Former Judge Mark Ciavarealla Facing New Indictment

A federal grand jury issued a new indictment against former Luzerne County judge Mark Ciavarella that drops nine of the original 48 counts that had been filed against him and former judge Michael Conahan relating to the county juvenile justice scandal.

The 39-count indictment is virtually identical to the previous charges that had been filed against the former judges, except it drops four counts of honest services fraud that were filed against Ciavarella relating to his mailing of false statements of financial interest to a state office.

The revised indictment also drops one count of money laundering conspiracy against Ciavarella and four counts of tax evasion that were filed against Conahan, who has entered a plea deal with prosecutors and is not named as a defendant in the new document.

Perhaps the most significant difference between the two indictments relates to modified language that is included in the new document, which more directly ties charges of honest services wire fraud to a bribery and kickback scheme.

In a press release, U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith said his office sought the new indictment in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision issued in June that declared portions of the honest services fraud statute unconstitutional.

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Ciavarella Facing New Indictment