USA: Biden Commuted Remaining Sentence For Pennsylvania Judge Involved In ‘Kids for Cash’ Scandal. Judge Received $2.8 Million In Kickbacks To Send 2300 Children As Young As 8 To Prison.

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GlobalAwareness101 published Oh my gosh... this is so wrong. This corrupt judge needs to be in prison. Victims are beyond pissed off and are now demanding Biden's Speedway and Street in Pennsylvania be removed.

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Inside Edition published December 16, 2024: Biden Gets Backlash for Commuting Kids-for-Cash Judge Michael Conahan's Sentence.

Sandy Fonzo is speaking to Inside Edition after President Biden commuted the sentence of a judge who was convicted for his role in the "kids-for-cash" scandal 15 years ago. Fonzo's son, who was wrongly sent to a for-profit prison by another judge in exchange for millions of dollars in kickbacks, ended up killing himself inside the facility. Fonzo says she was stunned to learn about the commutation for Judge Michael Conahan, who was serving 17 years for taking $2.8 million in kickbacks for the same scheme.

WNEP16 ABC News, PA local

'Kids for Cash' Judge has sentence commuted by President Biden

written by Melissa Steininger

Thursday December 12, 2024

PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Former Judge Michael Conahan, a judge at the helm of the infamous 'Kids for Cash' scandal, was among the nearly 1,500 individuals whose sentences were commuted by President Joe Biden as part of his executive clemency. Conahan, along with his co-conspirator, former judge Mark Ciavarella, was involved in a scheme where juveniles were sent to for-profit detention centers in exchange for kickbacks.

Conahan and Ciavarella were accused of shutting down the Luzerne County-run juvenile detention center and accepting millions from the builder and co-owner of two for-profit detention centers. The scandal is believed to have impacted the lives of more than 2,500 kids, including whistleblower Hillary Transue. She spoke with Action 16's Melissa Steininger March during her investigative series, 'Kids for Cash: The New Crisis.'

"The kids that were affected by Ciavarella, the people who were affected by him, they aren't mad because he took money. That's salt in the wound. What we're mad about is that he hurt us," said Transue.

In 2010, Judge Michael Conahan pleaded guilty to a federal charge of racketeering conspiracy and was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. His sentence was scheduled to end in August 2026, when he would have been 74, but that has now changed.

President Biden announced Conahan is one of nearly 1,500 inmates whose sentences have been commuted.

"I am also commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people who are serving long prison sentences – many of whom would receive lower sentences if charged under today’s laws, policies, and practices," said the President in a statement from the White House.

Conahan has been in home confinement in Florida since 2020 due to concerns over the coronavirus. All the recipients were on compassionate release during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the White House, in a statement, these recipients have "successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance."

But, more than a decade later, officials on every level of the juvenile justice system argue that Luzerne County and the entire region of northeastern Pennsylvania are still feeling the effects of the Kids for Cash scandal.

Since Conahan and Ciavarella were sentenced, there has been an overhaul of Pennsylvania's juvenile justice system, and secure admissions have been reduced by 74%. However, that decrease has also led to the closure of more than a dozen facilities and created a major lack of juvenile detention beds.

In March, we spoke with Chadwick Libby, the president of the PA Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers. He says some kids are being sent away as far as Ohio and Texas because of the lack of detention beds. Others, he says, are just getting to go home with or without an ankle monitor.

"These are youth that are committing really serious crimes, and now, we have no beds, and they're going right back into the community and committing more crimes," said Libby.

The Juvenile Law Center, a non-profit working to reduce the harm of the child welfare and justice systems, helped crack the 'Kids for Cash' Scandal open after hearing of Transue's case. Marsha Levick, Chief Legal Officer, released a statement saying:

"The Kids for Cash tragedy caused immeasurable harm to many young people and their families when judges took alleged kickbacks for sending children to for-profit detention centers in Luzerne County, PA. Many of these young people are still living with that trauma today. While we believe in a compassionate justice system that rejects an historically hyper-punitive approach to holding people accountable, we also hope former judge Michael Conahan has reflected on the harm he caused to thousands of kids as he accepts this clemency today. Likewise, while we certainly support President Biden’s actions, we would like to see the same kind of compassion and mercy extended to children nationwide who continue to suffer harm from our juvenile and criminal legal systems."

Former Judge Mark Ciavarella is still serving out a 28-year prison sentence at a federal prison in Kentucky. He’s expected to be out in June of 2034 when he will be 84 years old.