Wednesday, February 9, 2011

How low can people fall to enrich themselves

Photo: New York Times

According to this New York Times article, a former Pennsylvania judge went on trial in federal court on Tuesday, charged with racketeering, bribery and extortion in what prosecutors say was a $2.8 million scheme to send juvenile delinquents to privately run prisons.

The case against the judge, Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., who presided in Luzerne County, drew national attention for what legal experts say is a dangerous gap in the juvenile justice systems of many states — children appearing in court without lawyers. Mr. Ciavarella, now 60, sentenced thousands of young people, funneling them into two private detention centers prosecutors say were run by his friends who slipped him payments in a "cash for kids" scheme.
Professor Lawrence Tribe from Harvard sees it as a "Terrible lesson which highlights the dangers for juveniles who don't know their rights, haven't talked to a lawyer and are urged by overburdened courts to take a plea. Once that happens, future opportunities for the child are essentially gone." 

In court here on Tuesday, Gordon Zubrod, an assistant United States attorney, portrayed Mr. Ciavarella's actions over seven years as a plot to enrich himself. William Ruzzo, a lawyer for Mr. Ciavarella, denied the charges.
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Now, the charges against Ciavarella are bribery (i.e., an act implying money or gift given that changes the behavior of the recipient), and racketeering (i.e., a criminal demands money from a business in exchange for the service of "protection" against crimes that the racketeers themselves instigate if unpaid). 

The saddest part in all this is the price Ciavarella was willing to pay, that of sending probably innocent young man to jail.

I'll close this post Tuesday February 15 @ 11pm.

16 comments:

  1. Wow why are there such crooked people on Earth? I have only witnessed things like this in novels. What drove this man to send innocent young men to jail for money? There are probably going to be a lot of people that would say they would do it too if they were receiving $2.8 million. However tell me how you are going to explain coming into such large sums of cash? Were you planning on opening a Swiss account for all this?
    This is just very sad and disappointing. These judges are hand-picked to serve and protect. They are supposed to be the good guys. Everyone seems to be going corrupt. Who will one be able to trust in the end?
    Now he is helping wrongly convict people to get money which pays for his protection against bad publicity and everything of that sort. Alright well that clearly did not work out very well because you are going to court and all the ugly truth is going to be revealed. Where is all the protection you were hustling for now?

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  2. It amazing how far people can go for extra money. Regardless of it being such a large amount of money, they should keep there oath as responsible and honest people to our society. The Pennsylvania oath of office states, which is very well stated says “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, obey and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth and that I will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity”. Due to the violation of his oath he should received a well deserved penalty. Hopefully the fact that he is a judge don’t affect his sentencing and not taken lightly. There is no doubt that Ciavarella committed treason. Definitely should be charged with no remorse just like he wrongly convicted people for his own beneficial gain.

    --Lydia Sanchez

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  3. It is incredible that this man got away with it for so long. I suppose that the people involved in the issue were also benefiting from having innocent young people going to juveniles. I don’t understand how you can actually send somebody who doesn’t deserve it to a place in which their life is going to change forever and it’s all because of the fact that they being there was a net gain for you. Money goes a long way and apparently2.8 million go long enough to actually send children to jail for no serious cause. This also shows the lack of attention to the young man going to juveniles. I guess young children cases are too small and not as important as the other things going on. Yet look at the results of not paying attention to such small cases. Now there are young people in a juvenile correction center who don’t deserve to be there and instead can be making a future for themselves. I am honestly amazed by the fact that Mr. Ciavarella is capable to deny charges. There’s another thing that amazes me the most; aren’t judges righteous people who are supposed to do what is right according to the laws? And if this is true then why is such thing happening. Who is monitoring them to do the right thing? And in definitively is it the right thing for the young adult or like in this case for himself. In my opinion Ciavarella should have no right to defend himself; honestly how do you justify “more than thousands of young people” lives ruined by such a selfish man. He should be judged and be sentence to pay for what he has done to what could have been thousands of young prosperous bright futures. If he was willing to pay the price since the beginning then it is time to do so. The only thing this man was trying to protect was himself and his style of living while ruining families and young adults. The only thing I can say is how disturbing it is that a man is able to do such things without seeing past himself “a true egoist”

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  4. This article is very interesting because it’s about Justice. The article mentions that a Pennsylvania judge went on trial for his action. He was sending innocent kids to private run prison in order to make money. He was charged with racketeering, bribery and extortion in what prosecutors say was a $2.8 million scheme to send juvenile delinquents to privately run prisons. In My opinion I believe the judge is outrages. It’s unbelievable to see what people will do for money. It’s very sad for those young kids. They were put in private prison. I believe they should incarcerate the judge for his action and he should reimburse all of the money he took from those innocent people. Professor Lawrence Tribe from Harvard sees it as a "Terrible lesson which highlights the dangers for juveniles who don't know their rights, haven't talked to a lawyer and are urged by overburdened courts to take a plea. Once that happens, future opportunities for the child are essentially gone." I think that’s one of the important quotes in the article because the kids didn’t know their rights.

    By Reginald Belizaire

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  5. Surely "money is the root of all evil". It seems the more we have of it, the more we want!! As a judge Mr. Ciavarella’s salary was above average, so I say his actions were led by greed and money. In our society we learn that money is essential for everything, like a home, clothes, cars, food, services, jewelry, we basically need money for EVERYTHING! With this in mind, greed grows gradually within us. It’s like taking a kid to a toy store and he will want all the toys in the store. We have a good salary, but when presented with a little evil for money, we don’t stand a chance. I am not trying to justify him, I think he is completely guilty but there are facts that can also be brought up here. We have given money so much value, it been a resource for survival is not enough. Many will kill for money, but because we have made money the center of our lives, we revolve around money. Would this judge have done what he did if he had not been offered money?? Maybe not. If you were given a choice to push a button to receive 4 million dollars, BUT when you push that button one person in the world that you don’t know would have to die, would you push it? I’m sure most people would simply for greed. The fact that a judge committed a crime shouldn’t be a shocker. Remember "judge" is just a title.

    by: Quendra Gomez

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  6. Although, this might seem might come to great shock for most people, This is nothing new. The U.S. has more percentage of people in prison than any other country. When you privatize the prison system, you turn it into a business that needs "customers". These businesses lobby and support judges and politicians who are "tough on crime" and want to throw people in prison for the slightest of infractions. It's a growth industry. This man should be required to serve a sentence for each and every one of the children whose lives he changed by violating their rights and unjustly sending them to this institution. The individual who kicked back the money to him should also serve jail time, it is solicitation of a government official for the purpose of violating constitutional law for money. It is degrading for a Judge, someone who knows the laws very well, will do such thing as to deny the charges. It’s amazing how far people go just to receive cash on the side.


    Nataly Garcia

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  7. People have forgotten their roles in the society. Politicians should been thinking in what is the best to the population, and not making their lives a hell like in Egypt. Police officers should been protecting people, and not involved in murders and corruption. Students should be on the school studying to become a better citizen in the future, and not killing people like in the case in Arizona State. Judges should been making the laws in order to make the word a fairer and a safer place to live, and not sending innocent people to the prison. Money has become the main reason why people have been so corrupted and selfish. Money has bought peoples’ honesty, character, dignity and ethics. Day after day we have seen those who should been in charge of the society’s welfare and security, being bribed and acting unethically. The worst part is that we give these people the power of represent citizen’s interests, believing that they are everything they should not be. It has become hard to believe that still existing honest people in the world.

    --

    Filipe de Almeida

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  8. How do people have the heart to send other people to jail just so they can get rich? Whom can we trust when we know that the system is corrupted? Now the people that are going to jail because of this scheme will have bad records which it would be hard for them to get a job, people would look at them as convicts now. Money does corrupt people in a lot of ways even if it means to ruin other people lives, and people are always to themselves.

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  9. How can one send an innocent kid to jail? This clearly gives a bad name for the judges on any panel. These are the figures we look up to in our country and its unfortunate the message they are sending to the future generations. I can go on and on about how despicable the actions of Mark A. Ciaverella Jr. are described in this article. The media makes these judges seem as if they should be worshiped for the “justice” they provide for us, but what justice are they really providing? This was obviously an act of an egoist. In my opinion, if he is found guilty (which most likely he will be) he should be sentenced to at least 10 years in prison and he should also pay for all of the time that all of those kids were placed in jail to serve. People will obviously go as low as they need to get themselves ahead and it’s unfortunate that even the superior “role models” in the Judicial System are getting involved in these fraudulent actions.

    Joel Rodriguez

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  10. It is really a sad world we live in. Sometimes we don't realize how many people who are suppost to be "defending us" or "helping us" are the ones who try to mess with the law just to make money. Who would have thought a judge would do something like this. It's sad how far people will go for money and how no one can be trusted. He was willing to put lifes of juveniles at sake in order to make money for himself. Even if this are juveniles they are children who need help and children who could better themselves and make something out of their lifes and because of Mr. Ciavarella they were never going to get an opportunity. Sadly there are lots of people like Mr. Ciavarella and thats why it's hard for this kids to even fight back because they dont know their own rights, besides what juvenile delinquent is going to fight back what a judge tells them? not many at all. This judge should get paid for what he did and maybe that includes spending a lot of time in the detentions centers he would send the juveniles to.
    Ellen Ortiz

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  11. No he isn't stupid. Why do we always think that individuals who commit such inhumane acts are either stupid or crazy? Secondly someone quoted that money is the root of evil. Money, guys is not the root of evil. It is our thoughts and actions towards money that is the root of evil. We as human beings are able to reason.
    This action by the judge is really alarming and sickening. Why? How could anyone tamper with someone's life especially juveniles who are clueless about life, far less the law?
    A corporation like a juvenile center or a prison should never be operated and controlled privately. It should be state or government controlled. The aim of a business is to make a profit. Did anyone take into consideration how those privately run facilities would make a profit.The more prisoners the facility has the more money it gets. What about social services or the parents? Aren't they involved in cases like this with "troubled" kids since they are minors?
    We could also assume that greed was the reason. Everyone wants to amass a great amount of money and quickly if they could, but it is how you attain that wealth, that fortune. This judge has no morals, no conscience. Does he have any kids of his own?
    I don't think the judge should be the only one held accountable for this crime. The owners of the facilty should be held accountable and reimburse every juvenile or reimburse those institutions that can help rehabilitate those juveniles that was sent there for petty reason.
    We have come to point where we don't know who to trust. The people who are in position (cops,teachers, judges, politicians, etc) are the ones not setting the examples. What does that tell about our system? It comes down to the breakdownand betrayal of trust.
    Unique

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  12. It’s crazy to know that the person we think will keep order in the court can betray us. Who would of thought that a judge could do wrong to innocent people? Clearly money can turn anyone bitter. Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr, decided to put hundreds of juveniles in jail to get “fast cash”. This goes to show all, that you as an individual can be tricked into something because you don’t know the rights you have in America. Having to spend time incarcerated because of nothing is not fair. It serves as an eye opener. No matter if you’re a male or a female, 12 or 44, a high school athlete or someone we see as a protector. Anyone can make you more vulnerable and get in trouble with the law to justify there own well being. Keep your eyes open and always know your rights as a American citizen,

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  13. It’s amazing how some Judge can do just to get more money. That’s a bad example to citizens in our country. Maybe there are some innocent’s boys that are in jail just because he wanted more money. That’s totally unfair. I think people should really think about their actions. They should think about the boy’s families, boy’s reputation about being in jail. I hope that he can be punishing because of what he did. Justice needs to be fair with the innocent’s boy.
    -Yary Ortiz

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  14. It is truly amazing what people are willing to do for money and or power. In this case I really don't understand how a judge, someone that should practically have the knowledge to know that it is wrong and already a great lifestyle to which he shouldn't need much of anything else, would choose to do such acts onto these young people. I do understand that juveniles need correction but this man saw that opportunity for him to make a good 2.8 million. Frankly it isn't worth the thousands of lives he possibly ruined, especially for the ones that were innocent. Now, it also seems that these prisons were up to no good as well. Takes two too Tango and here it looks like Mark was ready to snitch if these prisons couldn't pay to keep his mouth shut. I wonder what they could be hiding themselves. It seems that just about anyone is capable of evil. My honest opinion to this particular matter is that this judge is a juvenile himself!

    Andrae Williams

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  15. As we can comment and answer the members of our class, I found it necessary to wait and read the comments before writing. Unique, who, I believe is my partner in class, and I think in the same direction…. However, I agree also with Kira’s comments that had the same reaction: this is the doing of a system that has ALLOWED something like this to happen. Ciavarella is the one that probably got the most but it is a scheme that must have benefited innumerous people in the judicial system for it to last for so long. How many voices have NOT been heard? I am sure that some mothers or brothers of these victims must have said something when they saw that their sons, their brothers were being condemned without a fair trial, without even a lawyer to defend them!! Yes, it is revolting and the only way to put this right is to change the system that has enabled these Judges to fall so low, to become horrible criminals.
    I hope Mr. Ciavarella is humiliated, that his properties and everything he owns is made public and taken away from him and his family. As I read further in the related articles, it is mentioned that these victims, these children will not be able to appeal or be compensated for what has been done to them, did I read it right?
    I guess that Ciavarella is accused of racketeering because of the number of people that he must have corrupted in order to make his horrible scheme possible. Bribery and extortion are also part of the “liabilities” and if we sit and think that this Judge has done this for seven years, the dimension of the Evil might be National. It will be interesting to follow up closely the outcome of the trial. I hope for an exemplary condemnation.

    Vera Saeme

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  16. These day many people claim to contribute to society out of goodwill but instead they do something positive to gain a reward. It is seen all over in the media, like celebrities or businesses with big cooperation. It amazes me how powerful money is and how it can bring so much pleasure and pain. Now day’s people are willing to do anything to make easy money. It is a judge i responsibility to keep honesty, discipline and find justice to our society under oath. However there are some judges that take their self interest as their main priority like Mr.Ciavarella. Mr.Ciavarella deserve to be penalties for the action of sending innocent children to jail so he can gain extra money.

    Rebecca Joseph

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