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Friday’s witness list
Friday’s testimony in the Mark Ciavarella case started with money in a bathroom and ended with money on the books. It was the highest witness count in five days.
1.
Attorney Jill Moran, a partner in Robert Powell’s law firm, began by testifying Powell called her into a law firm bathroom where he stuffed cash in a Fed Ex box to be delivered to Michael Conahan. But it was her cross-examination that lit up the day, as a recurring clash between Ciavarella’s attorney Al Flora and Judge Edwin Kosik boiled over with the two exchanging sharp words that led to Flora moving for a mistrial. Denied.
2. Doris Crowe, an employee of the state Department of Public Welfare, testified about the amount of federal money the Luzerne County Juvenile court system received from 2002 through 2004. The data was needed to fulfill a technical requirement regarding federal funds in some charges against Ciavarella.
3. Paul McGarry, who was director of probation services in 2000-04, testified that his department never saw a “placement agreement” Conahan signed in 2002 guaranteeing $1.3 million annual payments to a private juvenile detention center. On cross examination he insisted calling the county juvenile facility at the time “a dump” was “being too kind.”
4. Attorney Charles Jay sparked an objection by Flora that led to Kosik ruling on motions made last Thursday. Jay was called to testify about a court case where Ciavarella presided and Mericle was involved. Flora had moved to block that testimony last Thursday but Kosik said he would rule on the motion “in the context of the trial.” This was that context, and Kosik admitted the testimony. Oddly, Jay did not testify.
5. Attorney Stephen Carpenito became the first attorney to testify after Kosik’s ruling, saying he was on the opposite side of a case involving Mericle and presided over by Ciavarella, who didn’t reveal he had a business connections with Mericle.
6. Attorney Lawrence Durkin offered similar – and more strident – testimony about a case he said involved Mericle property in Lackawanna County that never should have found its way into Ciavarella’s Luzerne County courtroom.
7. Attorney Jeffrey McCarron spoke of a case he lost against Powell presided over by Ciavarella. That verdict – $3.4 million in a malpractice award – was overturned last year because Ciavarella did not recuse himself.
8. Lisa Davidson, who worked for Conahan from 1981 until recently and managed his company Beverage Marketing of PA, Inc., said the company was a shell run from her home and received $610,000 paid by Mericle to Conahan and Ciavarella. The money came into Beverage Marketing as miscellaneous fees and left as a consultant payment to a non-existent “Joe Smith.”
9. Michael DeCosmo, Conahan’s accountant (and a former Hazleton Area School Board Member) testified at length about tax returns and profit/loss sheets from Beverage Marketing and Pinnacle Group of Jupiter Inc, a Florida company officially owned by the wives of CIavarella and Conahan which prosecutors say was used to launder payments from Mericle and Powell.
10. Barry Spaniel, an accountant for Conahan, testified about joint tax returns filed by Conahan and his wife Barbara.