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Former Judge Mark Ciavarella Disbarred

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A figure in Luzerne County’s notorious “Kids for Cash” scandal has lost his law license. Ex-judge Mark Ciavarella has ...

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A figure in Luzerne County's notorious "Kids for Cash" scandal has lost his law license.

Ex-judge Mark Ciavarella has been disbarred by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Ciavarella is currently serving a 28-year federal prison sentence after he was convicted in 2011 on 12 criminal counts.

Ciavarella and fellow judge Michael Conahan were accused of taking kickbacks in exchange for keeping a for-profit juvenile detention center full of offenders.

Last year, a federal judge vacated three of the most serious convictions against Ciavarella: racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and money laundering. Nine other convictions still stand, including mail fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and failing to pay taxes.

Ciavarella is waiting for a new trial on those vacated charges. If found not guilty, he could have years taken off his sentence.

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