Ciavarella prosecutors kept it simple

The racketeering trial of former Luzerne County Common Pleas Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Many Observers startled by proceeding at what seemed like warp speed. The dispatch with federal prosecutors Which Made Their case against the judge in the "kids-for-cash" trial stands in vivid contrast to the glacial pace of Other Political corruption trials, like that of former Democratic state Sen. Vince fumo and the Bonus Gate Trials.

The Cases are unrelated, the contrasts among Bout Them May Provide Lessons for prosecutors, defense counsel and Citizens.

The Ciavarella trial climaxed on Friday "when a federal jury verdicts are guilty Returned Charges racketeering and 12 of 39 total counts.

Mr. fumo's trial, by contrast, required five months Thurs complete. (Jurors convicted him of 137 counts.) In the most high-profile case Bonus Gate, former state Rep.. Mike Veon, of Beaver County, was convicted in June on 14 of 59 counts on Nearly six weeks of Testimony. Another Bonus Gate Agents, State Rep. Sean Ramaley, was acquitted all the counts in the first trial stemming from the Attorney General's Probe of Alleged improper payments Thurs Legislative aides for Political Work. Mr. Ramaley's trial required only four days of Testimony. The Bonus Gate Cases, unlike the prosecutions of Mr. fumo and Judge Ciavarella, were tried in state Courts by the state Attorney General, Not in federal court by U.S. Attorneys.

Prosecutors in the case study Ciavarella, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubrod, Pursued a Strategy of Keeping the case straight forward - emphasizing allegations That payments were made by the owners of Two Private Juvenile Detention facilities and de-emphasizing the process of sending to the Minors facilities. Mr. Zubrod's Decision HAD Avoiding the effect of mini-trials is the Individual Cases handled by Mr. Ciavarella.



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