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With all of the different thoughts about who killed Bryan Kocis and speculation that he was killed to keep him from testifying against the judge who changed his charges after the fact it really makes you wonder if Bryan had something on Judge Conahan that helped him avoid jail time. Now early on in this investigation someone suggested that Bryan was killed by a hit man. I will admit that I thought that to be the case. What is really interesting is that the more that is discovered about this case the more I think of it as a possibility. There were always just to many things with this case that did not fit.

I know that it is claimed that Joe and Harlow killed Bryan because he was an impediment to them working with SeanLockhart/Brent Corrigan. But what is interesting is that the more I look at what has transpired in this case more I think that Joe and Harlow could have been framed. mind you I do understand all of the evidence that is being presented against Joe and Harlow. I have seen enough of the evidence to understand the belief of those who think that they did this. But you have to understand that you have only seen the prosecutions side of the case. I really have no clue what the defense will provide as evidence. The one thing good about our justice system is you don’t have to disprove the prosecutions case you just have to introduce doubt.

First of all Joe and Harlow were under investigation in Virginia Beach for a Rico case with regards to their escort business. The search of their house in February was based on the Rico charges and had nothing to do with the murder of Bryan Kocis. The Pennsylvania police went on a ride along on that search because Harlow was a “person of interest”. What is also interesting is that the affidavit for that search warrant is still sealed and the people who have tried to get a look at it have found it is resealed every time it comes up to be viewed by the public. I wonder why that is? Could it be that what was seized in that search was seized illegally?

You also have the recently indicted Judge Michael Conahan who is same judge who was accused of illegal campaign practices by Judge Musto during their heated campaign. Judge Musto alleges that Conahan received $180,000.00 in campaign donations illegally. Conahan said that he loaned it to his campaign by taking a second mortgage on his home but no records existed of any such transaction in county records. Federal agents conducting a probe on the financial dealings of Judge Conahan, and his wife are also examining the county court records as well .

When Judge Conahan was a magisterial district judge he was involved in a cocaine trafficking case. Judge Conahan’s name surfaced during Mr. Belletiere’s 1991 federal trial in the “Empire” drug case involving Hazleton drug trafficking in the 1980s. Federal witness Neal DeAngelo testified Judge Conahan called him in 1986 and said he had heard Mr. DeAngelo’s brother, Paul, had been buying cocaine from a dealer who was under investigation. Judge Conahan offered to put the DeAngelos in contact with a Florida dealer, Mr. DeAngelo testified. Mr. Belletiere, who is a former Hazleton resident, subsequently called Mr. DeAngelo at Judge Conahan’s request.

According to testimony, and the DeAngelo brothers and another man traveled to Miami to buy $26,500 worth of cocaine from Mr. Belletiere. While Judge Conahan was on the prosecution’s list of witnesses for the Belletiere trial he was not called to testify. The federal prosecutor in the case, during a “sidebar” conversation with the judge out of the jury’s earshot, called Judge Conahan an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the case, according to a court transcript.

Four years ago Judge Conahan’s wife, Barbara, formed a Pompano Beach used-car business, according to an official with the company who said Monday that he met with Judge Conahan, the judge’s wife and Mr. Belletiere (the former dealer from Florida) to discuss setting up the business in 2004. Barbara Conahan was president of the used-car business, RAB Auto Sales Inc., according to Florida corporate documents. The former drug dealer, Ronald Belletiere, operated RAB, according to the company’s former secretary/treasurer. Florida documents indicate the company has been inactive since September 2007.

Judge Conahan “retired” shortly before the arrest of Joe and Harlow with 6 years left on his ten-year term. Yet no one wants to believe that this man is capable of setting up a hit on a man who could get him thrown in prison on a mandatory 3rd degree felony where he could serve up to 15 years in prison. Now I have read various sentiments with regards to Conahan and Ciavarella and how could they do what they did and not get busted sooner. Someone in the DA’s office had to know what was going on. Could that person be Judge Peter Lupas the former Luzrene County DA? When you look at all that has transpired with regards to this case the whole conspiracy to frame Joe and Harlow does not really seem so far fetched.

It was claimed that it would be too hard to cover up a hit and to frame two guys for murder. The interesting thing is that there were several times that this case could have come to a horrible end for those accused. There was the early morning search of the home of Joe and Harlow. The police used concussion grenades and the swat team to raid the home. The fact is someone could have easily been killed. There is also the travesty that has been the case so far. With the musical chair game with the attorneys for the accused. The mad rush to trial by the Luzerne County courts. Judge Ciavarella stepping in to deny the accused legal representatation by denying them conflict council.

David Lupas was the DA when Bryan was convicted and he was also the DA when Joe and Harlow were arrested. He became a Judge at the beginning of this year. He is also the judge that was picked by Ciavarella to oversee the juvenile court system. He was also the DA when Joe and Harlow’s house was searched. He was overseeing this case from the start. It kind of makes you wonder what was going on in Luzerne County.

Judge Conahan is/was on the board of First National Community Bank — where billionaire casino owner Louis A. DeNaples was chairman of the board until his recent indictment on perjury charges with regards to a casino and organized crime. He is also in the business of landfill and used auto parts and real estate. DeNaples is one of the principal shareholders in this bank with his brother and his son. Now we have this connection for Conahan. Are you starting to get the picture now?

Then you have Judge Conahan and Ciavarella who were good friends with a Mr. Powell who wanted to build a new juvenile detention center. Powell and his partner built this center and gave the judges kick backs for all of inmates that were sent there. That is another huge travesty in Luzerne County. Mr. Powell then sold his interest in the youth centers to a Greg Zappola who I might add is not the most above board person I have read about. You have the builder and the lawyer and the judge all involved in a nice little scam against the public. And now Ciavarella is saying that he did not defraud the taxpayers. And guess who his attorney is, If you said Al Flora you would be correct.

The same attorney who with Conahan and Lupus got the charges reduced for one Bryan Kocis,
the victim of a murder that is being tried in Lucerne County in the very same court house where these dishonored judges used to preside. Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture? Now I can understand that from the point of view of the court system of Luzerne County they would want to keep this case in house. But in the name of justice I think it should be moved to a Federal Court. Luzerne had too much to loose to let this case get away from their control and now their worst nightmare has been realized.

What is funny is that the FBI was investigating the victim and the court system was also being investigated. Either way Conahan was going down but I guess it is better to go down for embezzlement than for consorting with a known child molester and allowing him to remain free to molest again. If you have to be tainted than just be a crook and not a pervert. But the one problem is that there are too many loose ends floating around out there that could continue to cause problems for his dishonor Judge Conahan.

It makes you wonder why the child detention centers? I wonder if Robert Powell has something to do with Kocis. Why would Conahan review all of the video that was confiscated during Bryan’s trail and then return it all and the equipment except the one video that should have convicted him. Why would he allow him to continue to produce pornography in a state where he took an oath to uphold the law and allow Bryan to continue to break it? Why did the prosecutor not protest this travesty of justice? Was he told that it would help him get on the bench if he ignored it?

It seems that Bryan Kocis was a big thorn in the side of Judge Conahan. He we was too high profile and he was drawing to much attention to Luzerne County. The slap on the hand that he received after raping that 15-year-old boy was drawing focus on the court system. The bogus court case with regards to Sean Lockhart, the civil case in federal court in San Diego, the back door deal with Lee Bergeron, the online fighting with Sean and Grant, Sean’s blog which was telling the world that Bryan was a pervert. The fact that Sean was underage when he filmed for Cobra Video. All of those reasons could have brought this little dirty court system down to its knees.

So Bryan Kocis had to be destroyed to protect the “integrity” of the court system.
There is a nasty taint on anyone who has ever had anything to do with Bryan Kocis. The fact that killing him did not remove it is quite telling. There are still those who defend Bryan and his actions as honorable. It really makes you wonder about those who are condoning his actions. They throw aspersions at Sean and Grant and anyone who defends them by calling them murderers. Bryan Kocis needed Sean Lockhart silenced but alas that did not happen, someone silenced him.

This is Elmysterio and I’m out

I looks like the winds of change are a blowing in Pennsylvania and the house of cards that is the judicial system better look out for the big bad wolf. It seems that the DA Jackie Musto Carroll is not pleased with the way things are being handled by the court system and she has asked the FBI to become involved. With the attacks by former president Judge Michael Conahan towards fellow Judge Ann Lakuta and he and his wife’s ties to a used car selling former Drug dealer in Florida it was just to much for poor Jackie to take.

There is also the thing about his brother in law who milked the county for more than a million dollars for psych evaluation’s and his close ties to attorney Robert Powell former owner of the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care centers who had they’re financial records seized in June by the FBI in a case related to the placement of juveniles by former President Judge Michael Conahan and current President Judge Mark Ciavarella. It seems that they were not telling the people who appeared in front of their bench that they had the right to an attorney. Then with the evaluations they would send the children to Robert Powell and his PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care centers.

Oh yeah there is also the little business deal that they had with Powell to build condos. This deal came under scrutiny after it was revealed the three had current or former ties to W-Cat Inc., a real estate development firm building a townhouse project in Wright Township. Powell, a former county solicitor, was part owner of PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care in Butler County.
Powell has acknowledged he was part owner of W-Cat, but said he sold his interest to Luzerne County Prothonotary Jill Moran in 2004. Moran is a partner in the Powell Law Firm. He also announced on June 10 he had sold his interest in both firms and another business to his partner Gregory Zappala. Earlier this year.

Powell’s relationship with President Judge Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan was made public. A senior judge, Conahan and President Judge Ciavarella each listed financial ties to W-Cat on statements of financial interest they filed for 2007.
The revelation of the financial ties prompted commissioners Maryanne Petrilla and Stephen Urban in May to call for an investigation to determine if that relationship influenced the decision to utilize PA Child Care.

The county’s relationship with PA Child Care has been fraught with controversy since the courts began sending youths to the facility in February 2003 – two months after Conahan said he would no longer allow youths to be sent to the county-owned juvenile detention center on North River Street. Conahan maintained the county’s facility was too dilapidated to house youths, even though the state Department of Public Welfare had deemed it safe.

The controversy continued in 2004, when then-Commissioner Todd Vonderheid, who has since left office, and Commissioner Greg Skrepenak had voted to enter into a 20-year, $58-million lease of the facility despite concerns raised by DPW that the lease was a “bad deal.”DPW continued to raise objections to the cost of the lease, ultimately forcing Skrepenak, Petrilla and Urban to vote in December 2007 to terminate the contract.

On a side note Judge Conahan is also the same judge who had the criminal charges against Bryan Kocis reduced 4 years after he was convicted so that he would not have to register for Megan’s Law. Al Flora was Kocis’ attorney on that case and he heads the public defenders office. President Judge Mark Ciaverella is the same Judge who deemed it proper for Harlow Cuadra to be represented by the public defenders office which I might add is run by the same attorney who represented Bryan Kocis in the matter that Conahan had the charges reduced. Looks like that house of cards is about to collapse.

This is Elmysterio and I’m out

State backs challenge of juvie cases
Agency: Percentage of county kids in away treatment 2 1/2 times the state average.
By Terrie Morgan-Besecker [email protected]Law & Order Reporter
WILKES-BARRE – Concerned by what it deems an “unusually high” placement rate for delinquent youths, the state Department of Public Welfare intends to file a legal brief supporting a juvenile advocacy group’s efforts to overturn hundreds Luzerne County juvenile cases, a DPW spokesman said Thursday.
Related headlines
Juvenile’s attorneys seek to vacate ruling
Matt Jones of DPW said department officials believe the high percentage of youths being placed in out-of-home treatment programs is at least partially tied to an assertion that a disproportionate number appear before Judge Mark Ciavarella without an attorney – the key issue in a court action filed last week by the Juvenile Law Center of Philadelphia.
Statistics from the Juvenile Court Judges Commission show that Luzerne County’s placement rate was roughly 2 � times the state average for all counties from 2004 to 2006, the latest data available.
In 2006, 24.5 percent of youths who appeared before Ciavarella for hearings were sent to residential treatment programs, according to the commission’s annual report. The statewide average was 10.3 percent. In 2005, 21 percent of Luzerne County youths were placed, compared to 9.6 percent for the state. In 2004, 22 percent were placed, compared to 10.4 percent for the state.
Ciavarella could not be reached for comment Thursday. In prior interviews he has staunchly defended his philosophy on juvenile placements, saying he favors placement over other alternatives because it’s the only thing that will “get a child’s attention.”
That philosophy is now being questioned by DPW, as well as the Juvenile Law Center.
The center last Tuesday filed a petition asking the state Supreme Court to intervene in Luzerne County juvenile court proceedings, citing what it believes to be serious violations of a child’s right to due process.
The center took the extraordinary legal action based on statistics that showed 50 percent of youths who appeared before Ciavarella in 2005 and 2006 were not represented by an attorney – 10 times the state average.
Further research showed that nearly 60 percent of those youths were placed in residential treatment programs, the center said. The petition asks the Supreme Court to overturn more than 500 cases in which juveniles appeared without attorneys.
Jones said DPW decided to support the center’s petition because it shares the concern that juveniles’ right to due process may be being violated. DPW expects to file its brief by today or Monday.
“We feel those protections should be provided to those who are adjudicated in Luzerne County. We feel this is at least in part responsible for the high placement rate in Luzerne County,” he said.
DPW has an interest in the placement rate, he said, because the department reimburses counties 50 percent juvenile detention costs, and 60 to 70 percent of the cost for treatment programs.
“We do not regularly monitor placement rates of delinquent youth, but we have been aware for some time that Luzerne County has an unusually high placement rate,” Jones said.
Ciavarella is particularly fond of placing youths in wilderness-type programs. Statistics show that from 2004 to 2006, more than 50 percent of youths who were detained were sent to wilderness programs. That compares to a state average of roughly 10 to 12 percent.
Jones said the DPW first approached county officials about the disparity in placement rates last year. The department has been working with court and probation officials to regarding possible alternatives.
“There are some things we’ve seen work effectively in other counties, such as work programs, mentoring and electronic monitoring, in lieu of incarceration,” Jones said. “We would like to see Luzerne County work with us to consider some alternatives for placement other than the detention center option.”
Ciavarella, who is being represented by attorney Howard Holmes of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, has until the end of next week to file a reply to the center’s petition.
Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7179