Luzerne County Judges

By Jerry Lynott jlynott@timesleader.com
Business Writer
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WILKES-BARRE – Less than two months after former judge Mark A. Ciavarella obtained a loan from Miners Bank, the lender obtained a judgment against him for defaulting on the $56,153 note.

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The Minersville bank filed a complaint against Ciavarella on Jan. 13 for the note issued Nov. 30, 2009, according to paperwork filed in the Luzerne County prothonotary’s office.

Including a 10-percent attorney’s commission for collection of the debt, Ciavarella owes $61,753.

Ciavarella of Kingston could not be reached for comment Friday.

The filing contained few details about the note, other than that it was related to a commercial transaction. The disclosure form signed and initialed by Ciavarella noted that he was a licensed attorney and former member of the Luzerne County bench. Under the terms of the note, once a judgment is entered the bank, without notice or hearing, may collect the judgment by seizing Ciavarella’s real and personal property.

It was the second such civil complaint against Ciavarella who also faces criminal charges with his former colleague Michael T. Conahan for allegedly participating in a $2.6 million kickback scheme related to the construction of two private, for-profit juvenile detention centers and the placement of youths in the facilities in Pittston Township and Butler County.

Last year First National Community Bank of Dunmore issued a larger judgment against Ciavarella and his wife, Cindy, for the default of construction loans taken out by the developer of the Sanctuary townhouse project in Mountain Top. The couple along with Conahan and his wife, Barbara, and others who guaranteed the loans for W-Cat Inc. owe $4.15 million to the bank, according to the court documents.

The 86-unit development, now known as Whispering Ridge, has yet to be completed. Just a few of the townhouses have been built and only one unit is occupied.

The former co-owner of the detention centers and president of W-Cat, attorney Robert Powell, was among those named in the judgment by First National Community Bank.

Powell also has been charged in the public corruption probe that ensnared the former judges. He pleaded guilty and cooperated with federal investigators to mount a case against Ciavarella and Conahan.

Earlier this week attorneys for the former judges sought to dismiss the charges against their clients and took aim at Powell’s role as an informant for the government. The attorneys claimed Powell, who wore a wire to record conversations, was party to a joint defense agreement with Conahan and others and obtained incriminating evidence about defense strategy that violated the attorney-client privilege.

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