In the Scranton area, Ciavarella was a key target among many in a sweeping and still-ongoing federal corruption probe. Prosecutors have brought charges against nearly 30 officials, including two other judges, numerous court officials, a former state senator, school board members, and county officials.
Ciavarella, mild-appearing with metal-frame glasses and thinning hair, showed no emotion as his punishment was announced. He chose to begin serving his time immediately, not requesting the grace period of several weeks or months that many defendants seek before reporting for imprisonment.
His lawyers pledged to appeal his sentence, saying they might argue it violates the Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual" punishment. Even with time off for good behavior, Ciavarella is likely looking at a quarter-century in prison.
The no-nonsense and sometimes prickly Kosik, 86, had been expected to write a tough finish to the Ciavarella story.
Two years ago, he rejected a guilty-plea deal that prosecutors struck with Ciavarella and his chief coconspirator, another former judge, that had called for each to serve only about seven years in prison. Kosik ripped up that agreement after he decided the two former judges were not remorseful enough.
Even after agreeing to plead guilty, Ciavarella, in particular, continued to insist that there had been no quid pro for the money he received - a theme he hit after he was found guilty in February, and his main message Thursday at his sentencing.
As the longtime top Juvenile Court judge in Luzerne County, which includes Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton, Ciavarella joined with the county president judge, Michael T. Conahan, to engineer what experts have called the worst juvenile-justice scandal in the nation's history.
