Toole’s tipstaff testifies before fed grand jury

SCRANTON – Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole’s tipstaff Tom Marino testified for more than 1 1/2 hours Tuesday before a federal grand jury investigating corruption within the county.

Marino appeared at the federal courthouse at around 10:30 a.m. with his attorney, Joseph Yeager. The men met with Richard Southerton, one of the federal agents heading the corruption probe, before entering the grand jury room at around 11:20 a.m.

Marino concluded his testimony at around 1:05 p.m. He and Yeager declined comment on the substance of his testimony or to say whether the investigation is connected to Toole.

Marino was issued a subpoena on June 1. He has served as Toole’s tipstaff since the judge took the bench in 2004. A tipstaff acts as a judge’s assistant, overseeing juries and organizing court matters.

Toole has not been accused of any wrongdoing. But a source familiar with the investigation previously told The Times Leader that federal authorities have been investigating Toole for several months.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said agents are looking into Toole’s relationship with Butler Township attorney Robert Powell, who has admitted he was one of two people who paid more than $2.6 million in kickbacks to former judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan.

The source said authorities are investigating whether money Powell allegedly paid to Toole was for a legitimate purpose. The source did not know the amount of the money involved, but said it’s believed to be thousands of dollars.

Toole was on the bench Tuesday, presiding over revocation of probation and parole hearings. He did not return a phone message left at his office.

U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson declined to comment on Marino’s testimony, citing his department’s policy not to comment on matters that “may or may not be” subject of an investigation.

Carlson has previously acknowledged his office is continuing its extensive investigation into allegations of corruption within the courthouse and local school districts. In addition to Conahan and Ciavarella, the probe thus far has resulted in charges against Powell, three school officials and two other courthouse employees.

Toole is known to have personal and professional relationships with several people of the people caught up in the probe.

In a previous interview, Toole said he is friends with Ciavarella and acknowledged he was a guest in 2006 at a condominium in Jupiter, Fla., that is owned by the wives of Conahan and Ciavarella. Prosecutors say that condo was used to help disguise the source of illegal payments made to the judges.

Toole’s relationship with Powell was previously questioned after it was revealed he issued a court ruling in 2004 that blocked a marina association from terminating Powell’s lease of a dock slip at that condo. Attorneys for the Marina questioned if Toole had jurisdiction over the matter since the dock was located in Florida. The case was later resolved informally.

Powell is scheduled to plead guilty on July 1 to charges of failing to report a felony and being an accessory after the fact to tax evasion in connection with the kickback scheme.

Prosecutors say Powell knew that Conahan and Ciavarella were committing a crime when they accepted the kickbacks from Powell and local developer Robert Mericle, but failed to report it. He also helped the judges disguise the source of the money he and Mericle paid. Mericle has not been charged with any crime.

Conahan and Ciavarella pleaded guilty in February to tax evasion and depriving the public of their honest services and are awaiting sentencing.