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SCRANTON – The trial of former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella may be loaded with intense testimony on serious topics, but it hasn’t been short on quips and surprises.
Take the Cabbage Patch Kids. Mega developer Robert Mericle testified that he had begun giving Christmas gifts to judge and life-long friend Ciavarella when Mericle was just 19. One of the earliest: 15 Cabbage Patch kids. It was, Mericle noted, when he was “in the toy business.”
The real estate and commercial development giant cut his entrepreneurial teeth on those cute dolls when he was a 20-year-old college sophomore. Seeing adults crush into stores to buy them, he decided to call the manufacturer and order 10,000 dolls, sold them and pocketed $75,000. He was in and out of the toy business before he graduated from college.
Mericle said matter-of-factly he never stopped giving gifts to Ciavarella, though they got more sophisticated, including original artwork, certificates for weekend vacations and plays in New York. He said $5,000 travel gift certificates became the norm, but that became too difficult to arrange, so he just put $5,000 cash in an envelope and wrapped it in a travel magazine.
U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik has been gracious and quick-witted with the jurors from the start, but curt and stern with attorneys from both sides. During a lull in jury selection Monday, Kosik told the jurors “if anyone feels the need to get up, do so, but let’s do so in a very selective way.” He paused as if finished talking, then piped up “And don’t forget to come back.”
When the selection process ended before 3 p.m. and Kosik dismissed all those not chosen, he thanked them for their service and added “I don’t have the authority to have you paid for less than a full day.”
At one point, when U.S. Assistant Attorney Gordon Zubrod suggested a break, Kosik paused, leaned forward in his chair and said, “You do your job, and I’ll do mine.” And when a juror’s cell phone rang mid-testimony, Kosik raised both arms high and said, “It’s a sign from God,” calling an end to the day’s session – though he added that he would deal with the juror later.
Kosik raised serious concerns about cross examination from Ciavarella’s attorney Al Flora twice, noting there were no objections from the prosecution, with Zubrod then objecting each time. On the second occurrence, Kosik commented, “It’s very interesting the only time you object to an issue is when I raise it.”
Attorney and former Luzerne County Prothonotary Jill Moran let us know ex-Judge Michael Conahan changed her diapers as a baby – though of course, she didn’t remember it – and finally admitted she removed the name of law firm partner Robert Powell from a lien filed in the Prothonotary Office for the wrong reasons. In 2007 when it was discovered she changed the name to John Doe, she said it was because she and others in the law firm believed the lien was filed in error.
On Thursday when U.S. Assistant Attorney Michael Consiglio asked if Moran did it to keep the lien against Powell from public disclosure, she simply said “yes” – almost four years and a federal investigation later.
Attorney Robert Powell, a man at the heart of the scandal who claimed he was extorted into paying the judges nearly three-quarter of a million dollars, was a veritable quote machine.
“This was not a referral fee; to me it was a kickback.” “If I didn’t sign there would be all kinds of hell from the judges.” “I was getting into something deeper and deeper that was not going to end well.” “The lion is out of the cage and I was the bait.” “This is sheer panic, this is gobbledygook.” “It depends on everyone sticking to their story, otherwise it’s scrambled eggs.” “The Pinnacle horse was so far out of the barn (it was useless).”
But Powell’s biggest contribution to public lore may have been the explanation of the name for the company formed by Ciavarella and Conahan to buy a condo in Florida and allegedly funnel money to themselves from Powell and Mericle: Pinnacle Group of Jupiter Inc. Powell told Flora he believed the name Pinnacle came “from the preferred golf ball of your client.”
And there you have it, the trial of the century, from Cabbage Patch Dolls to golf balls.