News

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.com
Law & Order Reporter
Terrie Morgan-Besecker on Facebook   |   @TLTerrieMorgan on Twitter

SCRANTON – Federal prosecutors have begun the process to take possession of attorney Robert Powell’s yacht in accordance with the plea agreement he entered last week related to the Luzerne County corruption probe.

Read more Luzerne County Judges articles

click image to enlarge

The 56-foot yacht, ‘Reel Justice,’ tied up at its dock at the Castaways Marina in Jupiter, Fla., in February.

The Times Leader file photo

click image to enlarge

The 56-foot yacht, "Reel Justice," tied up at its dock at the Castaways Marina in Jupiter, FL, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009. The boat, home-ported in Cape May, NJ, is owned by Fishin' For A Good Time Charters, LLC, which is owned by local attorney Robert Powell, who has been tied to Luzerne County judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan.

Chris Matula / Times Leader File

Additional Photos Below

Select images available for purchase in the
Times Leader Photo Store

A federal judge on Wednesday issued a “warrant of arrest” for the yacht – a legal document that gives the Internal Revenue Service the right to seize the vessel, which is currently docked at the Castaway Marina in Jupiter, Fla.

The yacht will be turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which will then seek a final order of forfeiture. Once granted, the office will seek to sell the yacht and will place the proceeds into an escrow account for payment of any restitution that may be ordered, U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson previously said.

Powell, 49, purchased the 56-foot, 2002 Ocean Super Sport yacht for $1.3 million in March 2002 from South Jersey Yacht Sales, according to a copy of the sales agreement obtained by The Times Leader. The yacht, which he dubbed “Reel Justice,” had a base price of $1,270,300, to which Powell added $62,326 in factory options, for a total of $1,332,626.

Powell agreed to forfeit the yacht, as well as a 1981 Saberline 65 jet, as part of his agreement to plead guilty to charges of failing to report a felony and being an accessory after the fact to tax evasion. The charges are related to his payment of kickbacks to former judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan and efforts he took to help the judges conceal the payments.

In an interview last week, Carlson said the current value of the yacht has not yet been determined. That will depend on the market, which he acknowledged is difficult at this time because of to the current economy.

A review of similar 2002 Ocean Super Sport Yachts advertised on various Internet sites shows the vessels are selling in the $500,000 to $600,000 range. Powell’s yacht could be worth more or less, however, dependent upon the specific amenities and condition of the vessel.

The forfeiture of the yacht is being handled as a civil action, as opposed to a criminal forfeiture. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Phillips said the matter is being handled that way in order to simplify the government’s acquisition of the property. Prosecutors have not yet filed paperwork to seize the aircraft.

It remains unclear which parties will ultimately benefit from the sale of the yacht and jet.

Phillips said that once the property is seized the government must file a motion seeking the forfeiture. That gives people, such as a secured creditor, who have a legal claim to the property the right to intervene to seek payment of what they are owed. Once those issues are resolved a final forfeiture order will be entered.

Carlson previously said he wants proceeds from the sales to first be applied to restitution for anyone who may be deemed a “victim” of Powell’s crimes.

Powell is scheduled to be sentenced on July 1. It’s not known yet whether the sentencing judge, Edwin M. Kosik, will order restitution. If he does, it’s not known whom he might deem to be victims.

Several attorneys representing the hundreds of juveniles suing Powell and numerous others related to the juvenile scandal say they hope their clients would be considered “victims” for restitution purposes. That determination is solely up to Kosik, however.

The attorneys said it’s also unclear how much of an impact the government’s seizure of Powell’s jet and yacht will have on their ability to collect monetary damages from him should they prevail in the civil suits.

“I don’t think anyone at this point can guess what might happen,” said attorney Michael Cefalo of Pittston, whose firm filed one of the four pending civil suits. “If the government wants to protect victims, that’s great. The key question is, you have an asset you have to convert to money, now how do you distribute that? That’s the difficult part.”

Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7179.