Conahan and Toole No Longer Have Law Licenses

Here is a link to a November 15, 2011 article in the Times Leader confirming that former Judge Michael Toole's law license has been suspended and that former Judge Michael Conahan relinquished his law license.  Former Judge Mark Ciavarella is officially listed as retired:

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Pennsylvania_top_court_suspends_Toole_rsquo_s_license_11-15-2011.html


Meanwhile other local reports indicate that former Judge Conahan has been moved from the Philadelphia Detention Center where he has been housed since his sentencing.  According to the Federal Bureau of Prison, Conahan is listed as "in transit."  It is anticipated that future news reports will reveal where he has been transferred to in order to serve out his sentence.

Update on Luzerne County Matters

Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella has been transferred and settled into a medium security federal prison in Illinois.  Here's a link to an article on that topic by Terrie Morgan-Besecker in the September 14, 2011 Times Leader: 

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Ciavarella_moved_to_Illinois_prison_09-14-2011.html?searchterm=Ciavarella


Former Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole is being housed in a minimum security prison in Minnesota.  Here is a link to a May of 2011 Citizen's Voice article on that topic:

http://citizensvoice.com/news/former-judge-michael-t-toole-reports-to-minnesota-federal-prison-1.1140761#axzz1Y7Q0BJ5F


Former Judge Michael Conahan is scheduled to be sentenced next Friday, September 23, 2011.  No sentencing date for former attorney Robert Powell has been scheduled yet.

Former Judge Michael Toole of Luzerne County and Former Superior Court Judge Michael T. Joyce Sanctioned by Court of Judicial Discipline

On July 26, 2011, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline in Pennsylvania issued Orders sanctioning former Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole and former Superior Court Judge Michael T. Joyce officially removing them from the bench and prohibiting them from ever holding judicial office again in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The Court of Judicial Discipline filings and findings with regards to former Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole can be viewed here , here, and here.

The Court of Judicial Discipline filings and findings with regards to former Superior Court Judge Michael T. Joyce can be viewed here, here, and here.

Source of news tip:  August 16, 2011 news article in The Legal Intelligencer by Zack Needles entitled "Court of Judicial Discipline's Order May Cost Joyce Pension."

Former Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole Sentenced

Here is a link to an April 9, 2011 article by Terrie Morgan-Besecker of the Times Leader regarding the sentencing of former Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole to 30 months (Two and a half years) in federal prison:

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Ex-judge_rsquo_s_new_chambers__A_cell_04-08-2011.html?searchterm=Toole

Luzerne County Update

Here's a link to an article by staff writter Michael P. Buffer from today's Citizen's Voice providing an update on the status of the matters surrounding former Judge Toole of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas:

http://citizensvoice.com/news/court-suspends-attorney-who-bribed-former-judge-toole-1.1083726


On a Luzerne County related note, former Judge Ciavarella's trial is still on track to begin in February of 2011.

Recent Articles Updating Status of Matters in Luzerne County Scandals

Here's a link to a November 3, 2010 article by David Janoski of the Citizens Voice regarding former Judge Michael Toole's guilty plea to accepting an illegal gratuity while on the bench. In the article is an interesting note as to who Toole wishes to subpoena to testify at the hearing on his sentence:

http://citizensvoice.com/news/toole-pleads-guilty-to-accepting-illegal-gratuity-1.1058587


Here is a link to a November 5, 2010 article by Michael R. Sisak of the Citizens Voice reporting that Federal Court Judge Edwin M. Kosik has again denied former Judge Mark A. Ciavarella's request that Judge Kosik recuse himself from Ciavarella's upcoming February of 2011 trial:

http://citizensvoice.com/news/judge-stays-on-ciavarella-s-case-1.1059715

Former Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Toole Benefits from Recent U.S. Supreme Court Ruling

According to an August 2, 2010 article by Dave Janoski in the Scranton Times-Tribune, the recent United States Supreme Court decision ruling the honest services fraud statute unconstitutionally vague has erased a fraud count that could have sent former Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Toole to federal prison for up to 20 years. According to the article, the former judge is now only facing a tax evasion count that could result in a lesser sentence.

For more information, here is a link to the article:
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/u-s-supreme-court-ruling-erases-charge-against-former-luzerne-judge-toole-1.917904

Erie Insurance Files Discontinuance on Petition to Overturn Luzerne County UIM Award

According to a May 26, 2010 Times Leader article by Terri Morgan-Besecker, the attorney for Erie Insurance Company, which sought to overturn a $1.2 million arbitration award that was reportedly the basis of corruption charges against former Judge Michael Toole has filed papers to terminate the case with the court.

Michael Blazick, attorney for Erie Insurance Exchange, filed a discontinuance in the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas on May 3, 2010 that ended the case. There was no indication as to whether the case was terminated because a settlement was reached or because the insurer decided to drop the matter, however.

By way of background, Erie filed a petition in January that sought to overturn a Dec. 18, 2007 underinsured (UIM) motorist arbitration award issued to the injured party, arguing it was the product of fraud, corruption and misconduct involving, in part, the selection of the neutral arbitrator. The petition was based on Toole’s guilty plea in December to charges relating to his handling of an uninsured motorist insurance arbitration claim.

Here's a link to the Times Leader article on the topic: http://www.timesleader.com/news/Toole-linked_case_appeal_withdrawn_05-26-2010.html.

Governor Rendell Announces Two More Appointments to Fill Vacancies on Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas

Governor Rendell has nominated Lewis Wood Wetzel, Esquire of Dallas and Joseph Van Jura, Esquire of Kingston to fill the open judgeships on the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas. It is hoped that these nominees will be whisked through the nomination process quickly so they can assist with the backlog in the court system.

According to the website of his law firm, Wetzel, Caverly, Shea, Phillips, and Rodgers , Attorney Wetzel is a 1968 graduate of the Dickinson School of Law and has specialized in Real Estate Law, Business Litigation, Probate, Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts. See http://www.wcsprlaw.com/bios.html.

According to Martindale-Hubbell, Attorney Van Jura graduated from the University of Notre Dame Law School and entered the practice of law in 1972. His legal specialties are listed as covering Litigation; Insurance Defense; Personal Injury; Torts; Real Estate; Education Law; Zoning, Planning and Land Use.

According to a February 9, 2010 article by Dave Janoski in the Citizens Voice, Attorney Wetzel and Attorney Van Jura will fill vacancies created by the corruption-related resignation of former judge Michael T. Toole and the election defeat of former judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr.

The article also noted that Wetzel and Van Jura would serve through 2011, at which point voters will choose two judges to serve 10-year terms.

Janoski also wrote that the addition of Wetzel and Van Jura to the short-handed county bench would leave the county with nine of its 10 judicial slots filled. Last year, the state Supreme Court halted an election to fill the 10th seat on the bench, left vacant after it removed former judge Ann Lokuta from office in December 2008. Lokuta, who was accused of mistreating court employees and attorneys, is still in the process of seeking reinstatement.

Joseph Cosgrove Sworn in as New Judge in Luzerne County

Attorney Joseph Cosgrove, 52, was sworn in as a new Judge on the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas on January 28, 2009. He was in private practice since 1982 and appears to have focused his practice on the defense of criminal matters.

Judge Cosgrove is filling out former Judge Mark Ciavarella's term and is allowed to remain on the bench until that term ends in January of 2012. As such, Judge Cosgrove will essentially hold his position in all of 2010 and 2011.

The Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas still remains three (3) judges shy of its full complement of jurists. The seats of former judges Michael Toole (resigned after fraud charges filed), Peter Paul Olszewski (lost bid for retention in recent elections), and Ann Lokuta (removed by Judicial Conduct Board) remain open.

Latest Out Of Luzerne County

On December 29, 2009, Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole appeared in the Federal District Court in Scranton, Pennsylvania and plead guilty to to federal charges related to fixing a court decision on the appointment of a neutral arbitrator in an underinsured (UIM) motorists case as well as charges related to failing to report a referral fee from a second attorney on his taxes.

For a more complete version of this story, I refer you the following link to an article written by Dave Janoski and Michael R. Sisak of the Citizen's Voice: http://www.citizensvoice.com/news/toole-accepts-whatever-punishment-the-court-imposes-1.515794.

Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole to Plead Guilty and Resign from Bench

According to an article by Dave Janoski in the Citizens Voice, Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Toole will be pleading guilty to fraud charges and will resign from the bench. Toole faces up to 23 years in prison.

According to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney's office earlier today, Toole has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of honest services fraud and filing a false income tax return.

The criminal complaint against Toole alleges that Toole secretly communicated with an attorney to detemine who that attorney wished to have appointed as a netural arbitrator in an underinsured motorist case. The attorney, who is identified only as participant #1, had allegedly given Toole free use of a New Jersey beach house. Toole allegedly failed to disclose that information to other parties involved in the arbitration case.

Toole is also charged with failing to report in his 2006 income tax return approximately $30,000 he allegedly received as a referral fee from another attorney.

Toole is the third Luzerne County Judge and 20th person overall to be charged in the ongoing corruption probe by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The Citizen's Voice website (http://www.citizensvoice.com/) has posted the charges and the plea agreement. The can be accessed by clicking on these links:

Read the charges
Read the plea agreement