Luzerne County Government

By Jerry Lynott jlynott@timesleader.com
Business Writer
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The sale price for the Florida condominium that figured into the a kickback scheme involving two former Luzerne County judges has fallen by $250,000 since the property was put on the market almost two years ago.

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The sale price of the Jupiter Yacht Club condominium in Florida that figures into the corruption case of former Luzerne County Judges Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan has dropped to $785,000 from $1.1 million.

Chris Matula / The Times Leader File

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A condominium in this Jupiter, Fla., complex figured into the elaborate scheme uncovered by federal prosecutors into the investigation of judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan. According to investigators, two unnamed individuals funneled money to the judges by falsely portraying it as rental payments and related costs.

Chris Matula/ For The Times Leader

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The fully furnished condominium at the Jupiter Yacht Club had initially been listed for $1.1 million in July 2008.

At the time, the country was mired in an economic crisis that weakened residential and commercial real estate markets. As the crisis grew, the condominium’s price fell further. Its latest listing price was $850,000, according to real estate websites for properties in Palm Beach County.

The property was purchased by Pinnacle Group of Jupiter LLC in February 2004 for $785,000. Barbara Conahan, wife of former judge Michael T. Conahan, was the manager of the company.

Former judge Mark A. Ciavarella also had a financial interest in Pinnacle, and his wife, Cindy, was a partner in the company.

Federal authorities charged the former judges with racketeering and taking part in a $2.6 million kickback scheme connected to the construction of two for-profit juvenile detention centers and the placement of youths in the facilities.

More than half of the money was wired to an account of Pinnacle as a way to conceal the kickbacks, prosecutors said.

Conahan, 57 of Mountain Top, has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of racketeering conspiracy. He is free pending his appearance in U.S. District Court Scranton in July.

But Ciavarella still faces charges contained in a 40-count indictment handed up by a grand jury last September.

Jerry Lynott, a Times Leader staff writer, can be contacted at 570 829-7237.