The chief counsel for the state Judicial Conduct Board ordered an investigation into former Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan delayed until after Conahan testified at the misconduct trial of former county Judge Ann H. Lokuta, according to a statement the board made to a state panel investigating the county kids-for-cash scandal.The board also accused attorney Joseph A. Massa Jr. of summarizing an anonymous September 2006 complaint against Conahan without mentioning key allegations of case fixing and suspicions about Conahan’s close relationship with former Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr.
Massa disputed the claims during testimony the panel Monday, saying he asked the board to authorize a full investigation of the Conahan complaint at its bimonthly meeting in June 2007.
According to the board statement, Massa instructed the board to delay the investigation until after October 2007. Lokuta’s trial, on allegations she mistreated court staff and showed up late for hearings, was expected to end in September 2007, but dragged on into April 2008, Massa said.
Asked if he was protecting Conahan, Massa said, “absolutely not.”
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Chief Counsel for Judicial Conduct Board Delayed Conahan Investigation
5 comments:
This Conahan mess just smells more rotten every day.
I hope Lokuta hangs in there until they're all held accountable.
The truth continues to seep out, and the JCB looks worse every day!
Good old boys club ey? Sure, file complaints lots of good it does you or anyone. Betcha they have huge shredders outside their windows, just throw the stuff in the shredders.
Board members have made so many contradictory statements that the only thing you can conclude is that they are either incompetent or corrupt. Members said repeatedly throughout testimony before the Commission that they didn't have the funds to prosecute Conahan properly. Somehow they came up with $46,000 to prosecute Judge Lokuta.
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