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Former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz to address King’s commencement

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Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority highlights pollution reduction projects at open house

<p>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit has denied former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella&#8217;s request to rehear his case and overturn felony convictions in the &#8220;Kids for Cash&#8221; scandal due to the ineffectiveness of his trial attorneys.</p><p>In a May 7 ruling, U.S. Circuit Judge Thomas L. Ambro said Ciavarella&#8217;s petition would not be heard by either the panel of three judges that decided his case or the entire court.</p><p>Nearly a month earlier, Ciavarella&#8217;s attorney Jennifer Wilson asked for a rehearing on the three charges of honest services mail fraud left standing by the panel of the Philadelphia-based court in its March 29 decision. The panel rejected the argument Ciavarella&#8217;s convictions on those felonies should have been included with the others vacated by a lower court because of the failure of his attorneys at his 2011 trial to raise a defense that the alleged crimes occurred beyond the five-year statute of limitations for filing charges.</p><p>Ciavarella, 69, along with former county judge Michael Conahan, 67, were charged in 2010 with participating in a $2.8 million kickback scheme involving the construction of two, private for-profit juvenile detention centers in Pittston Township and Butler County and the placement of youths in the facilities.</p><p>Conahan pleaded guilty to racketeering and was sentenced in 2011 to 17&#189; years in prison. He has been incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami, Fla. The Federal Bureau of Prisons&#8217; website listed his release date as Dec. 18, 2026.</p><p>Ciavarella chose to go to trial, was convicted and sentenced to 28 years in prison. He has been serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Ky.</p><p>The panel&#8217;s decision to affirm the lower court&#8217;s ruling to vacate Ciavarella&#8217;s convictions on racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to launder money could affect his release date of Dec. 30, 2035. U.S. District Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner of Harrisburg ordered a retrial on those charges.</p>
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<div class="neCaption">Ciavarella </div></div><div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_Mark-Ciavarella-2011.jpgCiavarella </div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></div><div class="metaInfo"><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></div>

3rd Circuit Court won’t rehear case of ‘Kids for Cash’ judge Ciavarella