Michael Conahan

Michael T. Conahan
Born Michael T. Conahan
April 21, 1952
Hazleton, PA
Occupation Judge
Criminal charge
 Money laundering, fraud and racketeering
Criminal penalty
 17.5 years in prison
Criminal status Federal inmate #15009-067 Federal Correctional Institution, Coleman Low

Michael T. Conahan (born April 21, 1952) is a convicted felon and former judge from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania who was involved in the "Kids for cash" scandal in 2008[1] with fellow judge Mark Ciavarella.

Conahan was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. He received a law degree from Temple University. He served from 1994-2007 as Judge on the Court of Common Pleas. In January 2008 Conahan became president judge of Luzerne County.[2]

As president judge, Conahan used his budgetary discretion to stop funding the county public youth detention facility[3] and agreed to send teens instead to a new private facility. He is accused of agreeing to generate at least $1.3 million per year in costs that could be billed to taxpayers in exchange for kickbacks. He originally pleaded guilty to charges, but later withdrew his plea.[4] Afterward, he was indicted along with Ciavarella on charges of money laundering, fraud and racketeering.[5] He eventually plead guilty again, and on September 23, 2011, he was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison and ordered to pay $874,000 in restitution. [6]

References

  1. ↑ Frank, Thomas (April 1, 2009). "Thomas Frank Says 'Kids for Cash' Incentivizes the Prison Industry". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Michael Conahan". mahalo.com. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Judge Mark Ciavarella and Judge Michael Conahan". People You'll See in Hell. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
  4. ↑ Janoski, Dave (August 24, 2009). "Ciavarella, Conahan withdraw guilty pleas". citizensvoice.com. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
  5. ↑ "United States of America v Mark Ciavarella Jr and Michael Conahan". The United States Attorney's Office. Retrieved March 9, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Former Luzerne judge Conahan sentenced to 17.5 years". thetimes-tribume.com. September 23, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2011.