Biden Lambaste for Pardoning Kids for Cash Judge
Friday, December 13, 2024
William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNews
Photo credit: Mark Moran/AP.
Michael T. Conahan, a 72-year-old former judge entangled in the infamous Kids-for-Cash scandal that rocked the juvenile justice system in 2010, received a pardon yesterday from President Joseph Biden. Conahan served as a judge in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, where he became embroiled in a deeply troubling conspiracy. In 2011, he was sentenced to an extensive prison term of 17 and a half years for his involvement in this corrupt scheme. Since 2020, he has been living under house arrest in Florida, monitored by federal prison authorities, after he petitioned for home confinement due to health concerns exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this scandal, Conahan conspired alongside former Luzerne County President Judge Mark Ciavarella, who remains incarcerated in a medium-security prison located in Butner, North Carolina. Their illicit activities yielded a staggering $2.8 million, as outlined in their federal indictment. The conspiracy involved manipulating the juvenile justice system to construct new detention facilities and expand an existing center, with both judges agreeing to channel convicted youths to these facilities in exchange for hefty financial kickbacks.
With President Biden's pardon, Conahan will be granted freedom 20 months earlier than his scheduled release. The White House defended this decision, emphasizing that Biden has commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals who were placed in home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. All of them have demonstrated successful reintegration into their families and communities.