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February 23, 2009

In One Of The Most Disgusting Corruption Cases I've Seen

It's no surprise that politics reign as usual. Yes, CNN loves to play "Name That Party" don't they?

(CNN) -- At a friend's sleepover more than a year ago, 14-year-old Phillip Swartley pocketed change from unlocked vehicles in the neighborhood to buy chips and soft drinks. The cops caught him.

There was no need for an attorney, said Phillip's mother, Amy Swartley, who thought at most, the judge would slap her son with a fine or community service.

But she was shocked to find her eighth-grader handcuffed and shackled in the courtroom and sentenced to a youth detention center. Then, he was shipped to a boarding school for troubled teens for nine months.

"Yes, my son made a mistake, but I didn't think he was going to be taken away from me," said Swartley, a 41-year-old single mother raising two boys in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

CNN does not usually identify minors accused of crimes. But Swartley and others agreed to be named to bring public attention to the issue.

As scandals from Wall Street to Washington roil the public trust, the justice system in Luzerne County, in the heart of Pennsylvania's struggling coal country, has also fallen prey to corruption. The county has been rocked by a kickback scandal involving two elected judges who essentially jailed kids for cash. Many of the children had appeared before judges without a lawyer.

Judges, elected judges, who are so corrupt and debased that they are giving kids harsher sentences and sending them to reform schools in exchange for kickbacks. You'd *think* that the party affiliation might be newsworthy of such elected scum.

CNN doesn't think it's worthy of mention.

But lookee here

...Ciavarella edged Giovannini by 378 votes (18,759 to 18,381) for the Democratic nod.

These "judges" should be put away for ever.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at February 23, 2009 02:31 PM

Comments

So the judges should be put away because they were democrats? Not because they sold kids to the prison system, but because they are democrats? If that's what passes for thinking these days, thank god republicans are now irrelevant.

Posted by: Bill at February 23, 2009 05:16 PM

Y'know Bill, you should feel fortunate that a lack of reading comprehension is not a punishable offense or you would be looking at a longer prison term than the judges in question.

Posted by: Gunslinger at February 23, 2009 05:25 PM

Bill, where do I say they should be put away for being Democrats? Where do I even come close to implying it?

Posted by: Mr. Bingley at February 23, 2009 06:57 PM

Gee ... where did that happen again?

Can you even imagine it? The youth detention centers are just part of what was going on there. Mutually beneficial partnerships with drug lords to launder their millions and millions in payoffs, lavish lifesyle enhancements such as trips to Vegas, home decoration - too much to list - all paid for as business related expenses on the backs of the taxpayers.

They took the plea bargain,. that means they traded something for a reduced charge. One hopes they sang.

How could a thing like this happen? Coincidentally, it's an area with single party rule and those with power and authority stand to benefit in one way or another from dishonesty. No opposition to oppose; no one to stand up and say wrong doing is going on. When I ask how did it happen, I mean how did word finally get out?

Posted by: Suzette at February 23, 2009 08:15 PM

Yet another reason not to have faith in the justice system.

Posted by: JeffS at February 23, 2009 09:33 PM