Judge behind ‘cash for kids’ scheme confronted by mother of victim

[sharpsteve2003]

Mom Lashes Out At "Scumbag" Judge That Was Found Guilty Of Sending Kids To Jail For Payola
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTOjsbWtR18

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTOjsbWtR18

A judge is found guilty in a "kids-for-cash scheme" where he sent juveniles to detention centers owned by friends.
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/02/19/exp.nr.kids.for.cash.judge.cnn

Audio: Mother of alleged Ciavarella victim speaks to Times Leader (WARNING: explicit language)
Sandy Fonzo, mother of an alleged "Kids for Cash" sentencing victim, speaks to Times Leader reporter Terrie Morgan-Besecker follwing the verdict in the corruption case of former Luzerne County judge Mark Ciavarella.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf2hBgmN1cE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf2hBgmN1cE

[sharpsteve2003]

Bump

[jct74]

Wow, tragic story. That CNN video is especially worth watching. I wonder what kind of sentence this scumbag will get. In the youtube video the mother says only 10 to 15 years I think.

[HOLLYWOOD]

Not only the tragedy of exploiting and destroying childhoods... an impressionable child committed suicide. That's grounds for manslaughter to say the least... what about the other judge and the corporate facility? charges against them?

157 Years sounds about right... after maybe whacked in the head with a phone book a dozen times.

What amazes me is how all these elected and appointed public workers by elected officials are never held accountable. When an American civilian commits a crime against a government official, the penalty is double... FUCK YOU Teddy Kennedy and all those that voted for that discriminatory bill, but when a trusted official in our system, paid by our stolen tax money and fees, are given privileged and special treatments to diminish or immunity for breaking the law... my blood boils!

[roho76]

Absolutely Disgusting. I give that women credit for not killing that guy right then and there. What a f*#king scumbag.

[VegasPatriot]

Wow, tragic story. That CNN video is especially worth watching. I wonder what kind of sentence this scumbag will get. In the youtube video the mother says only 10 to 15 years I think.
Yes, watch the CNN video... you can see the pain in the mothers face... you can see the smug look on the judges face... he should rot in hell. If I were in the same situation as that mother I would not have been able to keep my hands off that judge after being so close to him.

[ItsTime]

He is getting off too easy.

[jct74]

Apparently the prosecution didn't persue the charges that he took bribes to throw all those kids in jail for minor offenses, but they were still able to convict him on several charges including racketeering and money laundering. He most likely faces 12-15 years in jail although it is possible he could receive up to 157 years.

Here's more information on the case:
http://www.timesleader.com/news/JUDGMENT_DAY_02-19-2011.html

and more video of the confrontation outside the courthouse:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCExlbGTX_M

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

what did the kid do?

[BamaAla]

what did the kid do?

The mother called the cops on him for being at an "underage drinking party."

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

The mother called the cops on him for being at an "underage drinking party."
lol wut,the kid went to jail for underage drinking?

[ItsTime]

lol wut,the kid went to jail for underage drinking?

Then killed himself.

[sharpsteve2003]

what did the kid do?

In the video the mother talks about it. He was at a underage drinking party. They wanted to put a scare in him and called the police (who they knew) to bust it and put a scare into the kids. Then it spiraled out of control as it usually does with the state and he was sent away for 6 months. Watch the second link in the OP.

[BamaAla]

lol wut,the kid went to jail for underage drinking?

I don't know the whole story; I just was watched her interview on CNN last night. She said that he started hanging with the wrong crowd in the summer before his senior year and she and her former husband (I believe it was) knew some police in the Wilks Barre police department and sicked them on a party that she knew her son was at. That's all she said.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

I don't know the whole story; I just was watched her interview on CNN last night. She said that he started hanging with the wrong crowd in the summer before his senior year and she and her former husband (I believe it was) knew some police in the Wilks Barre police department and sicked them on a party that she knew her son was at. That's all she said.

LOL She called the police on her son and then bitches when the police put her son in jail? Oh the irony!

[pcosmar]

This is the natural and expected result of a For Profit justice system.

:(

[Pericles]

This is the natural and expected result of a For Profit justice system.

:(

Combined with people given too much power (judges, prosecuters, and police) and face too little accountability from the public and elected officials.

[Freedom 4 all]

Apparently the prosecution didn't persue the charges that he took bribes to throw all those kids in jail for minor offenses, but they were still able to convict him on several charges including racketeering and money laundering. He most likely faces 12-15 years in jail although it is possible he could receive up to 157 years.

Here's more information on the case:
http://www.timesleader.com/news/JUDGMENT_DAY_02-19-2011.html

and more video of the confrontation outside the courthouse:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCExlbGTX_M

He looks pretty small and weak. As long as he gets any jail time at all it doesn't really matter how long. I give him maybe 3 months before he gets raped to death or commits suicide.

[Kregisen]

He looks pretty small and weak. As long as he gets any jail time at all it doesn't really matter how long. I give him maybe 3 months before he gets raped to death or commits suicide.

People don't rape others in jail, only prison.

[Mini-Me]

People don't rape others in jail, only prison.

Perhaps...but maybe jails are easier for pissed off mothers to gain access to.

[Romulus]

I feel for her.. she learned a harsh lesson about the system..

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

I feel for her.. she learned a harsh lesson about the system..

It's her own doing!!! She snitched on her OWN kid. And didn't do anything about his punishment until he died! The judge is bad too, but that doesn't uplift the betrayal she committed upon her child.

[jth_ttu]

Too bad the death penalty is out of the question. I could think of no better penalty than sentencing him to be hanged outside the supreme court building and left there as a reminder just like they used to do to pirates..

[BamaAla]

It's her own doing!!! She snitched on her OWN kid. And didn't do anything about his punishment until he died! The judge is bad too, but that doesn't uplift the betrayal she committed upon her child.

+1

I feel horrible for her; however, to lay all of the blame on the feet of the judge is ludicrous. I did some stupid things as a teenager, as I'm sure all of us did, but I can't imagine my own mother calling the police on me.

[Romulus]

It's her own doing!!! She snitched on her OWN kid. And didn't do anything about his punishment until he died! The judge is bad too, but that doesn't uplift the betrayal she committed upon her child.

Its the judges doing... her intentions were to scare him. She trusted the police and the system, like most everyone does. Its the systems fault - not hers for expecting honesty and fairness in our system.

[PatriotOne]

I couldn't listen to the whole thing. It was just too heartbreaking. But from what I heard he would be safer in prison...someone is going to die whether she kills herself over the guilt or takes vigilante justice on him.

Some of your comments sicken me blaming the mother. Not everyone knows how bad it has gotten and still thinks it's all mayberry out there because of how the media glorifies the police/justice system.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

I couldn't listen to the whole thing. It was just too heartbreaking. But from what I heard he would be safer in prison...someone is going to die whether she kills herself over the guilt or takes vigilante justice on him.

Some of your comments sicken me blaming the mother. Not everyone knows how bad it has gotten and still thinks it's all mayberry out there because of how the media glorifies the police/justice system.

She put him in the lion's den and blamed the gatekeeper when he got bit!

[PatriotOne]

I swear to God about 9 times out of 10 when I go looking at these corrupt people they are connected to the fucking bankers!

Zappala is the owner of the juvenile facility!

Greg Zappala, head of JPMorgan's office in Cranberry Township just north of Pittsburgh, is the son of former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Stephen Zappala and the brother of Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. Greg Zappala, 46, played football for the University of Miami Hurricanes in the early 1980s.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ay5LDbjbjy6c

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

It's a terrible case of be careful what you wish for.

[BuddyRey]

This is so heartbreaking, especially because there was no reason it had to happen.

To anyone ever considering turning in a loved one to the police for any reason, please remember that you're really thinking of doing is delivering a person out of your hands and into the hands of the state. The state doesn't love your family member; its sole aim is to sort people through their system and, if possible, to secure a conviction on any plausible grounds. The state is not there to bring comfort or rehabilitation to your family, and it is most definitely not your friend!!!

[Romulus]

I swear to God about 9 times out of 10 when I go looking at these corrupt people they are connected to the fucking bankers!

Zappala is the owner of the juvenile facility!

Greg Zappala, head of JPMorgan's office in Cranberry Township just north of Pittsburgh, is the son of former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Stephen Zappala and the brother of Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. Greg Zappala, 46, played football for the University of Miami Hurricanes in the early 1980s.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ay5LDbjbjy6c

They own it all, dont they.

[sharpsteve2003]

OP Updated with new video

[Anti Federalist]

Do I need to even say it?

C'mon people, say it with me...

Do. Not. Call. The. Cops.

[Anti Federalist]

Oh, and I'm surprised the mother didn't get arrested and tasered.

She got very lucky.

'Course, she's just being counter productive with all that yelling and screaming.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

Oh, and I'm surprised the mother didn't get arrested and tasered.

She got very lucky.

'Course, she's just being counter productive with all that yelling and screaming.

Woman calls the police on her son.

YOU PUT MY CHILD IN JAIL!

[devil21]

Woman calls the police on her son.

YOU PUT MY CHILD IN JAIL!

I'd give mom about 2% of the blame here. I think you're letting this slimy judge off a little easy. The kid was arrested for paraphenalia, which I assume he had a weed bowl on him or something when he was searched at the party. I do agree that calling the cops on your family is generally a bad idea but let's look at the facts here. In any other courtroom in the country (sans corrupt judge) the kid would have gotten 12 hours of community service and unsupervised probation, with charge dropped after 6 months......not 6 months in various jail facilities, destruction of his entire education and likely scholarship. This judge simply destroyed the kid's life for a few bucks in kickbacks.

I would have smiled if she had capped that fucker Jack Ruby style. He doesn't deserve to live and he sure doesn't deserve to suck more money out of the taxpayers of Pennsylvania sitting in some protective custody wing of a minimum security prison. I assume the lawsuits have already been filed to take every last cent that bastard has. He better get 15 years or the whole trial will have been a sham. The really scary part is he's definitely not the only judge doing this and practically every local judge works for the jails, since the jails get money for every inmate they hold. The whole system is about stealing money in one way or another so he's just a more egregious example of what goes on in courtrooms around the country.

[Freedom 4 all]

Do I need to even say it?

C'mon people, say it with me...

Do. Not. Call. The. Cops.

Why people trust police enough to actually invite them into their home under any circumstances is beyond me.

[tnvoter]

terrible results of the anti-liberty war on drugs.

[fisharmor]

Some of your comments sicken me blaming the mother. Not everyone knows how bad it has gotten and still thinks it's all mayberry out there because of how the media glorifies the police/justice system.

I guarantee you that the kid didn't kill himself because he was in trouble with the law.
He hanged himself because his own mother ratted him out.
I imagine that if you're sitting in prison, knowing that you've got a record and the only thing waiting for you when you get out is either a life of crime or being a low-wage slave digging ditches, and knowing that one of the only people on Earth you should be able to trust to help you out is the one who put you there to begin with... I imagine it's easy not to see a whole lot of options.


The state doesn't love your family member; its sole aim is to sort people through their system and, if possible, to secure a conviction on any plausible grounds.

Exactly.
But the fact that she trusted the system doesn't make her any less culpable.
This is what the state does. This is its job. To ruin lives.
She doesn't get out of her responsibility for trusting that the state would do anything other than its job.
I think that trying to pin this on a crooked judge deflects attention away from the core issue.
Politicians are crooked, and lawyers are crooked, and everyone knows this, but for some reason a lawyer with political connections (i.e., a judge) is trusted with our youth?

Bullshit.
Not even in the best circumstances.
Not if he shat rainbows and healed the sick with his urine.

This mother made an epic mistake. It sucks. It sucks hard. But let's not pretend that it could have gone down any differently, because if it did, it would mean that our civil authorities aren't doing the job we pay them to do.

[Anti Federalist]

Why people trust police enough to actually invite them into their home under any circumstances is beyond me.

I couldn't tell you, it's as much a mystery to me as it is to you.

Well no, maybe not a mystery given the high propaganda levels in the media concerning our vaunted saviors in blue.

And that's not for a second letting this piece of shit judge off the hook either, of course, he is guilty as hell and I hope he enjoys his years in the government rape cage.

But the fact remains, if mom had NOT called the state's enforcement arm into her affairs, more than likely, her son would be alive today.

[Anti Federalist]

I guarantee you that the kid didn't kill himself because he was in trouble with the law.
He hanged himself because his own mother ratted him out.
I imagine that if you're sitting in prison, knowing that you've got a record and the only thing waiting for you when you get out is either a life of crime or being a low-wage slave digging ditches, and knowing that one of the only people on Earth you should be able to trust to help you out is the one who put you there to begin with... I imagine it's easy not to see a whole lot of options.

Wow, I hadn't considered that myself.

I wonder if that lightening bolt will ever hit mom on a dark, sleepless night.

[heavenlyboy34]

This is the natural and expected result of a For Profit justice system.

:(
for profit? A "for profit" system has to show a profit or go out of business. Our justice system exists whether or not it turns a profit(IOW, it's a type of socialist justice system).

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

I couldn't tell you, it's as much a mystery to me as it is to you.

Well no, maybe not a mystery given the high propaganda levels in the media concerning our vaunted saviors in blue.

And that's not for a second letting this piece of shit judge off the hook either, of course, he is guilty as hell and I hope he enjoys his years in the government rape cage.

But the fact remains, if mom had NOT called the state's enforcement arm into her affairs, more than likely, her son would be alive today.

Even if he wasn't in Jail he would still have a drug record. Thanks mom!

She ruined her OWN life, and her SONS. How selfish of her.

[Anti Federalist]

Even if he wasn't in Jail he would still have a drug record. Thanks mom!

She ruined her OWN life, and her SONS. How selfish of her.

That anti drug propaganda is powerful.

Powerful enough to rip a whole family apart.

[pcosmar]

for profit? A "for profit" system has to show a profit or go out of business. Our justice system exists whether or not it turns a profit(IOW, it's a type of socialist justice system).

This was a "For Profit" Jail system. They make money by filling beds. And the Judge was getting kickbacks for filling orders.

It is an invitation to corruption.

Prisons should be prohibitively expensive and a drain on society. To prevent their overuse and abuse.
Want to keep cost down? eliminate stupid laws or find other punishment for lessor crimes.
They should only be for the worst cases.

[Kylie]

I guarantee you that the kid didn't kill himself because he was in trouble with the law.
He hanged himself because his own mother ratted him out.
I imagine that if you're sitting in prison, knowing that you've got a record and the only thing waiting for you when you get out is either a life of crime or being a low-wage slave digging ditches, and knowing that one of the only people on Earth you should be able to trust to help you out is the one who put you there to begin with... I imagine it's easy not to see a whole lot of options.



Exactly.
But the fact that she trusted the system doesn't make her any less culpable.
This is what the state does. This is its job. To ruin lives.
She doesn't get out of her responsibility for trusting that the state would do anything other than its job.
I think that trying to pin this on a crooked judge deflects attention away from the core issue.
Politicians are crooked, and lawyers are crooked, and everyone knows this, but for some reason a lawyer with political connections (i.e., a judge) is trusted with our youth?

Bullshit.
Not even in the best circumstances.
Not if he shat rainbows and healed the sick with his urine.

This mother made an epic mistake. It sucks. It sucks hard. But let's not pretend that it could have gone down any differently, because if it did, it would mean that our civil authorities aren't doing the job we pay them to do.



You read my mind. I would never, EVER call the cops on my own family. And I've told them that they will not do it to each other either. We will take care of our own business, we don't need the state's involvement. They only make shit worse, and sometimes fatal.

[Romulus]

I too though he might have killed himself feeling abandoned that his own mother ratted him out. That has to be pretty devastating for a teen.

[devil21]

I too though he might have killed himself feeling abandoned that his own mother ratted him out. That has to be pretty devastating for a teen.

Im sure that didn't help but I'd think the fact that his education and scholarships (that he had worked toward for years) were destroyed would have been a larger factor in his suicide.

[Anti Federalist]

///

[Anti Federalist]

Bullying
Posted by Lew Rockwell on February 23, 2011 10:11 AM

Just as in prisons, bullying in public schools is a method of controlling the inmates. Here a teacher got other boys to beat up a kindergarten student. Yesterday I blogged about teachers and officials bullying a 15-year-old boy into suicide (no media outrage, of course). I also think that at least some of the people who become public school guards and wardens enjoy exercising power over the defenseless. It is, after all, government, which attracts such types.

BTW, parents, through you are socialized otherwise, in any confrontation between your child and public-school payrollers, always believe your child, always stick up for your child, never believe the government. It is devastating for a child to have his father and mother side with his oppressors.