Killion, chief counsel for the Disciplinary Board, said Powell’s law license was suspended due to his guilty plea in federal court.
“Typically, lawyers convicted of a crime and after sentence, that is grounds for discipline and we proceed with action on the (law) license,” Killion said. “In this instance, he hasn’t been sentenced yet, but conferring with his lawyer (Mark B. Sheppard), we thought it was important that he discontinue his practice as soon as possible and surrender his license.”
Sheppard said Powell voluntarily agreed to surrender his law license. Powell currently owns his own law firm, the Powell Law Group in Butler Township.
Killion and Sheppard said lawyers employed by Powell’s firm can continue to practice law and accept new and service current clients.
Powell, on the other hand, must stop accepting new clients and refer his current clients to new attorneys, Killion said.
Powell pleaded guilty in federal court on July 1 to failing to report a felony and being an accessory after the fact to tax evasion – offenses that carry a total penalty of up to 5� years in prison and up to $500,000 in fines. Powell also agreed to forfeit his ownership interest in a yacht and a corporate jet.
Federal authorities allege Powell paid Ciavarella and Conahan more than $772,000 in alleged kickbacks, often disguising the payments as rental fees for docking his boat at the judges’ condominium in Florida.
Powell told investigators that Ciavarella and Conahan allegedly demanded the kickbacks in exchange for closing the county’s juvenile detention center and sending juvenile offenders to private centers in Pittston Township and Butler County that Powell formerly co-owned, according to the federal indictment against Powell.

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[02yellowtj]

I have a friend that used to live in that area. When I first told her about what happened to Paragon she said, I bet the are trying to put in a Juv. Det. area. Apparently they had tried years ago and no go. The same security clearances needed for that airport were the same clearances need for a det. center. The locals knew all along what was going on. Too bad the govt. is so closed minded. They could have avoided all of this.

[frankt]

will the old park ever reopen ?? not to many legal riding places left.

[smitty97]

other victims of conflict of interest between these bums trying to get their cases dismissed:

-------------------------------
September 5
Doctor: Ciavarella had conflict in his case

Malpractice case was filed by wife of William Sharkey, the former court administrator.

By Sheena Delaziosdelazio@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
WILKES-BARRE – The medical malpractice lawsuit filed by the wife of the former county court administrator should be dropped because the couple had a tie to the judge presiding over the case, an attorney said Thursday.


Attorney Michael Badowski said in court papers filed Thursday that the case against his client, Dr. Ki Bum Lee, M.D., was unfair because Debra and William Sharkey had a relationship with former judge Mark Ciavarella that led Ciavarella to rule against the doctor in nearly every instance in the case.
The lawsuit, originally filed in October 1997, claims Lee caused Debra Sharkey “serious and severe injuries sustained as a result of uncontrolled and damaging intra-abdominal bleeding after a laproscopically assisted hysterectomy.”
Debra Sharkey claims Lee was negligent in his performance of the surgery and the follow-up treatment.
In court papers filed this week, Badowski said the lawsuit should be dropped and his client should be awarded damages after information recently surfaced regarding Ciavarella, William Sharkey and Sharkey’s attorney, Robert Powell.
“There is little doubt, in retrospect, that Dr. Lee was one of many victims of the corruption and criminal activity of Ciavarella, Conahan and Powell,” Badowski said in court papers.
Ciavarella and his co-defendant, former judge Michael Conahan, were charged with accepting nearly $2.6 million in payoffs from Powell for jailing juveniles in a detention center built by developer Robert Mericle.
Conahan and Ciavarella initially agreed to plead guilty to charges of tax evasion and depriving the public of their honest services, but they withdrew the pleas last month after a federal judge rejected the terms of their plea agreement. The men now have the option to take the case to trial or try to negotiate a new deal.
Sharkey has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $70,000 in gambling proceeds from the county, while Powell pleaded guilty for his role in the juvenile detention center kickback scheme.
Badowski said in court papers that Conahan assigned Ciavarella to the malpractice case, and it was later learned that Conahan is the first cousin of Sharkey.
Badowski said that in November 2001 Lee filed a motion after Powell refused to allow them to answer certain questions – including whether Sharkey had a personal relationship with any of the county judges.
Lee also filed court papers asking for a transfer of venue, believing he couldn’t receive a fair trial since Ciavarella ruled against him so many times.
That motion was denied by Ciavarella at a hearing where he said he had “no extra-judicial relationships with either Sharkey or Powell.”
A trial for the matter has still not been scheduled, and Badowski said “(The Sharkeys) have taken no substantive steps to move this case to trial.”
Badowski said witnesses, as well as Lee, may have already forgotten information about the procedure Lee performed, since it has been so long ago.
Badowski also noted that Ciavarella said in July this year that “no party ever moved for his recusal in any case that Powell served as trial counsel,” and that “he should have recused himself in any case involving Powell and/or Sharkey.”
Badowski said only the dismissal of the suit will cure any damages suffered by Lee, and “remove the taint from the judicial system in Luzerne County.”

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Find this article at:
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Doct...9-05-2009.html

[97*TJ]

http://www.citizensvoice.com/news/ex...with_48_counts


Gotta LOVE it !

[OX1]

All these articles and no mention of Paragon??

[Rubicon]

Im glad there getting what they deserve. I would love to see PaP come back. Not just for the Awesome wheeling, but for the great times we all had with friends and the great attraction PAP brought to the area. I still fly my Paragon flag in my front yard!

[4x4reporter]

there's a new small legal place opening soon near Johnstown,Pa. they have been having trail cutting weekends there for the past 3 months and have a Turkey trail ride set up for Oct. 31st. check it out at big rubbers 4x4 .org. members from Pa. Jeeps, Maryland Rock Raiders, Rocks n Roost, Military Jeepers, and the big rubbers club had an awesome trail cutting weekend in late August. the BR club had a hog roasting in the ground all day as the trail cutting was done, it took over an hour to get thru all of the Raffles and door prizes they had. and the food was awesome, from wings to french fries, cold soft drinks, and they even had a keg of beer for dinner. on Sunday we wheeled the trails we cut the day before. they are working on this land real hard. it's only 180 acres, but it has lots to it, so far they have several black trals cut in, one mad mud hole that claimed many victims, only one rig made it thru on it's own power, but did not try the 90% right turn up the Mt. at the end of it. sorry for the thread highjack, just thought I'd let those in Pa. know of this new place to wheel.

Bear

[Sudz]

i'm ready

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...z/100_7412.jpg

[smitty97]

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/...0News/2584383/

Oct 16, 2009 (The Citizens' Voice - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX)

Four companies named as defendants in a controversial land case are refusing to provide evidence necessary for a review of allegations that corruption influenced a judge's ruling, according to a court filing by attorneys for the estate of the man bidding to recover the land.

Attorneys for Nanticoke Micro Technologies, Tektronix Inc., Xerox Corporation and First National Community Bank have filed objections to evidence requests, claiming the case had already been settled and "there is no need for further discussion."



The state Supreme Court appointed Luzerne County President Judge Chester B. Muroski in August to review the case -- which centers on an Emmaus man's bid to recover an acre of land in Nanticoke -- after allegations corruption influenced former Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr.'s rulings.



The estate of the man, Emil Malinowski, asked the high court to review the ruling after Ciavarella and ex-Judge Michael T. Conahan defaulted on $4.5 million in loans from the bank.



Conahan was a member of the bank's board of directors when the loans, for a failed townhouse development project, were made.
Ciavarella and Conahan were charged last month in a 48-count indictment for allegedly pocketing $2.8 million in kickbacks from the developer, Robert K. Mericle, and co-owner, Robert J. Powell, of a pair of privately owned juvenile detention centers.



Attorneys for the estate said in a court filing Thursday that the requested evidence -- showing relationships between and among Ciavarella, Conahan, Powell and Mericle, related companies and the bank -- was critical for Muroski's review.



It is believed the objections from the four companies are "intended to obstruct (the estate's) efforts to investigate whether or not judicial corruption infected this matter," the attorneys said.
msisak@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2061

[Crewcabber]

Some of the best times I ever had were at Paragon.Now that I moved to Phoenix,I get to wheel on thousands of acres of some of the best wheeling in the country.Check out Table Mesa AZ on youtube. some awsome wheeling only 15 minutes away.I hope someday they can reopen Paragon,I will fly back,rent something,get the insurance,and wheel one more time at PAP.

[gonecheenin]

Originally Posted by mpyusko

My tag is on my keyring, my PAP stickers are still on the sides of my Jeep (though quite faded) and my flag goes on the Jeep whenever I wheel. I too am hoping for another ride at PAP.

Ditto X-eleventy-bajillion!