In case anyone missed it in the article. Judge Ciavarella is a Democrat.
He could of got away with 7 years max. but his arrogance doomed him:
...Ciavarella pleaded guilty on February 13, 2009, pursuant to a plea agreement, to federal charges of honest services fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion..
...The plea agreement[7] called for Ciavarella to serve up to seven years in prison, pay fines and restitution, and accept responsibility for the crimes.[8] However, Ciavarella has denied that there was a connection between the juvenile sentences he rendered and the kickbacks he received.[9][10] In part because of this denial, on July 30, 2009, Judge Edwin M. Kosik of Federal District Court in Scranton, Pennsylvania rejected the plea agreement.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Ciavarella
His partner-in-crime, ex-judge Michael Conahan, an un-indicted co-conspirator in a 90’s cocaine case, and the other judge in “Kids for Cash”, pled guilty, but hasn’t been sentenced yet. I suspect he’s not yet done singing to the Feds.