Posted on 02/10/2011 4:31:34 AM PST by Born Conservative
SCRANTON – Robert Mericle said he sensed something was amiss the day in November 2007 when he met then-Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella in his chambers.
“I walked in and said ‘Hi Mark,’ ” Mericle testified Wednesday. “He put his finger to his lips to be quiet, then sat down and opened a desk drawer and wrote out, ‘Wired? Yes. No. Circle one.’ ”
Mericle had gone to the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre that day to inquire about Ciavarella’s mother, whom a mutual friend had told him was ill. He was taken aback by the note, but did as he was told, he said.
“I circled no.”
It was the beginning of a series of events that a little more than two years later would culminate in the arrests of Mericle, Ciavarella, Luzerne County Judge Michael Conahan and prominent attorney Robert Powell for actions they took regarding the development of the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care juvenile detention centers.
Until that moment, Mericle had been unaware that federal authorities were investigating the financial transactions that led to the construction of the two centers, which were co-owned by Powell.
Mericle, 47, of Shavertown, was among three witnesses called to testify Wednesday in Ciavarella’s trial on a 39-count federal indictment that charges him with racketeering, honest services fraud, bribery, extortion, wire fraud and tax evasion.
Testifying as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, the prominent real estate developer spent about 2� hours on the stand, detailing the process that led to the construction of the facilities, which were built by his construction company.
The most gripping testimony came when he spoke of that day in Ciavarella’s chambers, when he first got an inkling that he and others could be in deep trouble.
Mericle said after he circled “no,” Ciavarella silently waved him into his courtroom.
“We sat at a table, and Mark told me there was a grand jury investigation ... and that he might be in trouble and he needed to talk to me,” Mericle said.
Mericle knew he had paid a total of $2.1 million in finders fees to Ciavarella to thank him for helping him obtain the construction contracts.
Questioned by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Consiglio, Mericle said he believed the finders fees were a legitimate business transaction, just like the hundreds of others he had done before.
But there was a problem, Ciavarella told him.
Mericle, at Ciavarella’s direction, had paid the fees to Powell, who was to disburse the money to Ciavarella.
The judge knew he was in trouble for taking the money. How much trouble was the question.
“He talked about the commission. He said if the commission went from you to me, I could get a slap on the wrist. If it went to you, to Bob Powell, to me, I could go to jail,” Mericle said.
As Mericle prepared to leave the chambers, Ciavarella told him he was “not asking me to lie,” Mericle said, but he requested he go back to his office to “review” the documents.
“Ciavarella told you ‘Don’t lie to the FBI and don’t obstruct justice,’ but in the totality of what he said, what is the one thing he wanted you to do?” Consiglio asked.
“He wanted me to go to my office and make sure the documents said the fee went between me and Mark, not between me, Bob Powell and Mark,” Mericle said.
Mericle said he returned to his office immediately after he left Ciavarella and was contemplating what he should do. He had his coat on and was about to walk out the door to meet Ciavarella again when a secretary notified him someone was there to see him.
“I got called by the front desk and was told agents for the IRS were in the office and wanted to meet,” he said.
Mericle said the agents questioned him about the finders-fee payments. He acknowledged he lied to the agents, telling them the payments were for Powell, when he knew they went to Ciavarella.
That decision is what led to the charges being filed against Mericle. He pleaded guilty in September 2009 to failure to report a crime and is awaiting sentencing.
Asked by Consiglio why he tried to protect Ciavarella, Mericle, who has been lifelong friends with Ciavarella and looked up to him as a “big brother,” said he felt he had no choice.
“I didn’t want to be the person to lay Mark out,” Mericle said.
Prosecutors contend the payments Mericle made to Ciavarella and Conahan, who pleaded guilty last year to one count of racketeering conspiracy, were kickbacks designed to reward the jurists for taking judicial actions that paved the way for the construction of the two juvenile centers.
Ciavarella’s attorneys, Al Flora and William Ruzzo, maintain the payments were legal and had no relationship to rulings the former judges made.
Under cross examination by Flora, Mericle confirmed Ciavarella never asked him for the money.
“He never asked you for any money and never said ‘I’m referring you, so I get something in exchange’?” Flora asked.
“That’s correct,” Mericle said.
That’s a key issue in the case because the defense contends the money was not a bribe – a position Mericle affirmed.
“As you sit here today, you agree with me you never paid Mark Ciavarella a bribe or kickback?”
“That’s correct,” Mericle replied.“I walked in and said ‘Hi Mark,’ ” Mericle testified Wednesday. “He put his finger to his lips to be quiet, then sat down and opened a desk drawer and wrote out, ‘Wired? Yes. No. Circle one.’ ”
Mericle had gone to the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre that day to inquire about Ciavarella’s mother, whom a mutual friend had told him was ill. He was taken aback by the note, but did as he was told, he said.
“I circled no.”
It was the beginning of a series of events that a little more than two years later would culminate in the arrests of Mericle, Ciavarella, Luzerne County Judge Michael Conahan and prominent attorney Robert Powell for actions they took regarding the development of the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care juvenile detention centers.
Until that moment, Mericle had been unaware that federal authorities were investigating the financial transactions that led to the construction of the two centers, which were co-owned by Powell.
Mericle, 47, of Shavertown, was among three witnesses called to testify Wednesday in Ciavarella’s trial on a 39-count federal indictment that charges him with racketeering, honest services fraud, bribery, extortion, wire fraud and tax evasion.
Testifying as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, the prominent real estate developer spent about 2� hours on the stand, detailing the process that led to the construction of the facilities, which were built by his construction company.
The most gripping testimony came when he spoke of that day in Ciavarella’s chambers, when he first got an inkling that he and others could be in deep trouble.
Mericle said after he circled “no,” Ciavarella silently waved him into his courtroom.
“We sat at a table, and Mark told me there was a grand jury investigation ... and that he might be in trouble and he needed to talk to me,” Mericle said.
Mericle knew he had paid a total of $2.1 million in finders fees to Ciavarella to thank him for helping him obtain the construction contracts.
Questioned by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Consiglio, Mericle said he believed the finders fees were a legitimate business transaction, just like the hundreds of others he had done before.
But there was a problem, Ciavarella told him.
Mericle, at Ciavarella’s direction, had paid the fees to Powell, who was to disburse the money to Ciavarella.
The judge knew he was in trouble for taking the money. How much trouble was the question.
“He talked about the commission. He said if the commission went from you to me, I could get a slap on the wrist. If it went to you, to Bob Powell, to me, I could go to jail,” Mericle said.
As Mericle prepared to leave the chambers, Ciavarella told him he was “not asking me to lie,” Mericle said, but he requested he go back to his office to “review” the documents.
“Ciavarella told you ‘Don’t lie to the FBI and don’t obstruct justice,’ but in the totality of what he said, what is the one thing he wanted you to do?” Consiglio asked.
“He wanted me to go to my office and make sure the documents said the fee went between me and Mark, not between me, Bob Powell and Mark,” Mericle said.
Mericle said he returned to his office immediately after he left Ciavarella and was contemplating what he should do. He had his coat on and was about to walk out the door to meet Ciavarella again when a secretary notified him someone was there to see him.
“I got called by the front desk and was told agents for the IRS were in the office and wanted to meet,” he said.
Mericle said the agents questioned him about the finders-fee payments. He acknowledged he lied to the agents, telling them the payments were for Powell, when he knew they went to Ciavarella.
That decision is what led to the charges being filed against Mericle. He pleaded guilty in September 2009 to failure to report a crime and is awaiting sentencing.
Asked by Consiglio why he tried to protect Ciavarella, Mericle, who has been lifelong friends with Ciavarella and looked up to him as a “big brother,” said he felt he had no choice.
“I didn’t want to be the person to lay Mark out,” Mericle said.
Prosecutors contend the payments Mericle made to Ciavarella and Conahan, who pleaded guilty last year to one count of racketeering conspiracy, were kickbacks designed to reward the jurists for taking judicial actions that paved the way for the construction of the two juvenile centers.
Ciavarella’s attorneys, Al Flora and William Ruzzo, maintain the payments were legal and had no relationship to rulings the former judges made.
Under cross examination by Flora, Mericle confirmed Ciavarella never asked him for the money.
“He never asked you for any money and never said ‘I’m referring you, so I get something in exchange’?” Flora asked.
“That’s correct,” Mericle said.
That’s a key issue in the case because the defense contends the money was not a bribe – a position Mericle affirmed.
“As you sit here today, you agree with me you never paid Mark Ciavarella a bribe or kickback?”
“That’s correct,” Mericle replied.
Statement introduced, not attributed
Former Judge Mark Ciavarella’s defense attorneys introduced statements a federal prosecutor made regarding the legality of the finders fee Robert Mericle paid, but they did not directly attribute the statements to the prosecutor.
Attorneys Al Flora and William Ruzzo had sought to quote at Ciavarella’s trial the statement made by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubrod that Mericle’s payment “was not a kickback or bribe in any sense.” Zubrod made the statement at Mericle’s guilty plea hearing in September 2009 on a charge related to the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office sought to keep the statement out of evidence. On Wednesday, Flora began to introduce the statement as he questioned Mericle on cross examination. Prosecutors objected. They and defense then met in a sidebar with U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik.
Kosik did not rule publicly on the issue, but it appeared a compromise had been worked out between the defense and prosecution.
When Flora returned, he asked Mericle if, at his plea hearing, he had “acknowledged” that the payment he made “was not a bribe or kickback in any sense.” Mericle replied in the affirmative.
Flora then asked Mericle if he “acknowledged” several other statements that were identical to what Zubrod made at Mericle’s guilty-plea hearing. Mericle affirmed each of the statements.
Ping
We will need to build more jails for all the crooks in every branch of government. If some poor sap can get years in the slammer for taking a few dollars from the till in a convenience store robbery, these high-rolling crooks who bilk hundreds of thousands from struggling taxpayers should spend the rest of their rotten lives in prison.
No jails. We’ve kept them enough. Any corrupt government employee (at any level) should be stripped of their citizenship and deported to anywhere that will take them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.