It is the trial everyone in our area has been talking about. Two former Luzerne County judges will face a federal judge on dozens of corruption charges.

While that trial won't happen until sometime next year, attorneys on both sides are already preparing for it.

They have practically become household names by now; former Luzerne County judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan.

First, they pleaded guilty to corruption charges then, a federal judge denied those plea agreements, the judges withdrew their pleas, were indicted and now face a federal trial.

"It's going to be a fairly lengthy trial because the charges have now been escalated. They've been jumped up to racketeering charges which require a good deal more proof than the charges they were initially facing," explained former Pennsylvania Attorney Genearl Ernest Preate who has served federal prison time for a fraud charge.

He said the two main witnesses in the case against Ciavarella and Conahan will be prominent attorney Robert Powell and well-known real estate developer Robert Mericle. Both pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges in connection with the judges' case.

The federal prosecutors said the two funnelled money to the judges in order to get a juvenile detention center up and running.

"They give you the crux of the racketeering case, the bribery and the money for your own purposes," said Preate.

He added the government's case depends on Mericle and Powell and their testimony but, he said, prosecutors also have another secret weapon in this case: wire tap conversations.

"They've used that here, so the strategy is the same and it could be an important component that we don't yet know the extent of," Preate said.

Finally, when it comes to the defense there are the ex-judges themselves who may take the stand.

"The government is backing that up with the indictments of Powell and Mericle and their pleas and is going to start divulging the contents of the wires and that's when the judges, the ex-judges, are going to look at that with their lawyers and they're going to say this is a tough one to overcome," Preate explained.

He said when Ciavarella and Conahan and their attorneys learn about what specific wire taps the government has in the next couple of months, they may decide to take yet another plea deal. Anchor tag:

No date has been set for Conahan and Ciavarella's trial but it is expected sometime next year.