Lawyers: No juvie kickbacks

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.comLaw & Order Reporter

WILKES-BARRE – Attorneys for two juvenile treatment centers contend that the kickbacks paid to two former judges were related to favorable rulings they issued in other civil cases, not for the placement of children in the facilities.

The allegation, contained in a case management plan filed Monday in federal court, provides the first hint of the strategy Gregory Zappala, owner of PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care centers, intends to employ in defense of four federal lawsuits filed against him and others by juveniles who allege they were wrongly detained.

Zappala and other defendants also plan to argue that some, if not all, juveniles who were found to be delinquent were deemed so based on the facts of their cases and would have been committed regardless of any kickback scheme orchestrated by judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan, according to the court document.

The document, submitted jointly by attorneys for the plaintiffs and defendants, details various factual and legal disputes that are at the heart of the lawsuits.

Zappala’s attorneys, Bernard Schneider of Pittsburgh and Jonathan Vipond III of Harrisburg, did not return a phone message Monday. But information they included in the case management plan indicates they believe the cases hinge on determining why the kickbacks were paid to Ciavarella and Conahan.

The four lawsuits were filed by separate teams of attorneys, but all are based on the allegation that Ciavarella conspired with Conahan and other defendants to deem children delinquent and place them in residential programs that were once co-owned by Zappala and attorney Robert Powell.

That issue would become moot if, as Zappala’s attorneys contend, it’s shown that payments were made as part of a civil case-fixing scheme unrelated to the juvenile scandal.

Powell, who sold his interest in the businesses to Zappala last year, has acknowledged he paid money to the judges, but claims they forced him to do so. Zappala, who also owns Mid Atlantic Youth Services, a company that ran the treatment program at one of the facilities, claims he did not pay any money and that he had no knowledge of anyone else doing so.

His attorneys allege there’s evidence that the money was paid to the judges in return for their help in rigging certain cases, including the appointment of attorneys to panels that decide uninsured motorist arbitrations.

Federal prosecutors recently served subpoenas seeking all uninsured motorist arbitration cases that were handled in Luzerne County over a several-year period. They are reportedly investigating allegations that certain judges appointed attorneys who were biased in favor of plaintiffs to hear the cases.

Zappala’s attorneys say they intend to question numerous people, including all Luzerne County judges and attorneys they allege have received target letters indicating that they are under investigation by a grand jury, regarding that issue.

U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson on Monday declined to comment on whether attorneys have in fact been sent target letters.

Zappala’s attorneys say they expect to encounter difficulty obtaining evidence because federal prosecutors will likely refuse to release the information, citing the ongoing investigation.

They also expect Conahan and Ciavarella, who pleaded guilty in February to corruption charges and are awaiting sentencing, also will refuse to answer questions, citing their Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination.

That’s why they intend to file a motion seeking a stay in the civil cases pending resolution of the criminal cases against Conahan and Ciavarella. The attorneys say it would be unfair to allow the plaintiffs to obtain pre-trial information when the defense is unable to obtain evidence it needs.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs say they will oppose a stay in the proceedings, according to the case management plan.

Marsha Levick, an attorney with the Juvenile Law Center, which filed one of the four suits, said Monday she’s confident the evidence will show that payments made to the judges were directly related to placements in the detention centers, and not some other kickback scheme.

“(You) are not going to make a profit by running a private child care facility if you have empty beds,” Levick said. “The connection between any sort of kickback and Ciavarella’s ability to keep beds filled is inescapable.”

Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7179.