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JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER TIMELINE

JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER TIMELINE

The following timeline was compiled through records, interviews and court documents:

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Federal charges filed Monday allege two judges profited from the controversial juvenile detention center in Pittston Township.

PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER

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July 2001: A group of private developers called “Pennsylvania Child Care” sends Luzerne County an unsolicited proposal to build a 48-bed juvenile detention facility in Pittston Township and lease it to the county for $37 million over 30 years. Commissioner Stephen A. Urban calls it a “sweetheart deal.” The principal investors were identified as Greg Zappala and attorney Robert Powell. Court documents filed Monday allege that Judge Mark Ciavarella met with a Luzerne County attorney in June 2002 about building the center.

September 2001: PA Child Care proceeds with development plans, though county commissioners say they will continue using the existing county-owned juvenile detention center on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.

January 2002: County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Michael Conahan allegedly signs a secret “placement guarantee agreement” between the court and PA Child Care to house juvenile offenders at the Pittston Township facility. This agreement says the court would pay PA Child Care $1.3 million in annual rent and says the court’s obligation to make these payments is “absolute and unconditional.”

October 2002: Conahan publicly announces that judges will stop sending youth to the River Street center at the end of the year because the building is too rundown.

November 2002: State Department of Public Welfare representatives say the county’s River Street center is “safe and satisfactory to house juveniles,” which raised questions about the court’s refusal to send youth there. Ciavarella criticizes the state’s plan to renew the facility’s license, saying the center has a multitude of problems.

December 2002: Conahan takes official action to remove funding from the county budget for the county’s River Street center. County majority commissioners approve the court’s budget request. The court returns the River Street center license to the state, essentially closing the place.

In or before January 2003: Conahan and Ciavarella allegedly arrange to receive a $997,600 payment in connection with the roles they played as judges in accomplishing construction of the PA Child Care facility. Investigators say the payment was made through a series of financial transactions that were designed to be concealed.

February 2003: The PA Child Care facility opens. Commissioners agree to allow county juvenile offenders to be lodged there, but only for up to two years while the county builds its own new detention center. Commissioners agree to seek zoning approval to build a new detention center on county-owned land near Valley Crest Nursing Home in Plains Township.

March 2003: Urban and then-Commissioner Tom Makowski vote to design a new detention center using roughly $9 million borrowed for that purpose. They say building is the most prudent option because PA Child Care investors want to charge too much, and there are no guarantees that state and federal subsidies will continue.

PA Child Care is willing to sell its center to the county without furnishings for $12 million to $14 million, but county studies peg the value of the unfurnished structure at $7.39 million.

February 2004: County court denies the county’s request for a zoning variance to build a detention center on land near Valley Crest. Newly elected majority commissioners Greg Skrepenak and Todd Vonderheid put construction plans on hold. Urban unsuccessfully urges majority commissioners to look for another detention center building site.

September 2004: L. Robert Kimball & Associates, the county consultant, estimates the PA Child Care facility cost about $8 million to build and would be worth about $8 million or $9 million if the county wanted to buy it.

October 18, 2004: Skrepenak and Vonderheid announce at a work session that they plan to vote on a lease of the PA Child Care facility.

Oct. 19, 2004: After seeing the lease plan in media reports, a DPW auditor contacts the county to warn that the state is auditing the PA Child Care facility.

Oct. 20, 2004: Skrepenak and Vonderheid vote to lease the Pittston Township detention center for 20 years at a cost of $58 million, pending a review by the county solicitor. Several taxpayers attend a meeting urging commissioners to hold off and do more research and analysis on the lease.

Oct. 21, 2004: The DPW auditor sends a letter to commissioners informing them of plans to speed up the state audit in light of the county’s plan to lease the facility.

Nov. 16, 2004: The state auditor faxes a more urgent letter about the audit to commissioners, but majority commissioners say they didn’t receive it.

Nov. 17, 2004: Vonderheid and Skrepenak give final approval to the lease. Urban urges them to table a vote, citing the pending state audit. Vonderheid and Skrepenak said they think the state audit is routine.

December 2004: PA Child Care files a “sealed” court action against then-county Controller Steve Flood and two DPW officials over center audit records that had been released to Flood.

PA Child Care alleges that the documents contained “trade secrets.” The Times Leader had obtained the documents from Flood. The documents say the county should have backed away from the lease agreement and that it was a “bad deal.” The auditors say the county’s projections wrongly assume the state will reimburse a county-operated facility more money than it costs to operate.

January 2005: DPW says release of its audit has been stalled indefinitely due to the trade secrets suit.

July 2005: Due to the success of the county detention center, a Western PA Child Care facility is built, and Conahan and Ciavarella allegedly receive a $1 million payment from the owner, concealed through various transactions.

November 2005: The state Superior Court overturns Conahan’s sealing of the trade secrets suit, saying the sealing appears to be “nothing more than a ruse to prevent public exposure.”

February 2006: The Pittston Township detention center is expanded, and a $150,000 payment is allegedly made to Ciavarella and Conahan. This payment is also concealed.

October 2007: The public learns that DPW has issued a draft audit recommending the state withhold $2 million in annual funding from the county because the agency believes the lease provides an excessive profit.

December 2007: County commissioners vote to terminate the lease.

January 2008: Commissioners begin negotiating with PA Child Care over the terms of getting out of the lease.

A final state audit of PA Child is publicly released. It reveals the county could have built three juvenile detention centers for the cost of what it paid to lease the PA Child Care facility. The report again paints officials as inept negotiators who blindly entered into the agreement that allowed PA Child Care to reap unreasonable profits.

April 29, 2008: The Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, a juvenile rights group, files a petition with the state Supreme Court seeking to overturn rulings made by Ciavarella in hundreds of juvenile cases.

The petition alleges that 50 percent of youths who appeared before the judge were not represented by an attorney – 10 times the state average.

May 6, 2008: DPW advises county officials it will not pay the full amount being sought by PA Child Care to detain and treat delinquent youth because the rates being charged by PA Child Care are too high.

May 8, 2008: DPW announces it plans to file a brief in support of the Juvenile Law Center’s petition, citing what is says is an unusually high placement rate in Luzerne County. Statistics show the county’s placement rate from 2004 to 2006 was 2 � times the state average for all counties.

May 9, 2008: Ciavarella says DPW actions are based on a desire to save money rather than ensure kids get care they need. “I have never placed a kid for an improper reason,” Ciavarella said.

May 16, 2008: State Attorney General Tom Corbett files legal brief in support of JLC petition. The petition raises questions regarding whether juvenile proceedings were fair and resulted in “trustworthy determination of guilt and innocence.”

May 23, 2008: Ciavarella steps down from Juvenile Court and appoints Judge David Lupas to preside.

May 29, 2008: Financial ties between Conahan, Ciavarella, Powell and Jill Moran are made public through the revelation of statements of financial interests the judges and Moran filed for 2007.

The documents show the judges and Moran are part owners of W-Cat, a real estate development firm building a townhouse project in Wright Township. Powell was also once a part-owner in the firm, but later sold his interest to Moran, a spokesman for Powell says.

June 10, 2008: Powell announces he has sold his interest in PA Child Care to his partner, Gregory Zappala.

June 19, 2008: The FBI serves a search warrant on the county’s juvenile probation department, seizing records related to the placement of juveniles at PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care centers.

June 25, 2008: After months of negotiations, county commissioners announce they have reached an agreement with PA Child Care to terminate the lease. They continue to negotiate with the center regarding the temporary placement of youths there until a permanent alternative is in place.

July 2, 2008: Commissioners reach an agreement to utilize the center as a detention facility that will house youths pending their transfer to an outside treatment facility. The county agrees to pay $48.42 per day more than the state will reimburse, but says that is cheaper than transporting youths to out-of-county facilities.