PA Judge Who Sold Juveniles to Jail gets 28 years!
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A Pennsylvania judge convicted of sending young kids to juvenile detention centers in return for cash has been sentenced to 28 years in prison, reported NPR. Good riddance to this guy.
Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. was convicted of taking up to $1 million in bribes from developers of juvenile detention centers in the state of Pennsylvania. The disgraced judge became known for doling out harsh sentences for small, petty crimes in order to receive payment for each kid sent. The scam became known as “kids-for-cash.”
Between 2003 and 2008, the Pennsylvania state Supreme Court tossed 4,000 convictions issued by Ciavarella because the judge violated the constitutional rights of the kids. These violations included denying the right to legal counsel and the right to intelligently enter a plea. Disgustingly, his attorneys said that all the media attention on Ciavarella was a good enough punishment.
“The media attention to this matter has exceeded coverage given to many and almost all capital murders, and despite protestation, he will forever be unjustly branded as the “Kids for Cash” judge,” said the attorneys’ memo.
https://www.freespeech.org/text/pa-judge-who-sold-juveniles-jails-gets-28-years-prison
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Gregory Zappala is the brother of Stephen Zappala jr, the present Allegheny County DA AND the son of Stephen Zappala, SR, a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice (Join the Supreme Court in 1983, became Chief Justice in 2002, but also turned age 70 in 2002 and thus had to retire at the end of 2002).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Zappala
http://www.pacourts.us/assets/files/newsrelease-1/file-907.pdf?cb=a119a8
http://www.wtae.com/Team-4-D-A-Zappala-s-Brother-Owns-Juvenile-Centers-In-Kickback-Case/7741908
http://reform-network.net/?p=10357
I should note that DA Stephen Zappala did NOT send any juveniles to his brother's prison, unlike the Judges in Luzerne County, even through the prison was in Western Pennsylvania and owned by his brother.
Luzerne County is in "Central Pennsylvania". Central Pennsylvania traditionally ends at Blue Mountain, the first Mountain Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania. That mountain as it enters Pennsylvania from the South, is about 1/3 of the way west, thus the actual middle of the State is NOT called "Central Pennsylvania" but the Mountains (Among other names BUT NOT "Central Pennsylvania"
.
Western Pennsylvania starts at Allegheny Mountain (Through sometimes Altoona, just EAST of that mountain is called "Western Pennsylvania" and extends to the Ohio Border. Allegheny Mountain is the last ridge of the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania. Allegheny Mountain is about 2/3rds of the way across Pennsylvania as you go East to West. Please note, these are names used along the Southern Border of Pennsylvania, Northern Pennsylvania has its own sets of names.
Thus you had a Judge, sitting in a county in the Middle of "Central Pennsylvania" sending Children to a Private Prison in Western Pennsylvania. Three quarters of the way across the state for minor crimes. The owner of that prison was the Son of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice AND the Brother of Allegheny County (County seat is PITTSBURGH PA) District Attorney. As I pointed our earlier no STATES charges were brought against these judges, the charges were all Federal. If you look at my discussion below about the regions of Pennsylvania, look at the map I posted in that section. Luzerne County is in the area just south and east of the Blue Ridge, The Judges from that County sent the victims to a Private prison near the Ohio Border.
Once the fight with the settlers of Delaware was solved, settlers stated to move outside the five county Philadelphia Area into the Susquehanna River Drainage system (which is also referred to as the "Piedmont Section of the State, but it is a term rarely used, Piedmont is a term for the same area in Maryland and Virginia). Most of this area flowed into the Susquehanna River NOT the Delaware River (and then emptied into the Chesapeake bay NOT the Delaware bay). Given the best way to ship goods was by boat in the 1700s, once past the counties around Philadelphia you had a strong tendency to ship goods to Baltimore instead of Philadelphia. Worse, under the grants from the King of England, Maryland went as far North to include Philadelphia, and the Pennsylvania land grant include Baltimore. Thus Central Pennsylvania was in dispute all during the 1700s till an agreement was made between the colones as to their joint border. As part of that agreement both sides hired Mason and Dixon to make their famous line showing that border in 1763.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn%E2%80%93Calvert_Boundary_Dispute
Now the Susquehanna River flows from the Up State New York Border with Pennsylvania through Blue Mountain, past Harrisburg till it reaches Baltimore. Branches of that river flows from Scranton area of Northeastern Pennsylvania (and borders the Delaware River Drainage area) till Allegheny Mountain, which is the Eastern Continental Divide (and the border of Western Pennsylvania). The Appalachian Mountains do a turn in Pennsylvania. South of Pennsylvania the Appalachian Mountains run North to South. In Pennsylvania the Appalachian Mountains do an almost 90 degree turn and enter New York State just NORTH of the New York City area running East to West. This turn happens NORTH of Harrisburg, Luzerne County, Allentown and Bethlehem. This 90 degree turn make the Appalachian Mountains in Northern Pennsylvania the longest East-West Mountains in the Eastern US. Thus the area from Scranton to about three quarter across the state is referred to as the "Endless Mountains" for once in them, they seem to last forever if you are going East to West (going North to South they are much shorter, but few people want to go from Scranton PA to Elmira NY, but a lot of people want to go from New York City to Chicago via I-80 which goes through those mountains.
Allegheny Mountain is the Allegheny Front in Pennsylvania, it is the last ridge in the Application Mountains in Pennsylvania, west of the front you have a lot of what the locals call "Hills" and other people call "Mountians" but are the result of erosion of a Plateau, leaving steep cliffsides along any river, creek or other waterway in the area:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegheny_Front
Here is a geologist Map of the Appalachian Mountains, Around Philadelphia you notice it is flat land, then you enter the Piedmont area of the State, then the "Blue Ridge" Mountain (Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania), then the "Great Valley" Section. then the "ridge and valleys" of the Appalachian Mountains proper, then the Allegheny Plateau.
Thus most of Northern Pennsylvania is referred to as the endless mountains. Scanton is occasionally referred to as Anthracite Country (Anthracite Coal is from that part of the State), or just the Coal region:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_Region
Wikipedia states the term "Endless Mountains" is restricted to Northeastern PA, but I do not restrict the term to that small an area for I extend that term to the entire Allegheny Plateau which extends almost to Cleveland Ohio.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endless_Mountains
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegheny_Plateau
Part of the problem is most of the "Endless Mountains" are NOT true mountains but a "Dissected plateau" which for people having to go up and down them makes no real difference but is a difference to geologists:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissected_plateau
More on the Allegheny Mountains:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegheny_Front
Northwestern Pennsylvania is sometimes referred to as the Oil Region for the first oil wells were drilled in that part of the State:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_Region
Just a comment on the sections of Pennsylvania and what some of the local call each region.
Another way to look at this is to look at the elevation map of the Great Allegheny Passage from Washington DC to Pittsburgh. That chart show the following:
1. The flatness around DC,
2. The increase in the Piedmont from DC to Harper's Ferry,
3. The Great Valley once you go by Harper's Ferry (which is on the Potomac Rivers as it cuts through the Blue Ridge, called "Blue Mountain" in Pennsylvania, "South Mountain" in Maryland, "Shenandoah Mountain" in Virginia), and the resulting slow increase in attitude till you get to Cumberland.
4, Then the sharp climb up the Backside (Washington DC side) of Allegheny Mountain,
5. Then down that Mountain till Ohiopyle and
6. Then through the Allegheny Plateau till it reaches Pittsburgh.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_Pennsylvania#Blue_Mountain
The Trail avoids most of the up and down of the Ridge and Valleys of the Appalachian Mountains and the Allegheny Plateau but gives you an idea about these mountains:
