Let Them Eat Cake - Memorializing The Day A Foster Child Was Legally Kidnapped

https://www.cake4kids.org/

Does anyone remember the Kids 4 Cash scandal?

Well, if not, click the link and welcome to Cakes 4 Kids.

That is correct, Boys and Girls, just what a Foster Kid always wanted on their birthday, a cake to memorialize the day of when Child Protective Services Legally Kidnapped them from the arms of their birth family.

https://www.forgoodnesscakes.org/

Instead of addressing the reasons of why poverty is a crime, why children are even in Foster Care, or the drugging, beatings, rapes, torture, attempted suicides, suicides and human trafficking, let them eat cake.

Have a great day!

New Valley non-profit bakes cakes for deserving children

PHOENIX - A national non-profit that delivers cakes to underprivileged kids, and kids in foster care, has started a chapter in Arizona.

"I love baking, I always have, I bake a lot for my friends and family," said Jodi Shaw, a volunteer baker For Goodness Cakes.

But the cakes Jodi makes is different, they go to a child she's never met.

"You don't have to be an expert, you just have to want to do it," says Shaw.

Shaw is one of about 175 volunteers who bakes cakes for the non-profit For Goodness Cakes.

"What we do is merge agencies that serve foster and underserved children with volunteer bakers to build birthday cakes for their kids," said Leslie Nilsen, with For Goodness Cakes Arizona.

Leslie Nilsen started the chapter here in March, and so far they've delivered over 200 cakes to kids who might have gone without a birthday celebration.

"The thought of a child not being celebrated on their birthday is just heartbreaking, and when I heard about For Goodness Cakes, I knew I had to be part of it," said Nilsen.

The volunteers have to go through an orientation and a class on food safety. They can then pick and choose a time that's convenient for them to bake. Most times, the volunteer bakers never get to see the kids they're baking for because of security reason, but they say the thought of brightening someone's day is enough for them.

"Those delivery drives, I'm so happy because I know they're going to be excited, I know I would be excited if someone were bringing me cake," said Shaw.

If you'd like to get involved, they're looking for more volunteer bakers. And even if you aren't a baker, they're looking for donations as well. Click here for more information.


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Kids For Cash Did Not Have The Opportunity To Make A Plea

Boy, some people have all the nerve.

The kids he sent to his buddy's juvenile delinquent facility did not get the opportunity to make a plea for freedom, particularly when they were being drugged and tortured.

One youth even committed suicide, and he thinks he can plea his way to release?

I wonder how many parents had their parental rights terminated, and their children adopted out because of his greed.

Kids for Cash judge makes plea for freedom

Prosecutors said Ciavarella and fellow county Judge Michael Conahan received nearly $3 million in kickback payments from developers of private developers of juvenile detention centers and improperly channeled juvenile offenders to those centers, often without appointing attorneys to represent the youths.

Ciavarella, who is trying to void a 28-year federal prison term that he contends is essentially a life sentence, is arguing that his original lawyer's failure to try to invoke a statute of limitations claim was fatal to his defense at trial.

During Thursday's hearing, prosecutors, including Assistant U.S. Attorney William Houser, challenged that assertion. They argued that Ciavarella's convictions were valid because he committed crimes, including the filing of false financial reports, that fell within the statute of limitations.

The focus was on Ciavarella's conviction on an honest wire services mail fraud charge tied to his receipt in 2003 of a $997,600 "finder's fee" for assistance in building a juvenile detention center in his county.

Wilson argued that the statute of limitations should have barred prosecutors from charging Ciavarella for any offenses that supposedly occurred before September 2004.

She asked Ciavarella's trial lawyer, Al Flora, if the statute of limitations argument could have been raised at trial without undercutting the defense's main contention that the judge had not committed any crime.

"That is not inconsistent with arguing that there were no bribes or kickbacks," Flora replied.

Conner told prosecutors to provide written post-hearing arguments on the statute of limitations issue and the matter of, "Am I constrained to find the trial counsel's performance was defective?" Also, they are to address whether the defense's failure to use a statute of limitations defense likely altered the trial's outcome.

Conner told Wilson to address prosecution claims that Ciavarella committed crimes related to the 2003 finder's fee - such as filing allegedly false financial interest reports - that did fall within the statute of limitations.

Ciavarella has already won one round on appeal. The U.S. Court of Appeals vacated one of his mail fraud convictions on statute of limitations grounds in 2013, but left his overall sentence intact.

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Meet Judge Daniel Cahill: Kansas Has A "Kids For Cash" Scheme Going On

Recently, one of my fans posed this question to me:

Kansas 29th District Court Judge
Daniel Cahill,
Presiding over child welfare cases

How can a judge sit on a contractors panel ???

With the swiftness of godspeed, I retorted,

Just ask Maura Corrigan!

Just in case you are not familiar with the "Kids For Cash" scandal where former Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Judge Mark Ciavarella, Jr. was busted sending kids to his buddy's, Robert Mercie, the builder of PA Child Care private juvenile detention facility,  for any reason he could conjure up, like, not liking the way a kid looked, and, in return, where he took kiddie kickbacks, well, I though I would remind you.

Now, why would I bring up such an horrific memory of children being tortured for profit in the privatized child welfare, well, it is because I want the world to remember the legacy of Madame Maura Corrigan (said, always in a high British accent).

See, "The Madame" was the one who put together that Pew Foster Care Research Group which promoted the act of judicial lobbying, whereby judges would sit on the boards of child welfare organizations to "maximize their revenues".

Kansas pushed a bill against judicial lobbying, but, of course, it was crushed.

Kansas Bill Against Judicial Lobbying by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Taken from the embedded document, below, my fan raised serious concerns with the veracity of the quote:

"Cahill’s dedication to children and families runs deep. Each December he serves on the judges’ panel at the KVC Resource Family Conference and explains to foster and adoptive families the whys and hows behind some of his decisions."

"He has NEVER ruled in favor of a single solitary NATURAL parent." stated my fan.

"There is no money in it.", I said.

Kansas Judges Giving Personal Endorsements To Private Child Welfare Contractors Cahill by Beverly Tran on Scribd

So, that leaves us to identify, or rather unearth, as judges are typically not mandated to disclose campaign finances and personal business ventures, his financial activities.

Well, according to State of Kansas Secretary of State, Governmental Ethics Commission, Cahill has not filed any reports on his campaign finance since 2008.

But hey, what does the Office of the Governor know....or care?

09/23/2008	CAHILL DANIEL	12342 Donahoo RD  Kansas City 66109	DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
07/24/2008	CAHILL DANIEL	12342 Donahoo RD  Kansas City 66109	DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
03/09/2016	CAHILL DANIEL  APPOINTMENT OF TREASURER		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
03/02/2016	CAHILL DANIEL  FAILURE TO FILE NOTIFICATION		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
11/10/2009	CAHILL DANIEL  MATERIAL ERROR OR OMISSION		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
10/27/2008	CAHILL DANIEL  CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
10/27/2008	CAHILL DANIEL  CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
10/27/2008	CAHILL DANIEL  CAMPAIGN FINANCE AMENDMENT		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
09/03/2008	CAHILL DANIEL  MATERIAL ERROR OR OMISSION		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
07/28/2008	CAHILL DANIEL  CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
07/28/2008	CAHILL DANIEL  CAMPAIGN FINANCE AMENDMENT		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
02/08/2008	CAHILL DANIEL  APPOINTMENT OF TREASURER		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
10/25/2004	CAHILL DANIEL  TERMINATION STATEMENT		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
10/01/2004	CAHILL DANIEL  MATERIAL ERROR OR OMISSION		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
07/26/2004	CAHILL DANIEL  CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29
05/13/2004	CAHILL DANIEL  APPOINTMENT OF TREASURER		DISTRICT COURT JUDGE / 29

Stay tuned because I smell a Kansas "Kids For Cash" fraud scheme of someone trying to slime his way into a federal appointment....which shall never happen.

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Whistleblowers Need To Writ Kiddy Kickbacks As False Claims

Whistleblower attorney in the act
of filing a sealed writ of
Medicaid fraud in child welfare

Remember the "Kids for Cash" scandal where the judge was busted getting kiddy kickbacks for sending kids to jail, for no reason?

Well, here is another one.

To be honest, I believe the Judge should dismiss the case, without prejudice, as it was not properly filed.

Why?  Because this should have been filed, under seal, as a False Claims case as it deals with Medicaid funding.

Since we all know the States Attorney General are constrained from going after Medicaid fraud in child welfare, the only other venue to pursue legal recourse would be federal.

To the attorneys on the case, go forth and proceed with the writ!

(My apologies for not pulling the complaint.  I have been a bit busy, lately.)

Judge to decide whether whistleblower suit should be dismissed

A judge in Washington County said he will consider whether the county’s former president judge and two other court officers should face trial in a whistleblower lawsuit brought by a former court employee.

Visiting Senior Judge William Nalitz from Greene County heard arguments Thursday from lawyers representing former Common Pleas Judge Debbie O’Dell Seneca and two other defendants who were sued by former juvenile probation officer David Scrip.

Mr. Scrip, 54, of Carroll, alleges he was unlawfully fired by Judge O’Dell Seneca after reporting a relationship between his former supervisor and a woman who worked as a placement officer for a treatment center for juvenile offenders.

Mr. Scrip claims he and other probation officers were pressured by Daniel Clements, his superior and the former chief probation officer of Washington County, to recommend placement for juveniles at Abraxas Youth and Family Services, where Mr. Clements’ girlfriend worked.

After he reported his concerns, Mr. Scrip said he was retaliated against and eventually fired by Judge O’Dell Seneca and Thomas Jess, the former director of the county’s probation services department.

“He worked in the juvenile probation department for 25 years and was never disciplined until the last 18 months, when he was written up three times then fired,” said Noah Geary, Mr. Scrip’s lawyer.

Along with former Judge O’Dell Seneca, Mr. Scrip sued Mr. Jess and Mr. Clements, neither of whom remain employed by the county. Judge O’Dell Seneca retired in January 2015, shortly after being stripped of her administrative duties when other judges complained to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, which oversees the judiciary.

Mr. Scrip initially filed a lawsuit in federal court, but it was dismissed last year, prompting Mr. Geary to seek relief from the state court.

Judge O’Dell Seneca’s lawyer, Caroline Liebenguth and Robert Grimm, the lawyer representing the county, Mr. Jess and Mr. Clements, argued that their clients were immune from lawsuits as members of the state judiciary and under provisions in the state constitution.

“His client has no cause of action,” Mr. Grimm told the court. “The case should be dismissed.”

But Mr. Geary argued the suit shouldn’t be dismissed because the defendants were sued in their private capacity.

He also cited the code of conduct for judicial officers, revamped in 2011 after the “Kids for Cash” scandal in Luzerne County, in which two judges were accused of being paid to send juvenile offenders to certain facilities. According to the new code, court employees have “a duty to report wrongdoing without fear of reprisal,” Mr. Geary said.

Judge Nalitz is expected to rule within a month.

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Michigan May Have 'Cash For Kids' Scams

Is it just me or does something sound hauntingly familiar, here.

It was only a while ago when the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission took action of a judge regarding children being questionably placed, in a contained environment, called Children's Village because they refused to have lunch with their father.

Then, you have another national case where it seems, almost identical medical issues, and the state removes the child then accuses the parents of not only providing medical instruction for surgery, but was able to get the insurance company to pay for the procedures.

So instead of going after the doctors who engaged in medical malpractice, supposedly, Michigan is going after the  mother for medical neglect.

And of course, everyone remembers the "Kids for Cash" case where the judge was sending youth to a facility which used to get him kickbacks.

Youth may stay under the auspices of the state until the age of 25 in certain situations, such as this one, with costs reimbursed, at some of the maximum rates. through Medicaid.

Children's Village looks like it may have found a new population from which to profit: older youth.

Of course, the Attorney General can not even investigate Children's Village as it is already representing them in the Child Protective Services case, and layer that fact with the recent policy changes where these state contracted child placing agencies are now, on "self-report" as an end result of deregulation.

I also know for a fact that The Children's Center of Detroit is preparing to expand its operations and get into the education programming and community-based, home-based services under the Medicaid Expansions.

I also heard Vista Maria has been constructing its new child welfare model by making the campus a contained environment for their kids who have kids, like a miniature city, to treat cognitive and psychological developmental challenges.

Since there is a national call for new models in dealing with child welfare, there also needs to be a balance in how these organizations operate.

There are no civil rights in child welfare, just remember that.

Mom says CPS took her daughter because of medical mystery

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) - A Bloomfield Hills mom says her daughter was “medically kidnapped.”

Child Protective Services has forced 17-year-old Leiani McMichael to live in Oakland County’s Children’s Village. CPS is accusing mom of failing to give her proper medical care.

Rebecca Campos says as her daughter Leiani enjoyed a music lesson at her house in early November, she saw Child Protective Services workers walking up to her home.

She had to tell her daughter they were there to take her.

“She said, ‘Take me? What does that mean mom?' I said, 'I don’t know,’” said Rebecca.

Rebecca says the terrifying thing is that she still doesn’t know what it means.

“Up until February 2015, Leiani was completely healthy, an amazing, thriving child,” said Rebecca.

The now 17-year old started complaining. Her stomach hurt. Doctors then diagnosed her with hernias, cysts, and removed her appendix. When she couldn’t keep food down, they gave her a feeding tube.

“Nobody could answer. Nobody knew why it got so extreme that a feeding tube had to be in place,” said Rebecca.

Then there was a problem with the feeding tube as Leiani visited her father who lives in California. Leiani needed surgery.

"After surgery Leiani didn’t wake up. She went into a coma,” said Rebecca.

She remained unconscious for days. When she did finally wake up, mom says Leiani was weak, needed a wheelchair, had memory problems and started having seizures.

She took her to doctor after doctor searching for answers. Then, one doctor at the University of Michigan diagnosed her with conversion disorder. The doctor said Leiani didn’t need a feeding tube or a wheelchair. The problem was in her head.

"I said okay,” said Rebecca  “How do we fix this?”

The doctor at the University of Michigan contacted CPS. She said abuse could have caused the possible conversion disorder. Rebecca says different doctors disagreed. She says as she tried to figure it out, CPS showed up.

“I miss her so much,” said Rebecca, who hasn’t been allowed to even have a supervised conversation over the phone with her daughter.

Documents filed by prosecutors say, “Numerous physicians have performed unnecessary surgeries, diagnostic procedures, and other medical treatment based upon the parent's false or exaggerated reports.”

Court documents claim Leiani’s health is improving now that she is in the care of Children’s Village. She is having fewer “episodes” that her mother called seizures.

“Leiani was previously wheelchair bound. Leiani is now standing and taking steps. Leiani was previously on a feeding tube and would spit out table food, despite being viewed eating food at ties with no problems, when unaware of observation. Since removal, Leiani has kept food down, such as bread and a cookie,” says a document filed by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.

Leiani’s mom says her daughter has been showing improvement since coming out of the coma.  She was walking and eating what she could while at home as well.

She now is hoping a trial next month will prove her innocence and reunite her with her daughter.

“I have never done anything to make her sick, and I always have done my best,” said Rebecca. 

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Another "Kids for Cash" Settlement Ignores Medicaid Fraud

This is the first, well publicized case of child welfare fraud.

What has never been addressed in the "Kids for Cash" scandal is the fact there was also substantial Mediaid fraud and the fact that the State Attorney General has turned a blind eye for years.

There must be a court dertmination before federal funding is approved in child welfare cases.  This matter only addresses the civil aspect of damages to the parties involved.

States Medicaid Fraud Control Unit must desisgn mechanisms which allows them to go after Medicaid fraud in child welfare.

As it stands, it seems like no one is going to go for recovery.

I would like to commend the members of the law firm who have bodly stood up to take on advocating justice for these children.

I only wish I could find a team of Michigan attorneys to do the same thing here.

Judge OKs $4.75M settlement by 'kids for cash' center owner

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge has approved a $4.75 million settlement between a businessman at the center of a Pennsylvania juvenile justice scandal and youths sent to his detention centers by a corrupt judge.

Robert Powell was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in the scandal that became known as "kids for cash," a kickback scheme that led the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to vacate the convictions of thousands of juveniles.

Powell testified he was forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to former Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella Jr. and Michael Conahan in return for their support of his two private juvenile facilities.

The settlement agreement, approved Monday, covers at least 2,400 juveniles who appeared before Ciavarella between January 2003 and May 2008.

Prosecutors said Ciavarella ordered youths to detention for a wide range of relatively minor infractions, thus helping to fill the beds of Powell's PA Child Care and its sister facility, Western PA Child Care.

Ciavarella and Conahan are serving lengthy prison terms in connection with the scandal.

Plaintiffs have until Oct. 5 to submit a claim.

The plaintiffs previously reached a $2.5 million settlement with PA Child Care, Western PA Child Care and another company. The builder of the facilities, Robert K. Mericle, who paid the judges more than $2 million, agreed in 2011 to pay more than $17 million to the juveniles and their families.

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The importance of Governor Corbett's action is not that he is suing the NCAA but the fact that he used to be the State Attorney General.  Just for clarification, the AG is the one who "protects" children.

For years, Corbett turned a blind eye to what was going on in Pennsylvania.  Remember the "Kids 4 Cash" scandal where judges were getting kickbacks for sending kids to state juvenile facilities?

Or how about the millions in Medicaid fraud in child welfare that was allowed to perpetuate under Corbett's administration?

What Corbett should be doing is making his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and his Department of Health get together and start referring.

If children had a voice, none of this would have happened.  If Corbett would have listened, none of this would have happened.

Penn State Sanctions Prompt Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett To Sue NCAA

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Corbett said Tuesday he plans to sue the NCAA in federal court over stiff sanctions imposed against Penn State University in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal.

The Republican governor scheduled a Wednesday news conference on the Penn State campus in State College to announce the filing in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg.

A person associated with the university and knowledgeable about the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the lawsuit had not been filed, told The Associated Press that it is an antitrust action.

The NCAA sanctions, which were agreed to by the university in July, included a $60 million fine that would be used nationally to finance child abuse prevention grants. The sanctions also included a four-year bowl game ban for the university's marquee football program, reduced football scholarships and the forfeiture of 112 wins but didn't include a suspension of the football program, the so-called death penalty.

The governor's office announced the news conference late Tuesday afternoon. His spokesman did not respond to repeated calls and emails seeking to confirm a Sports Illustrated story that cited anonymous sources saying a lawsuit was imminent.

Corbett's brief statement did not indicate whether his office coordinated its legal strategy with state Attorney General-elect Kathleen Kane, who is scheduled to be sworn in Jan. 15.

Kane, a Democrat, ran on a vow to investigate why it took state prosecutors nearly three years to charge Sandusky, an assistant under former football coach Joe Paterno. Corbett was the attorney general when that office took over the case in early 2009 and until he became governor in January 2011.

State and congressional lawmakers from Pennsylvania have objected to using the Penn State fine to finance activities in other states. Penn State has already made the first $12 million payment, and an NCAA task force is deciding how it should be spent.

The NCAA, which declined to comment Tuesday on the planned lawsuit, has said at least a quarter of the money would be spent in Pennsylvania.

Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent called that an "unacceptable and unsatisfactory" response by the NCAA to a request from the state's U.S. House delegation that the whole $60 million be distributed to causes within the state.

Last week, state Sen. Jake Corman, a Republican whose district includes Penn State's main campus, said he plans to seek court action barring any of the first $12 million from being released to groups outside the state.

Sandusky, 68, was convicted in June on charges he sexually abused 10 boys, some on Penn State's campus. He's serving a 30- to 60-year state prison term.

Eight young men testified against him, describing a range of abuse they said went from grooming and manipulation to fondling, oral sex and anal rape when they were boys.

Sandusky did not testify at his trial but has maintained his innocence, acknowledging he showered with boys but insisting he never molested them.

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Kids-for-cash accomplice wants part of pension returned

BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER (STAFF WRITER)

Published: October 24, 2011

WILKES-BARRE - Sandra M. Brulo,

A former Luzerne County official on probation for altering a juvenile court file connected to the kids-for-cash scandal, wants $96,359.21 in pension contributions returned.

The county retirement board, which meets today, legally has to return her pension contributions, but the refund will be without interest because of her criminal record, officials said. Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said Brulo will lose more than $50,000 in interest.

After Brulo's arrest in February 2009, she was suspended without pay from her $78,159-a-year job as deputy director of forensic services for juvenile probation. She was able to resign without being fired, and officials approved a final payment of almost $12,000 for unused sick, personal and vacation time. But the retirement board in May 2009 rejected her request for a county pension of $1,733.11 a month.

Last June, a federal judge placed Brulo on probation for two years. Brulo pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for altering a court record to shield herself from liability in civil rights actions filed by hundreds of former juvenile defendants who claim they were wrongly imprisoned in two judges' scheme to generate kickbacks from a for-profit detention center.

Prosecutors said Brulo altered a record after she was named as a defendant in a class-action civil-rights suit filed by former juvenile defendants who claim they were illegally imprisoned by former judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. Brulo altered the record to indicate she had recommended probation for a juvenile when she had actually recommended detention in that case.

The state Supreme Court subsequently expunged the records of thousands of juveniles after finding that Ciavarella had taken $2.8 million from the builder and co-owner of a for-profit detention center, failed to ensure juveniles' right to counsel and pressured probation officials to recommend detention for juveniles.
Ciavarella was found guilty in February of racketeering and conspiracy in federal court and is serving a prison sentence of 28 years. His co-defendant, former judge Michael T. Conahan, pleaded guilty and is serving 17½ years.

Kiddy Kickbacks Are Judicial Dysfunction

I ran across this op-ed in the New York Times on judicial dysfunction and had to take a moment to review.  Needless to say, it was nothing but a reiteration of what I have been screaming about for years.

Kiddy Kickbacks.

No one ever discusses the issues in child welfare and the courts but one must understand that the same principles, if not worse, exists in dependency courts dealing with these matters as there is absolutely no regulation or ramifications to any misconduct.

Well, I retract that last statement.  The feds did set precedence with the "Cash 4 Kids" scandal.

A Study in Judicial

Dysfunction

Harsh state judicial campaigns financed by ever larger amounts of special interest money are eating away at public faith in judicial impartiality. There are few places where the spectacle is more shameful than Wisconsin, where over-the-top campaigning, self-interested rulings, and a complete breakdown of courthouse collegiality and ethics is destroying trust in its Supreme Court.

Maura Corrigan, the leader in
special interest campaigning

One of those "few places" is Michigan where Supreme Court judicial campaign, which are suppose to be non-partisan, are bankrolled by special interests.  Just ask former Chief Justice for the Michigan Supreme Court, now Director of the State Department of Human Services, Maura Corrigan.

On Monday, a special prosecutor was named to investigate an altercation between two justices on opposite sides of the court’s bitter ideological divide. Ann Walsh Bradley, a member of the court’s liberal wing, has charged that David Prosser, a conservative, put her in a chokehold during a heated exchange shortly before the court upheld the new state law eliminating most collective-bargaining rights for public employees.

Justice Prosser has disputed Justice Bradley’s version of what occurred, and the facts remain unclear. What is certain is that Justice Prosser should have recused himself from that ruling. His vote to uphold the law occurred shortly after his re-election campaign in which he benefited from heavy anti-union independent spending.

Justice Prosser won the April election by a very small margin, prompting a recount. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that he then raised more than $270,000 for the recount, much of it in $50,000 chunks. (The contribution limits that apply under Wisconsin’s public financing system for judicial races do not extend to recounts.) Some $75,000 of the haul was used to pay fees to a law firm led by an attorney representing conservative groups in a case challenging state campaign disclosure rules, which is scheduled to be heard by the court next month.

Maura Corrigan has ensured that disclosure of her campaign contributions does not exist  due to the incumbent waiver but her audacity is engrained in the minds of those who have been affected through her questionable campaign activities.

Given the lawyer’s role in Justice Prosser’s recent recount success, a reasonable person might well question the judge’s impartiality on that case, too. After first saying he had no intention of recusing himself, Justice Prosser on Thursday asked the parties in the campaign finance case to file memos stating their views about recusal. It should not take a formal request for him to step aside.

A contentious 4-to-3 decision by the court last month declared recusal decisions by the justices to be unreviewable. In another sign of the court’s dysfunction, the deciding vote came from Justice Patience Roggensack, whose involvement in an earlier case was the subject of the disqualification motion that the court was reviewing. Like the ruling itself, Justice Roggensack’s participation in judging her own conduct showed astounding disregard for legal ethics and every litigant’s right to impartial justice. The problems don’t even stop there. A year ago, by another 4-to-3 vote along ideological lines, the court weakened the recusal standard by adopting a rule saying that campaign fund-raising or expenditures can never be the sole basis for a judge’s disqualification. The rule was largely written by a business group that has spent lavishly in judicial campaigns.

Members of Wisconsin’s top court need to focus on restoring civility and public trust. For starters, they should scrap last year’s decision on campaign money in favor of strict disclosure requirements for lawyers and litigants. They should also adopt an appeals process for recusals, so the final decision is no longer left to the judge whose impartiality is being questioned. The court’s credibility, and justice in Wisconsin, are on the line.

In the Michigan, the higher court rules allows the court to "entertain a case".  This means that not all cases are guaranteed to be given the light if day, particularly when these judges sit on the boards of the defendant parties and get kiddy kickbacks. 

Kids For Cash Mom Will Get More Justice

Wait until you see what I consider as justice. I'm on a mission.

Sandy Fonzo, please contact me. Call Congressman John Conyers, Jr. and leave a message.

Mother in 'kids for cash' scandal says she got justice

The mother who made national headlines when she confronted a former Pennsylvania judge, sentenced for a scheme to make millions off unjustly incarcerating young people, said Sunday she feels that she got justice.

"It's justice in the sense that he is going to pay for what we've been dealing with for the last eight years," Sandy Fonzo told CNN's Don Lemon.

Sandy Fonzo says her 17-year-old son, Edward Kenzakowski,

killed himself after serving months in detention.

"True justice I don't think there could ever be. He'll never live the sentence that I'll live with for the rest of my life -- can't bring my son back," she said.

Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella was sentenced to 28 years in prison and ordered to pay about $1 million in restitution last week for his part in the so-called kids for cash scandal.

Ciavarella was found guilty in February of 12 of 39 racketeering and fraud charges for accepting millions of dollars in bribes from friends who owned detention centers to which he sent juveniles.

The case made national headlines when Ciavarella was confronted by Fonzo outside a courtroom after his conviction.

Fonzo's 17-year-old son, Edward Kenzakowski, spent months in detention after Ciavarella sentenced him for possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to Fonzo, her son, who had no prior record, was never able to recover and eventually took his own life.

"He was never the same," she told Lemon. "He went in a young boy, a young, spirited boy, and came out a pent-up, angry man and it just escalated."

She said in February she came to the courthouse believing Ciavarella would be taken straight to jail. But when she found out he was going home and would not be sentenced until later, she was shocked and angered, and began shouting at Ciavarella.

Fonzo's confrontation was captured by television cameras.

"Do you remember me?" Fonzo screamed lunging toward Ciavarella, "Do you remember my son?" she screamed again. "He's gone," she cried, "He shot himself in the heart, you scumbag!"

Feds Sentence Child Welfare Fraud Judge To 28 Years

Now only if we can go state to state and get the rest of them. One thing which no one ever talks about are campaign contributions.

I know for a fact that judges receive financial campaign contributions from child placing agencies. Just look at Maura Corrigan.

What do you think the chances of the state going after the recovery of the fraudulent cost reimbursements? I will tell you. None. Welcome to Pennsylvania child welfare fraud.

This is a fun little audit on the conflicts of interest with a child welfare group when it comes to procurement for legal representation. I will put some money on it that the guardians ad litum were in on it too. Think about it.

You have an individual who graduated law school and is licensed by the State of Pennsylvania, representing these children who were sent to this juvenile center, imprisoned and drugged against their will, and their court appointed attorneys did nothing about it except cash their checks?

This, of course all went down under Tom Corbett's watch, former State Attorney General, the same man who was voted in as Governor of Pennsylvania.

PENNSYLVANIA PROTECTION & ADVOCACY, INC. PROCUREMENT PRACTICES AND POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST DURING F...

As always, let's stand up and pay our respect to the members of this federal investigation. Keep it going!!!!

Former Pennsylvania County President Judge and Juvenile Judge Mark Ciavarella Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeAugust 11, 2011

Middle District of Pennsylvania(717) 221-4482

SCRANTON, PA—Mark A. Ciavarella, former president judge of the Court of Common Pleas and former judge of the Juvenile Court for Luzerne County, was sentenced in federal court in Scranton, Penn., today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik II, announced Peter J. Smith, U.S. Attorney for Middle District of Pennsylvania. Senior Judge Kosik sentenced Ciavarella to 28 years in prison and ordered restitution be paid in the amount of $965,930 to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for his judicial salary and $207,861 in restitution related to the tax charges.

Ciavarella and his co-defendant, Michael Conahan, who also served as president judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County, were initially charged in January 2009 with honest services mail and wire fraud and tax fraud in connection with the use of privately owned juvenile detention facilities. The charges were the result of a federal investigation of alleged corruption in the Luzerne County court system. The inquiry began in 2007 and over the next four years expanded to include county government offices, state legislators, school districts, and contractors in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Both defendants agreed to plead guilty. In July 2009, Judge Kosik rejected the proposed plea agreements because the defendants did not appear to accept responsibility for their conduct.

In September 2009 and September 2010, a grand jury in Harrisburg, Penn., returned superseding indictments charging both defendants with racketeering, honest services mail fraud, money laundering, extortion, bribery, tax violations, and conspiracy. The government also sought the forfeiture of approximately $2.8 million in assets allegedly acquired by the defendants through racketeering and money laundering. In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in United States v. Skilling, the 2010 indictment specifically charged that bribes and kickbacks were paid to the defendants.

After an 11-day trial in Scranton in February 2011, a jury found Ciavarella guilty on 12 of 39 counts: racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, four counts of honest services mail fraud, and four counts of filing false income tax returns. The jury also found that Ciavarella should forfeit $997,600, the sum he received from Robert Mericle, the developer who built the juvenile detention facilities.

Ciavarella testified at trial, claiming that the payments he received from Mericle were “finders fees” or “honest money” with no connection to Ciavarella’s actions as a judge, and denied that he received payment from Robert Powell, owner of the facilities.

The evidence established that Conahan closed the Luzerne County Juvenile Detention Facility when he was chief judge and helped arrange the financing for the private facilities; that Ciavarella, as juvenile court judge, sent juveniles to those facilities; that both men obstructed efforts to question the county’s use of the facilities and their financial relationships with Mericle and Powell; and both judges used bank accounts, straw parties and real estate vacation property to hide and launder payments received from Mericle and Powell. The evidence also showed that Ciavarella failed to report receipt of the funds on annual financial interest statements he was required to file as a judge and failed to report the income on his federal income tax returns. Mericle and Powell have pleaded guilty pursuant to plea agreements and are awaiting sentencing.

Conahan pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in April 2010. He did not testify at trial and has not been sentenced.

The judicial scandal, described as the worst in Pennsylvania’s history, and the federal prosecutions have had major consequences: Ciavarella and Conahan resigned from the bench in 2009. Reform and housecleaning are underway in the Luzerne County court system. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania was compelled to vacate thousands of juvenile convictions in Luzerne County as a result of Ciavarella’s conduct as a juvenile court judge. A State Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice was established to study what happened and to recommend changes in the state’s justice system aimed at safeguarding the constitutional rights of juveniles and improving the oversight and disciplinary process for judges in Pennsylvania. In June 2011, a committee of the American Bar Association reviewed and made recommendations to improve procedures in the state’s Judicial Conduct Board. A procedure was established in Luzerne County for compensation of victims of the activities of Ciavarella and Conahan.

Ciavarella voluntarily surrendered at the end of the sentencing hearing and was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals.

In the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the prosecution was conducted by a team consisting of Senor Litigation Counsel Gordon A.D. Zubrod, Assistant U.S. Attorneys William S. Houser, Michael A. Consiglio and Amy Phillips, and Criminal Division Chief Christian A. Fisanick.

The case was investigated by the agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations and the FBI’s Scranton office.