Who’s been charged?

MARK CIAVARELLA, of Kingston, the former president judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, was charged on Jan. 26 with accepting $2.6 million from private individuals in exchange for rulings that benefited two juvenile detention centers the county utilized. He pleaded guilty, but the plea agreement was rejected by a judge. A grand jury issued a 48-count indictment against him on Sept. 9. He is awaiting trial.

MICHAEL CONAHAN, of Wright Township, a former senior judge on the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, was charged on Jan. 26 with accepting $2.6 million from private individuals in exchange for rulings that benefited two juvenile detention centers the county utilized. He pleaded guilty, but the plea agreement was rejected by a judge. A grand jury issued a 48-count indictment against him on Sept. 9. He is awaiting trial.

WILLIAM SHARKEY, of West Hazleton, the former Luzerne County court administrator, was charged on Feb. 3 with stealing more than $70,000 in illegal gambling funds that had been turned over to the county by the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement. He pleaded guilty on Feb. 17 and awaits sentencing.

SANDRA BRULO, of Hanover Township, the former Luzerne County probation deputy director of forensic programs, was charged on Feb. 20 with altering a juvenile’s record in an attempt to lessen her potential culpability in a lawsuit filed against her. She pleaded guilty on March 26 and awaits sentencing.

ROSS SCARANTINO, of Duryea, the former Pittston Area School District superintendent and a former member of Luzerne County Community College’s Board of Trustees, was charged on April 16 with accepting money in exchange for the awarding of a Pittston Area contract. He pleaded guilty on May 29 and was sentenced on Oct. 8 to 13 months in prison. He began serving his sentence on Nov. 10.

BRIAN DUNN, of Wilkes-Barre, a Wilkes-Barre Area School Board member, was charged on April 21 with accepting tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks in exchange for his influence in the awarding of contracts and the hiring of teachers within the district. He agreed to plead guilty and is scheduled to enter that plea on Dec. 16.

JIM HEIGHT, of Wilkes-Barre, a former Wilkes-Barre Area School Board president, was charged on May 18 with accepting $2,000 in cash in connection with support he provided to a contractor trying to obtain a contract with the Wilkes-Barre Area School District. He pleaded guilty on May 29 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 26.

ROBERT POWELL, of Hazleton, an area lawyer and former co-owner of PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care juvenile detention centers, was charged on June 9 with failing to report illegal activity by two former judges. Prosecutors say he paid former judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan $772,500 in kickbacks, often disguising the payments as rental fees for docking his boat at the judges’ condominium in Florida. He pleaded guilty on July 1 and awaits sentencing.

KAREN HOLLY, of West Pittston, a former district magisterial judge in West Pittston, was charged on Aug. 5 with stealing more than $5,000 from the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, where she worked as a billing clerk. She pleaded guilty on Aug. 24. She was sentenced on Nov. 23 to 30 days in a halfway house and two years probation.

JOSEPH OLIVERI, of Hughestown, a former Pittston Area School Board member, was charged on Aug. 11 with accepting a bribe for his influence in the awarding of a contract in the school district. He pleaded guilty on Aug. 25 and awaits sentencing.

ROBERT MERICLE, of Jackson Township, a major local developer, was charged on Aug. 13 with failing to disclose his knowledge that Conahan and Ciavarella committed income tax evasion by failing to report money they accepted from Mericle and Robert Powell in connection with the operation and construction of the PA and Western PA juvenile detention centers that Mericle built. He pleaded guilty on Sept. 2 and awaits sentencing.

GERALD BONNER, of Mountain Top, a member of the Luzerne County Housing Authority and a Luzerne County jury commissioner, was indicted on Sept. 1 on a charge of helping a fellow board member obtain a bribe. He has pleaded not guilty. A hearing on a motion to suppress statements he made to federal agents is scheduled for Dec. 16.

WILLIAM MAGUIRE, of Mountain Top, another member of the Luzerne County Housing Authority, was charged on Sept. 11 with corrupt receipt of a reward. Prosecutors said he took money from a business owner in exchange for influencing a Housing Authority contract to that business. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 22 and awaits sentencing.

FRANK PIZZELLA JR., of Plains Township, president of the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board, was indicted on Sept. 15 on a charge he allegedly passed on a $5,000 bribe to help an unnamed person get a teaching position. His arraignment is set for Dec. 18 in federal court in Wilkes-Barre.

BARTON WEIDLICH, a Pittston businessman, was charged with attempted obstruction of justice on Oct. 1. His warehouse was searched for records relating to the Luzerne County corruption probe. Prosecutors allege Weidlich made veiled threats against a witness he suspected was wearing a concealed recording device. His lawyer has filed court papers that state Weidlich is working out a plea agreement with prosecutors.

HOWARD ALLEN BELLAS, of Kingston, a member of the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority and Wyoming Valley West School Board, was charged Oct. 15 with corrupt receipt of a reward. Prosecutors say he took money in exchange for his influence on the authority in getting a contractor approved for a tax-forgiveness program. He resigned from the authority and the school board on Oct. 16 and has agreed to plead guilty.

RICHARD EMANSKI, of Harveys Lake, was charged Oct. 15 with corrupt payment of a reward for official action. Prosecutors say he installed free carpeting in the residence of a member of the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board as a reward for support of a contract given to Emanski’s business. He has agreed to plead guilty, but no plea date has been set.

ANTHONY SPINOZZA, of Hanover Township, a member of the Hanover Area School Board, was charged Wednesday with accepting a bribe in exchange for his influence in the awarding of a contract within the district. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 26 and awaits sentencing.

BILL BRACE, of Wilkes-Barre, charged on Nov. 12 with receiving a custom-fitted suit in exchange for supporting a contract in 2007 or 2008 when he was Luzerne County’s deputy chief clerk. Brace signed a plea agreement but has not yet appeared in court.

MICHAEL TOOLE, of Wilkes-Barre, a judge, has agreed to plead guilty to honest services fraud and filing a false income tax return. According to a complaint, Toole secretly communicated with an attorney to determine whom that attorney wished to have appointed as a neutral arbitrator in an underinsured motorist case in exchange for the judge’s free use of a New Jersey beach house. He’s also charged with failing to report on his income tax return a $30,000 referral fee he received from another attorney. He is scheduled to plead guilty on Dec. 29.