1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:07,720 Speaker 1: What's sad my all of you are about to be 2 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:11,879 Speaker 1: I'm Robert Evans. This is Behind the Bastards podcast, Bad 3 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: People tell you all about him. My guest today, Mr 4 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: Jason Petty, a k A prop man. Drop the government 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: name and let me go. I'm mile here. That's how 6 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: much I care about you. There are two people in 7 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: the world that call me Jason. It's my wife and 8 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: a lady named Jen hat Maker. They're only two people 9 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: on earth that called me Jason. Robert and now Rob Jason. 10 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 1: We can bleep your your legal name's all good. That 11 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:41,560 Speaker 1: worry about ice CAD, all that stuff has been expunged. 12 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: Those those are mine. I was a miner. So you 13 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:51,560 Speaker 1: can't talk about the Oh that is appropriate for today's topic, 14 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: because today we're talking about a couple of aspects of 15 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: the juvenile justice system that I think we're all gonna 16 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: find fun. Oh no, real, real good time. I don't 17 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: need okay, go ahead, no, no, no, I mean, how 18 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: do you how do you feel about kids? You know, well, 19 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: I love kids. I got two of them. I love 20 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,559 Speaker 1: the juvenile system. I've been a part of it. Um, Okay, 21 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 1: it works pretty well. Yes. So so there's a number 22 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,680 Speaker 1: of connections with this. My father was an s d 23 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: p O two for California, which is a deputy probation 24 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: officer for the juvenile system in Los Angeles. He retired 25 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,399 Speaker 1: from it, you know, because it's like, like we said before, 26 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: can't change system from withinside. It just doesn't work. So 27 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: like so he kind of bailed out, but he at 28 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:47,559 Speaker 1: least was like, at least I could be an advocate 29 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: for for the time that I'm there and when. Some 30 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: of y'all may know that I used to I was 31 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 1: a teacher before I was doing music and poetry full time, 32 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 1: and I started off at My first teaching job was 33 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: as central what was a substitute position, but it was 34 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: with all of the juvenile halls in California, so East 35 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: like Correctional Facility Camp, Rocky Camp, half a Ball. So 36 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,519 Speaker 1: my first teaching experience was all in the juvenile juvenile systems. 37 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: So like, I'm very connected to the store you're about 38 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: to talk right now, and again I was in the system. Yeah, 39 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: And it's there's an anthropological theory I'm kind of fond of, 40 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: which is the the idea that like essentially all civilization 41 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,639 Speaker 1: and by that I don't mean necessarily like skyscrapers and 42 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:35,799 Speaker 1: electric lights, which is the idea of like human beings 43 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: organizing in groups to do things started because of the 44 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: need to raise kids, because like it is evolutionarily advantageous 45 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: to have a big brain that allows you to make tools. Um, 46 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: but at a certain point, our brain's got so big 47 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: that you can't put you can't like just come out 48 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: with a brain that big, we're gonna kill the person 49 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,079 Speaker 1: giving birth to you, right, Like, you can only give 50 00:02:58,080 --> 00:02:59,920 Speaker 1: birth to a brain so big. So we we start 51 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: and our kids started coming out younger and younger and 52 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: less and less capable of doing anything right, Like you 53 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: you're if you're there, like the birthing of like a 54 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 1: calf or a baby, their fine or like a dog. 55 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: Yeah they could just like they're up and they're doing 56 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: three minutes. Yeah, yeah, pretty fucking quick in most cases. 57 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 1: And like by the time a human baby have like 58 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: a puppy and a baby at the same time, by 59 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: the time that human baby can like kind of wattle, 60 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:25,679 Speaker 1: that dog will more or less be able to like 61 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: hunt the dogs find yes, yeah, the dogs ready for 62 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: the world. There's a whole premise in in my My 63 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: My book Terra form where I talk about the development 64 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: of culture, and it's because we're the only species that 65 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: aren't born with everything we need to survive. We had 66 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: to create language, we had to create you know, covers 67 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: and stuff like exactly what that thing is. And one 68 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: of the only things you, like you write in my 69 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: z own right now, one of the only things that 70 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: is universal in human civilization across every country and time, 71 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: was the idea of protecting our children, that human thing 72 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: in the world. Like, I don't have kids, I don't 73 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: ever want to have kids, but I still think I'm 74 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: just kidding, Like it's every adult's fucking responsibility if there's 75 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: if you can protect a child, to protect the child, 76 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: like period period like, and that's why the people were 77 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: talking about today are such fucking nightmares. They are human 78 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: humans who have like fundamentally decided. But what if we 79 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: did the opposite bro for like money, racism and to 80 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 1: get elected. I wish I could see on face right now, because, 81 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:42,480 Speaker 1: like I said, we got two different stories this week. 82 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: For our first story today, proply what have you heard 83 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:48,160 Speaker 1: about the kids for cash scandal? I was also a 84 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 1: high school teacher, so yes, I've heard of this. Yeah, 85 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 1: it's not great, so too. Before we get into this, 86 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 1: I think we need to talk a little bit about, um, 87 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: some relevant background. So, violent crime in the United States 88 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: almost quadrupled between nineteen sixty and nine by serious crimes, 89 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: including including homicide. We're all falling, so crime is by 90 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:14,719 Speaker 1: starting to drop again. Um but right at around the 91 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: time crime was beginning its fall. That continued up until 92 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:21,719 Speaker 1: fairly recently, uh, twenty four hour news in the Internet 93 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: really started to get going, and stories about violent crime 94 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: and crimes directed against particularly white suburban people were hugely popular. 95 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 1: You can make a lot of money in the new 96 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: you know, right, yeah, and crimes committed by teenagers against 97 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:39,600 Speaker 1: particularly that demographic or like the easiest way to get 98 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: fucking eyeballs on screen. Yes, I know. Yeah. I am 99 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: a child of war on drugs, gang in junctions. I 100 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:52,720 Speaker 1: am a child of all this. Y yeah. Now. The 101 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:58,600 Speaker 1: problem was discussed through obviously, uh, the news and and 102 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:02,040 Speaker 1: and fictional media. It was also something that academics talked about. 103 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:07,240 Speaker 1: In November of nineteen, a political scientist named John delu 104 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: Leo Jr. Wrote an article for The Weekly Standard, which 105 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:14,600 Speaker 1: is a right wing opinion magazine, titled The Coming of 106 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:20,680 Speaker 1: the Super predators. This art was based. Yeah, this person 107 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: ruined my childhood. Yeah, ruin because of the work he's 108 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: about to talk about. Go ahead, Yeah, he he dropped 109 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: a bomb on I don't know, a few million kids 110 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: childhoods conservatively. Um. The article that he wrote was based 111 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: primarily on data from boys in Philadelphia that showed that 112 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: six percent of of young like of minor male male 113 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 1: miners in Philadelphia accounted for more than half of the 114 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:51,279 Speaker 1: serious crimes committed by male children in that city. UM. Now, 115 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 1: as you might have guessed number one, there's a number 116 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:54,840 Speaker 1: of reasons for this. This is just Philadelphia. There's a 117 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: lot going on here. It's maybe not the best thing 118 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:01,720 Speaker 1: to draw broad sweeping societal conclusions from, especially in a vacuum. Um. And, 119 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: as you probably won't be surprised to hear, the article 120 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: that Delileo wrote was filled with very uncomfortable race related 121 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:11,880 Speaker 1: lines like this paragraph. While the trouble will be greatest 122 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: in black inner city neighborhoods, other places are also certain 123 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: to have burgeoning youth crime problems that will spill over 124 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: into upscale central city districts, entering suburbs, and even the 125 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: rural heartland. To underscore, this point. Abraham Recount was one 126 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: of the people who's talking to. Recounted a recent town 127 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: hall meeting in a white working class section of the 128 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: city that has fallen on hard times. They were coming 129 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: afraid of their own children. There were some big beefy 130 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:37,360 Speaker 1: guys there too, and they're asking me what am I 131 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: going to do to control their children. There's a lot 132 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: going there, including the idea that like, well, crime in 133 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: the inner city is obviously going to happen. It's a 134 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: problem because it might spill over into upscale areas and 135 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 1: in the suburbs. Right like that, there's so much happening here. 136 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: I'm trying to like because I'm so like even the 137 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: time frame, like like I I'm revella my age here, 138 00:07:57,600 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: but I'm at high school when this is happening. So 139 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: like I am who he's talking about, you know, inner 140 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: city black male, you know what I'm saying. So I'm 141 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: like and just little that stuff would drop and it's 142 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: like you see people like I'm walking home from school, 143 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: then my pe clothes no less, you know, because I 144 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,120 Speaker 1: got I got shipped out to a suburbian high school, 145 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: you know, so like it wasn't my I was long 146 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: story short joint custody, YadA YadA. Right, So I went 147 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: to the nicer high school. So walking home, I'm just 148 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:37,040 Speaker 1: like stupid headphones on, listening to Wu Tang and like 149 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: watching the lady Clutcher person cross the street and just 150 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,600 Speaker 1: about like you're nervous about situ And I'm like, dude, like, 151 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:49,320 Speaker 1: I'm you see my nerd assmpe clothes with my bow 152 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 1: straps on my backpack, Like I'm really up. You're telling 153 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:54,599 Speaker 1: me I'm a problem. And the reason why I'm a 154 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: problem is because this is the source material that us 155 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:00,439 Speaker 1: moving into your city, into this part of town is 156 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,640 Speaker 1: going to bring the problems that you're talking about in 157 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: this thing. Absolutely, yeah, that's that's exactly, and that that 158 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,719 Speaker 1: kind of fear, that's that specific population sphere is what 159 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:12,839 Speaker 1: he's stoking with this. And obviously the bulk of this article, 160 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: there's that little study from Philadelphia that's um that that 161 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: is kind of the statistical nut for for what he's 162 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:22,320 Speaker 1: writing here. Um, But most of it's based on interviews 163 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: with police officers and other individuals with a very obvious bias. 164 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 1: One district attorney is cited in the article is saying 165 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 1: about children they kill her maim on impulse without any 166 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:35,839 Speaker 1: intelligible motive, and a police officer is quoted as saying, 167 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 1: I never used to be scared. Now I say a 168 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 1: quick hail Mary. Every time I get a call at 169 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: night involving juveniles, I pray I go home in one 170 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 1: piece to my own kids. See this book. It's like 171 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:50,319 Speaker 1: all these times that we say, like like fast forward 172 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: to Tamir Rice and you're treating this fourteen year old 173 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:58,839 Speaker 1: like a goddamn adult. It's this ship. It's like, like 174 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: we not just keep like we're kids kids like everybody else. 175 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I'm so triggered right now. This Yeah, it's 176 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: it's it's it's not going to get less frustrated. So 177 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: in the article, these quotes are followed by quotes from 178 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: a group of what who Delulio describes as life term 179 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: inmates in a prison uh in New Jersey. UM And 180 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: Delulo makes sure we know of these inmates that quote. 181 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: Many of them are black males from inner city Newark 182 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,199 Speaker 1: and Camden. Uh. And these guys he quotes, is being 183 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: terrified of today's super predator children too. So he's being like, look, 184 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:35,679 Speaker 1: even these black criminals in prison are scared of kids 185 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:40,800 Speaker 1: these days, like it's it's really a pretty horrific article. Um. Now, 186 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 1: according to Wikipedia, Delulio is a Democrat today. I don't 187 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:46,960 Speaker 1: know if that's true. I don't know much about his 188 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:49,679 Speaker 1: present life. It is important we be clear that he 189 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 1: was wrong about everything predicted in this article. His big 190 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:57,120 Speaker 1: prediction is that because of these super predators, juvenile crime 191 00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: would triple by two thousand ten. But of course, by 192 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 1: the time he wrote this article, juvenile crime had already 193 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:04,719 Speaker 1: been dropping for a couple of years, and by two 194 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: thousand eleven, juvenile homicides had plunged by two thirds. So 195 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:14,359 Speaker 1: he's literally the opposite of what he says happens pretty much. Um, 196 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: and despite the fact that he was perfectly wrong about 197 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:19,440 Speaker 1: what's pretty much the only noteworthy claim he makes in 198 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 1: his career, delu Leo received two awards in two thousand 199 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,440 Speaker 1: and ten for Excellence and Academics. Of course, again, it 200 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,480 Speaker 1: doesn't matter. What matters that you gave people an excuse 201 00:11:28,559 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 1: to be scared and do violence. Um, that's all you 202 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:39,320 Speaker 1: gotta do. Yeah, what's what's interesting about this moment is 203 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:44,320 Speaker 1: around I'm a really show you all some some Mike. 204 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:48,800 Speaker 1: Actual politics was like around the end of the nineties, 205 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:54,200 Speaker 1: there was a call that came from really from jail 206 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 1: that was like, you gotta stop doing drive bys. And 207 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: it was basic because it was like listen to it's 208 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:03,959 Speaker 1: just it's just not g like, this is not We're 209 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: not spending our lifetime in prison for y'all to just 210 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,200 Speaker 1: drive by somewhere and shoot them. So so even like 211 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:14,840 Speaker 1: even the violent crime kind of slowing down, that was 212 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 1: like we did that for ourselves, you know, saying like 213 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:22,199 Speaker 1: like it wasn't and granted obviously like the War on 214 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 1: Jugs and the Gang of Junctions and Rico and all 215 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:27,800 Speaker 1: this different stuff, and the gang uptick, Like obviously, like 216 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 1: of course you're gonna drop. You're gonna drop crime if 217 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,679 Speaker 1: gentrification starts other stuff that the economy is expanding huge 218 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: gets created. I'm like, we got jobs number one. I'm like, well, 219 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:44,960 Speaker 1: we're adults now we have jobs, and there's other things 220 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,840 Speaker 1: to do happening around. Yeah, you start to see the 221 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: impact of the fact that they got lit out of 222 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:53,199 Speaker 1: fucking gasoline, you know, stating in like what the seventies 223 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:55,240 Speaker 1: of the eighties, so like a bunch of ship happens, 224 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: that's why crime drops by so much. Total it's important 225 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:03,080 Speaker 1: is that doulu Leo is again perfectly wrong. Absolute. Yeah. Now, 226 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,199 Speaker 1: the despite this fact, his work had a huge influence 227 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:08,360 Speaker 1: on how juvenile crime was perceived, and it led to 228 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,840 Speaker 1: a massive change nationwide and how often children were tried 229 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:14,520 Speaker 1: and sentenced as adults. I want to quote now from 230 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:17,320 Speaker 1: an article in NBC News about this period because it 231 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,040 Speaker 1: makes a good point about some broader trends that Delulo's 232 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 1: work fed into. So he's not obviously the beginning of 233 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:25,840 Speaker 1: this quote. Just a few years before, the news media 234 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 1: had introduced the terms wilding and wolfpack to the national 235 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: vocabulary to describe five teenagers, four black and one Hispanic, 236 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:35,920 Speaker 1: who were convicted and later exonerated, of the rape of 237 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 1: a woman in New York Central Park. That's this kind 238 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,000 Speaker 1: of animal savagery was already in the conversation, said Kim 239 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:45,040 Speaker 1: Taylor Thompson, a law professor at New York University. The 240 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 1: super predator language began a process of allowing us to 241 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:50,520 Speaker 1: suspend our feelings of empathy towards young people of color. 242 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:54,680 Speaker 1: And again, I might I might quible about it that 243 00:13:54,760 --> 00:14:00,040 Speaker 1: this began the processes a moment. Yeah, yeah, one of 244 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:02,160 Speaker 1: started it escalates. I think it's fair to say that 245 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:05,440 Speaker 1: it does escalate absolutely, and and and more to the point, 246 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:08,000 Speaker 1: it leads to kind of some structural things that that 247 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 1: that escalate. How this is actually like built into the 248 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,840 Speaker 1: legal system. Um, now, it's probably worth noting before we 249 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 1: move on that delu Leo's mentor was a political scientist 250 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 1: named James Q. Wilson. Now. Mr Wilson got famous for 251 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 1: writing a nineteen five book with the title Crime and 252 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:27,800 Speaker 1: Human Nature, which argued that criminality was caused by specific 253 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 1: genetic factors. You will not again. Yeah, he also got 254 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:39,960 Speaker 1: famous for chasing around Dennis the Menace, Mr Wilson because 255 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: this is that, Mr. Yes. Anyway, go on, Um, he 256 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:46,920 Speaker 1: spends a lot of his book writing paragraphs like this. 257 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 1: A central problem, perhaps the central problem and improving the 258 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: relationship between white and black Americans, is the difference in 259 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 1: racial crime rates. No matter how whit a center guilty 260 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 1: a stranger, maybe he carries with him in public the 261 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 1: burdens or benefits of his group identity. Now you know, yeah, yeah, 262 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: the fact that like, yes, people carry with them like 263 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,440 Speaker 1: the benefits of how their group, the group that they 264 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:14,760 Speaker 1: visually at least belonged to his person by society. Sure, um, 265 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: but it's yeah, there's a lot of kind of eugenic 266 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:19,800 Speaker 1: c e ship in this book where he's sort of 267 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 1: talking about like certain populations are more prone for crime, 268 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,160 Speaker 1: and it definitely definitely ignores a lot of important things 269 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,160 Speaker 1: like how economics feed into it and how certain historical trends. 270 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 1: There's obviously he's he's he's piece of shit. Um. And 271 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: it's not surprising that racists said racist ship. What is 272 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,560 Speaker 1: surprising is that both of these guys, these very right wing, 273 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:42,640 Speaker 1: very kind of white supremacist e thinkers, are backed not 274 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:46,840 Speaker 1: just by conservatives but by supposedly liberal colleges. And what 275 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 1: they wrote was uncritically disseminated by large chunks of the 276 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: mainstream media. And here's NBC again. The Marshall Projects review 277 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 1: of forty major news outlets in the five years after 278 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:00,280 Speaker 1: his Weekly Standard article shows the new legis neilogism hopping 279 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:03,000 Speaker 1: up nearly three hundred times, and that is an undercount. 280 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 1: There was the Philadelphia Inquirers Fawnding magazine profile of Delu Leo, 281 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:09,960 Speaker 1: who grew up there. Until recently, Pennsylvania had the country's 282 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 1: largest population of people still serving life sentences without parole 283 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:16,080 Speaker 1: for crimes they committed as children. There was also a lengthy, 284 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 1: mostly gentle New Yorker profile, a spot on the New 285 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: York Times is op ed page, and an appearance on 286 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: CBS Evening News. The media exposure led to conference invitations, 287 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 1: which led to more media exposure. The words super predator 288 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:30,560 Speaker 1: became so much a part of the national vocabulary that 289 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,200 Speaker 1: journalists and talk show hosts used it without reference to 290 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:36,320 Speaker 1: de Lulo, including even Oprah Winfrey in a segment on 291 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,160 Speaker 1: Good Morning America. So this is one of those things 292 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 1: that is just such a successful piece of fucking culture 293 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 1: jambing Clinton, Yeah, Clinton to Everyone uses it, and most 294 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 1: people don't even recognize know anything about de lu Leo, 295 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 1: know anything about Wilson, know anything about like where this 296 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,440 Speaker 1: comes from. They just kind of take it as scientific fact. Almost. 297 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: That moment, even with with Oprah, is like stellar reputation 298 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:05,360 Speaker 1: with black people. That moment, like we never forgot that. 299 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 1: Yeah you know what I'm saying. And I was like, yo, really, 300 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:11,440 Speaker 1: like you really don't let this man talk talk about 301 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,120 Speaker 1: us like this. Yeah, And it's perfect what he's saying. 302 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:18,160 Speaker 1: It's really perfectly framed for shows like Oprah was doing 303 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:21,199 Speaker 1: for like daytime TV rights, the kind of thing that 304 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 1: people who are like in the middle of their day 305 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:25,960 Speaker 1: will will stop to hear about because you're you're tickling 306 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 1: that amygdala, you're making the like for one thing, adults 307 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,200 Speaker 1: are always a little not always, but it is very 308 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,879 Speaker 1: common for adults to be kind of uncomfortable around teenagers. 309 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 1: They're weird. They like things you don't understand. Yeah you 310 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:42,159 Speaker 1: forgot what it was like, Yeah, yeah, exactly. Uh and 311 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:44,520 Speaker 1: if you can again, there's a shipload of money to 312 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:46,679 Speaker 1: be made and tapping into the fact that a lot 313 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:49,240 Speaker 1: of adults are just kind of uncomfortable around teams and 314 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:52,359 Speaker 1: two our to our I mean I taught freshman, so 315 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:57,639 Speaker 1: I was around teens all the time. But in adults defense, 316 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 1: teams are weird. Oh yeah, I one in my and 317 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: without a taser for sure. I got one in my house, 318 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:07,080 Speaker 1: and I'll be like, I love you, you you are you 319 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:10,640 Speaker 1: are you are my child. I am raising you. That's 320 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 1: weird because like, oh yeah, yeah, like are sorts of 321 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,639 Speaker 1: all sorts of music that that I just think, finally, people, 322 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:19,800 Speaker 1: finally music is wrong. It took a long time. It 323 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,160 Speaker 1: took when before me who said that music was wrong 324 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 1: was wrong. But now it's wrong. Now that's wrong. Now, 325 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:28,159 Speaker 1: now it's wrong. Now I am. I am happy to 326 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:30,840 Speaker 1: report that my child is oh so when it comes 327 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:32,919 Speaker 1: to music, and like, we actually like a lot of 328 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:36,240 Speaker 1: the same stuff except for her B two BTS obsession. 329 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: But besides that, we're like, we're pretty much on the 330 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:43,439 Speaker 1: same page. But that's an exception. Her father's a rapper, 331 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 1: so of course she's gonna know a little bit more 332 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:51,880 Speaker 1: about music. Yeah, it's uh anyway, so um. The fear 333 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 1: dreamed up or drummed up by these nonsense theories and 334 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:56,960 Speaker 1: the media recitations of them, led to a surge in 335 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 1: zero tolerance, in zero tolerance rules for in school, and 336 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,080 Speaker 1: a lot of horrible ship we covered in an episode 337 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,800 Speaker 1: we did titled the War on Children. If you want 338 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,040 Speaker 1: more of an idea of how politicians grabbed onto all 339 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:10,240 Speaker 1: of this, I should read a quote from Senator or 340 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 1: in Hatch in n We've got to quit cuddling these 341 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:16,639 Speaker 1: violent kids. Like nothing that's going on. Getting some of 342 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 1: these do good or liberals to do what's right is 343 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,159 Speaker 1: real tough. We'd all like to rehabilitate these kids, but 344 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: by gosh, we are in a different age, right, or 345 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,520 Speaker 1: in Hatch everybody or Hatch everybody the man who made 346 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:30,320 Speaker 1: sure that you can sell supplements filled with lead to 347 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:33,600 Speaker 1: people and there's no regulations on it. Good man, that's 348 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:38,400 Speaker 1: our guy we love, or in hatch um. So today, however, 349 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,119 Speaker 1: we're not. This is just a leaded because the thing 350 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:43,639 Speaker 1: that we are talking is one of the worst crimes. 351 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:46,480 Speaker 1: All this rhetoric and racism directly enabled. This is a 352 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: story of greed that begat violence on an almost industrial scale, 353 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: the Cash for Kids scandal. Now are two main bastards 354 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:57,440 Speaker 1: for today are a pair of former judges, Mark Ciavarella 355 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:01,320 Speaker 1: uh and Michael Conna hand YEA sie Evarella is how 356 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:05,000 Speaker 1: it's pronounced, more or less now. Mark A. Siavarella was 357 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:09,320 Speaker 1: born on March third, nineteen fifty in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. 358 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:11,639 Speaker 1: He was raised on the east end of the city, 359 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 1: and he went to a Catholic high school. Here's how 360 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,720 Speaker 1: the New York Times described his upbringing, quote a stellar 361 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,199 Speaker 1: athlete and student. Judge Siavarella was the son of a 362 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:23,800 Speaker 1: brewery worker and a phone company operator nicknamed Scooch. Like 363 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:26,480 Speaker 1: his father, he drove a beat up both swagen Beetle 364 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: for years, and even after moving away, he visited his 365 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:31,639 Speaker 1: aging mother daily until she died in two thousand seven. 366 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:36,439 Speaker 1: The boy's name was Scooch, Scooch, Scooch, and Scooch grows up. 367 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,320 Speaker 1: You know, to his credit, he's working class, like a 368 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:41,920 Speaker 1: lot of most people become judges, not don't come from 369 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 1: like scooch bro. Like you know you, Scooch, Yeah, like 370 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:50,560 Speaker 1: you one of the guys, Bro. They don't. They don't 371 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 1: call rich kids scooch. Nobody, nobody ever went to a 372 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,400 Speaker 1: British boarding school and got called scoop bro, Scooch man, 373 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,119 Speaker 1: you and scooch yall cut school, went the cornered liquor store, 374 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:05,160 Speaker 1: stole a beer and like hung out and smoked your 375 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:10,600 Speaker 1: granddad's cigarettes, like Scooch stole a lot of cigarettes. I'm 376 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:15,359 Speaker 1: gonna say thirteen at least. Yeah. So after law school 377 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,359 Speaker 1: he went to Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. I think that's 378 00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:21,400 Speaker 1: how it pronounced. Uh. Mark Siavarella ran for a seat 379 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:23,879 Speaker 1: in the country's Court of Common Pleas in August of 380 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:28,159 Speaker 1: nineteen now as a judge. Because he wins, he becomes 381 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 1: known for the fact that he is a harsh sentence 382 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:33,360 Speaker 1: er um and also kind of like he he likes 383 00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: to be kind of the judge judy dude. He likes 384 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:37,600 Speaker 1: to have these like quips and ship and I want 385 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,679 Speaker 1: to play an ad from his nineteen campaign to make 386 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 1: it clear how inside of the super predator zeitgeist this 387 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: dude was. I hate this guy already. Yeah, he's not 388 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:51,440 Speaker 1: great and convicted of hurder right or violent primes against 389 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: our children or the elderly. You're gonna expect that I 390 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,359 Speaker 1: will have closed the maximum sentence allowed by law. Now, 391 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:02,480 Speaker 1: you can't do that. No, legally, No, you can't run 392 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,200 Speaker 1: to be a judge. There's a thing called the Judicial 393 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: Code of Conduct, dude. One of the things that says 394 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:10,520 Speaker 1: is that if you're running to be a judge, you 395 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: can't make pledges or promises to voters about your rulings 396 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,480 Speaker 1: other than that they'll be faithful and impartial because you're 397 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:19,440 Speaker 1: a judge. Let me, okay, can I can I put 398 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:23,439 Speaker 1: my teacher hat on right now? Okay? Listen, civics lesson. 399 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: You got your three branches of government right, and two 400 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: of the three branches are elected officials. The reason why 401 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:37,840 Speaker 1: you don't elect quote unquote judges are because they are 402 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:41,560 Speaker 1: supposed to be above the fray. You're supposed to not 403 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 1: be able to because of popularity, what's going on in 404 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:48,960 Speaker 1: the world. You're supposed to not be They are supposed 405 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:54,480 Speaker 1: to be above that because they are adjudicating the rights 406 00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:58,080 Speaker 1: and privileges of everybody around us. So you're not supposed 407 00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:02,760 Speaker 1: to do that. You even running an ad is already like, fam, 408 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:06,360 Speaker 1: what did you You can't like? This is not then 409 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 1: you got to law school? G Like, you're not allowed. 410 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:11,680 Speaker 1: I'm so frustrating right now. I'm sorry. Yeah, yeah, it 411 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:15,439 Speaker 1: is frustrating. Yeah, but you know what's not frustrating the 412 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,480 Speaker 1: products and services that support this podcast because they very 413 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 1: few of whom are running for judge ships. Although never 414 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,840 Speaker 1: actually some did you just say that the products and 415 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,120 Speaker 1: services aren't frustrating? None of them, not a single one. 416 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:30,879 Speaker 1: I don't know, man, Some of those dudes be seeping in. 417 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 1: I don't know what our filters be doing, you know 418 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,120 Speaker 1: what I'm saying. But I will say it's a lot 419 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:38,240 Speaker 1: of y'all because y'all be showing up. Boy. Yeah, yeah, 420 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:40,920 Speaker 1: what what should be the Washington State Highway Patrol again? 421 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:43,680 Speaker 1: How did that happen? How did that happen? It's weird 422 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:47,720 Speaker 1: too that they would, like us, who becomes a cop 423 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:51,440 Speaker 1: in Washington because of a podcast? At It's like when 424 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: Coke Industries was like who the fuck? Like what what 425 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,320 Speaker 1: motherfucker listens to a podcast and goes, well, that's where 426 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:02,720 Speaker 1: I'm giving my oil refining business. Is our demographic? Who 427 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,320 Speaker 1: do we want to move to? Ohio? Yeah, it's very 428 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 1: funny people that. Yeah, so here's some ads. Ah, we're back. 429 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 1: So one of Judge Ciavarella's opponents in that election, Thomas Commetta, 430 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:26,919 Speaker 1: later like he brings up that, like this ad is 431 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:31,400 Speaker 1: a breach of judicial ethics. Um, and Committa says pretty sensibly, 432 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:35,320 Speaker 1: how can you trust someone who runs for judge and 433 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:37,879 Speaker 1: breaks the law as a candidate to like follow the 434 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,480 Speaker 1: law while they're a judge? Right exactly now? Our boy 435 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:46,320 Speaker 1: responds that it's fine because all of the keywords in 436 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:49,320 Speaker 1: his ad were quote allowed by law, which is a 437 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: very funny response to that. This guys, Yeah, oh my god, 438 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:58,600 Speaker 1: I hate this guy. You ruined my childhood. I'm telling 439 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 1: whoever that is he ruined much out it. Yeah, I'm 440 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:07,240 Speaker 1: not even boy here. The real king of ruining childhoods 441 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:12,200 Speaker 1: this day, So Judge sie Verrella, however it's pronounced. I'm 442 00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:14,439 Speaker 1: hearing some weird things in the Italian site that I 443 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: just checked into double check this and I forgot. But people, 444 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: here's a lot of names in this show, a lot 445 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:23,000 Speaker 1: of names. I even watched the documentary about this. I forget. 446 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,000 Speaker 1: I'm bad at it, Like you could deal with it. 447 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:28,160 Speaker 1: Go listen to fucking I don't know what's another podcast 448 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 1: that is good at names. None of them are because 449 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 1: they're at some sort of NPR name, Mr don't listen 450 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:36,439 Speaker 1: to NPR. They do this ship they're good at that. 451 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:39,359 Speaker 1: The thing is, so, the thing is he put a 452 00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:41,600 Speaker 1: lot of innocent people intoil. Already know that he does. 453 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:46,800 Speaker 1: Oh that's yeah, that already yes. So, uh, that's Judge 454 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:49,919 Speaker 1: Sieverella's background, right, that's the kind of man he is. 455 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:51,640 Speaker 1: And we'll returned to him in a minute because he's 456 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:54,159 Speaker 1: our main character today. But we should talk about a 457 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,240 Speaker 1: friend of his, judge Michael Conahan, who's another part of 458 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:02,320 Speaker 1: this story. Hand Conahan. Yeah, Now, where Chivarella was a 459 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:05,359 Speaker 1: working class kid who clawed his way into the upper crust, 460 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 1: Michael was born sipping mint julips at the country club. 461 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: That may be a slight exaggeration, but his dad was 462 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 1: town mayor for twelve years. He is, you know, like 463 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,760 Speaker 1: he's he's he's the mayor's son. Yeah, I hate this guy. Now. 464 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:20,199 Speaker 1: His dad also owned a funeral home and was a 465 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:25,320 Speaker 1: heinously abusive prick. While Conahan was begging for clemency spoilers 466 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:28,040 Speaker 1: years later, his lawyer said, quote, he comes from a 467 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,680 Speaker 1: family with a patriarch who drove his children to success 468 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:33,280 Speaker 1: and used money as a barometer of that success. He 469 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 1: was taught the ends justified the means. Wait, did you 470 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:38,920 Speaker 1: say he was begging for clemency. Yeah, this is when 471 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:41,240 Speaker 1: he's being tried for the stuff that he does. So 472 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:46,800 Speaker 1: take this with a grain of salt, right. Um, Yeah, 473 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,920 Speaker 1: but here's the Times Tribune trying like reporting on what 474 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:53,840 Speaker 1: he claimed about his upbringing. Later, Mr Conahan was beaten 475 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:56,280 Speaker 1: mercilessly by his father when he was a teenager for 476 00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:59,320 Speaker 1: simply forgetting to stoke the family furnace at the funeral home. 477 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 1: His eildhood left him with deep insecurities and inadequacies that 478 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 1: he repressed with alcohol. So he's he definitely I think 479 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,880 Speaker 1: has a drinking problem. Um, we'll talk about how much 480 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:12,160 Speaker 1: we believe any of that or how much we believe 481 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 1: it even if does he says later, see, that's the 482 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: that's the stuff that I'd be like, listen, man, you 483 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 1: just you just can't trust white people because I'd be like, 484 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,760 Speaker 1: what that should do was build empathy that you went 485 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,160 Speaker 1: through that you should be like, you know what, I'm 486 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:30,960 Speaker 1: gonna be much more gracious to a lot of people. 487 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 1: These people come from struggle. It's been hard. Hell, I 488 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,200 Speaker 1: was beat for doing things that wouldn't have I understand 489 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,240 Speaker 1: that you may make some bad decisions in your life. 490 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:40,320 Speaker 1: It's all good man, I'm gonna give you a second chance. 491 00:27:40,359 --> 00:27:44,760 Speaker 1: But no, you decided to become na bro. Nah yeah yeah, yeah. 492 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:47,000 Speaker 1: I mean it's one of those like I know a 493 00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:50,679 Speaker 1: lot of people who got smacked around his kids. Most 494 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:52,919 Speaker 1: people I know did not do the things that this 495 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 1: guy later don't even I was like, you don't even 496 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:58,640 Speaker 1: need to finish. I've been smacked around, Joe. I got 497 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:05,960 Speaker 1: I got spanked in my public school, dude. Yeah. Um. Now, 498 00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:08,560 Speaker 1: while Conahan was still a child, there was an incident 499 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:11,120 Speaker 1: in his father's political career that what if His sisters 500 00:28:11,119 --> 00:28:14,200 Speaker 1: would later note as relevant their dad awarded a business 501 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:17,119 Speaker 1: contract to a good friend, which led to charges that 502 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 1: he'd committed an ethics violation. Quote the elder Mr Conahan 503 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 1: couldn't understand why people considered it an ethical violation because 504 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:26,920 Speaker 1: he was awarding a contract to a friend because he 505 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,600 Speaker 1: thought that friend's work would benefit the community. She said. 506 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 1: Their father never understood this. He couldn't see what the 507 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:36,680 Speaker 1: problem was. So in these two guys prop, you've got 508 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 1: one working class kid with a chip on his shoulder 509 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:42,120 Speaker 1: who's willing to violate ethical guidelines to threaten children in 510 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:44,120 Speaker 1: order to get elected by hitching his start to a 511 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:47,640 Speaker 1: racist criminal justice trend. And then you've got the insecure 512 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 1: and possibly traumatized rich kids son of a politician raised 513 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:54,120 Speaker 1: to believe that blatant crony ism and corruption is fine 514 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:57,800 Speaker 1: if your goals are noble. Right. So these are our 515 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:03,240 Speaker 1: main characters. To Bombo, real Combo, I appreciate you having 516 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,960 Speaker 1: me on this because I would have had thoughts had 517 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 1: happen listening to this show, I'd be like, I got thoughts. 518 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:14,560 Speaker 1: So I'm very glad to be on this. Yeah. Oh boy. 519 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:19,400 Speaker 1: So Judge Sea Rolla was on the County Court of 520 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: Common Pleas and Judge Conahan was the president judge, which 521 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,240 Speaker 1: gave him power of the purse. He gets to decide 522 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:28,760 Speaker 1: spending for a lot of the local justice system, right 523 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:30,640 Speaker 1: like he's a big part. He has a lot of 524 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:33,160 Speaker 1: power deciding where the money goes in terms of like 525 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 1: incarceration and stuff for the county. The New York Times 526 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:40,080 Speaker 1: lays out what happens next quote It all started in 527 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: June of two thousand with a simple business proposition. According 528 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 1: to the judge's indictment and more than forty interviews with 529 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:49,880 Speaker 1: courtroom workers, authorities, and others, Robert J. Powell, a wealthy 530 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:53,680 Speaker 1: personal injury lawyer from Hazelton, Pennsylvania and longtime friend of 531 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:56,400 Speaker 1: Judge Conahan, wanted to know how he might get a 532 00:29:56,480 --> 00:30:00,200 Speaker 1: contract to build a private detention center. Judge sever La 533 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,880 Speaker 1: thought he could help. The two men agreed to meet, and, 534 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,440 Speaker 1: according to prosecutors, somewhere in that conversation, a plan was 535 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:10,080 Speaker 1: hatched that courthouse workers and county officials would later describe 536 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:14,400 Speaker 1: as a freight train without breaks. First, Judge Sieverrella put 537 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:17,080 Speaker 1: Mr Powell in touch with a developer who also happened 538 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:19,960 Speaker 1: to be an old friend, Robert K. Miracle, to start 539 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,600 Speaker 1: work on finding a site. Then, in January two thousand two, 540 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,920 Speaker 1: the month Judge Conahan became President Judge, giving him control 541 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:29,640 Speaker 1: of the courthouse budget, he signed a secret deal with 542 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:32,280 Speaker 1: Mr Powell, agreeing that the court would pay one point 543 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,360 Speaker 1: three million in annual rent on top of tens of 544 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:37,520 Speaker 1: millions of dollars that the county and state would pay 545 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,000 Speaker 1: the house to delinquent juveniles. And by the end of 546 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,760 Speaker 1: that year, Judge Conahan had gotten rid of the competition 547 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:46,480 Speaker 1: by eliminating financing for the County Detention Center. So they 548 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:48,680 Speaker 1: make a deal with these people making a child prison, 549 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:51,760 Speaker 1: and then they closed the County child prison and agree 550 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:54,280 Speaker 1: not just to send kids there and give them the 551 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 1: money that comes from sending kids there, but to give 552 00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:59,080 Speaker 1: them a special one point three million dollar a year 553 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:03,240 Speaker 1: deal on top of all that money. Right, already pretty 554 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:07,480 Speaker 1: fucked up. It's already all bad, dude, like in in 555 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:13,240 Speaker 1: every well, okay, let me not say every in California. Um. 556 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:18,680 Speaker 1: When I was teaching, the idea, the theory was it 557 00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:23,240 Speaker 1: takes about three thousand dollars a day to educate a child. 558 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:29,200 Speaker 1: So when you got into school, took role and you 559 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:35,280 Speaker 1: clicked Evans here click the school got three thousand dollars. Right, 560 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:39,840 Speaker 1: So this is why role was so important, and when 561 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:43,520 Speaker 1: you ditched, why it was so important, why you had 562 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:47,840 Speaker 1: truancy offers, officers, why the police pulled up if you 563 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:51,280 Speaker 1: wasn't at school, Because it's like, I make three grand 564 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:54,040 Speaker 1: every time you hear and every time you're not here 565 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:57,200 Speaker 1: with some sort of unexcused absence, I'm losing three thousand 566 00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:01,720 Speaker 1: dollars per student. So I am incentivized just to make 567 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:03,640 Speaker 1: sure you're in a seat. I really don't care whether 568 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:05,920 Speaker 1: you learn anything or not. I just need to know 569 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:09,360 Speaker 1: you in the seat. So when you add that to prisons, 570 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:11,280 Speaker 1: it's the same thing. How much does it cost to 571 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:13,960 Speaker 1: prison a kid, to you know, in prison a kid? 572 00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:17,160 Speaker 1: Three thou dollars, five thousand dollars. You mean to tell 573 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:19,440 Speaker 1: me I can make how much? How much can I 574 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:22,480 Speaker 1: make presents? Okay, dope, Well then check this out. Here's 575 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:25,480 Speaker 1: the situation. How about I feed you stuff and you 576 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:28,760 Speaker 1: just throw me money back. God, it's fuck up, I mean, 577 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,560 Speaker 1: and it is. It is like it's a little more 578 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:35,280 Speaker 1: understandable in schools just because like, yes, school has fixed costs, 579 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:38,680 Speaker 1: budgets are usually tight and like that's a problem. It 580 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:43,480 Speaker 1: is a problem with what's happening here. They had a 581 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:47,800 Speaker 1: place to put these kids, purely about allowing a couple 582 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:51,520 Speaker 1: of dudes to profit, to profit off of incarcerating children. 583 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:54,720 Speaker 1: And this was a really obvious scheme too. Many of 584 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:56,920 Speaker 1: their colleagues saw what was going on, at least the 585 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,360 Speaker 1: surface parts of it, and complained. Judge Chester or Rowski 586 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:02,880 Speaker 1: sent a letter to the county commissioners complaining about the 587 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:06,440 Speaker 1: increase in detention costs. He was transferred by Conahan to 588 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:08,920 Speaker 1: another court a couple of days later, because again Conahan's 589 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:11,880 Speaker 1: the president judge. So this other judge complains and he's like, yeah, 590 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:15,560 Speaker 1: you're you got a different job now, man. Uh Morowski 591 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:19,360 Speaker 1: later told interviewers, quote, they were unstoppable. I knew something 592 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:22,680 Speaker 1: was wrong, but they silenced all dissent. And again he 593 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:27,880 Speaker 1: doesn't know everything that that we uh would know later. 594 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,080 Speaker 1: He just knows that like something shady is going on 595 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 1: and complains about like the detention center. Um, so there's 596 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:37,120 Speaker 1: a lawsuit over this. The county controller, Steve Flood, leaked 597 00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:39,800 Speaker 1: a state audit which showed that the state had analyzed 598 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,240 Speaker 1: the deal to lease the center as a bad one. 599 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:46,120 Speaker 1: So Steve Flood leaks that like, hey, the States said that, 600 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:48,360 Speaker 1: like there's no good reason to do this. This is 601 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:50,760 Speaker 1: just like seems to kind of be a grift. Now. 602 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:54,240 Speaker 1: The child prison in question, which was named p A Childcare, 603 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:58,720 Speaker 1: then sued Mr Flood for releasing trade secrets, while Judge 604 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:01,640 Speaker 1: Conahan sealed the lawsuit to stop any of the leaked 605 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:04,840 Speaker 1: documents from getting out to the public. One court worker 606 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:07,560 Speaker 1: later told The Times, everyone began to assume that the 607 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:10,319 Speaker 1: judges had some vested interest in the private center because 608 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:13,480 Speaker 1: they were pushing it so doggedly. And they did, of 609 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,440 Speaker 1: course they did. I was like, please get today, Like, 610 00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:20,319 Speaker 1: of course they did. Why kids getting maximum sentences? We 611 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:25,160 Speaker 1: teenagers getting maximum sentences anyway, going oh boy, it's it's 612 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:31,360 Speaker 1: probly you already know how bad this is. But also 613 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:33,520 Speaker 1: it's gonna be worse in some ways than I think 614 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:35,759 Speaker 1: you might be. Ready. You probably are because I only 615 00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:41,360 Speaker 1: know my own experience. I only know California. Yeah, yeah, 616 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:43,120 Speaker 1: I mean, I'll be interested to see if you're surprised 617 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:44,719 Speaker 1: by some of the things these kids go away for, 618 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:47,920 Speaker 1: because I don't know like you. I mean, they're like, okay, 619 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:49,600 Speaker 1: before you tell me the story I would tell you 620 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:52,600 Speaker 1: the story of a friend of mine who he was 621 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:57,560 Speaker 1: an upperclassman. Um was in I'll tell you two stories. 622 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:00,920 Speaker 1: One he was in the backseat. Basketball player in the 623 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:03,480 Speaker 1: back seat, asked for a ride home. You know your kids. 624 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:06,360 Speaker 1: You know some kids got a car, Like everybody have 625 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 1: a car. His kids got a car. It's like, hey, 626 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:09,120 Speaker 1: can I get a ride home. It's like, yeah, I 627 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:11,319 Speaker 1: get it right home. We're gonna make a stop right quick. 628 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:13,920 Speaker 1: So the dudes up front in the front made a 629 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:18,120 Speaker 1: stop right quick, broke into somebody's house, robbed some stuff 630 00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:22,279 Speaker 1: getting there. He's in the back seat, sleep right. The 631 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:26,399 Speaker 1: kids tell even on the scant the kids were like, yo, 632 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:28,040 Speaker 1: he really had nothing to do with it. We was 633 00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:30,560 Speaker 1: just giving the ride home. He's not really involved in all. 634 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:34,600 Speaker 1: That kid did five years and they told him. They 635 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:37,120 Speaker 1: told the judge, dude, we were just giving him a 636 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:39,279 Speaker 1: ride home. Like he had nothing to do with it. 637 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:42,880 Speaker 1: Still went to prison. Right. I have another friend who's 638 00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:51,360 Speaker 1: uh uncle was hiding a syringe from his mom or 639 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:53,520 Speaker 1: my friends grandma because that was his uncle, right. So 640 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:55,560 Speaker 1: he was like, so it says to my friend's mom. 641 00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:57,360 Speaker 1: So he's like, it was a syringe in his backpack 642 00:35:57,440 --> 00:35:59,839 Speaker 1: had no idea. You have this thing that was called 643 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:02,919 Speaker 1: the gang injunctions in Los Angeles, which was like if 644 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:04,759 Speaker 1: you were if you were in more than if you 645 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:06,800 Speaker 1: were in a group of two or three more people, 646 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:11,000 Speaker 1: it's considered a gang. Right. So standard you're walking home 647 00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:13,719 Speaker 1: from school with two of your friends, you're in a gang. Right. 648 00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:17,440 Speaker 1: So the fool pulls them over, searches the backpack. You 649 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:22,000 Speaker 1: gotta crack syringe. Right. The judge listen on Mama's Robert 650 00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:25,400 Speaker 1: the judge was like, this kid has no criminal record. 651 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:29,160 Speaker 1: I truly believe his story, but the law says I 652 00:36:29,239 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 1: have a mandatory minimum of five years. This kid did 653 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:39,920 Speaker 1: five years for his uncle. Syringe came out of criminal 654 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,760 Speaker 1: guy came out of prison a criminal. Like he was like, yeah, 655 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:45,960 Speaker 1: now he's a criminal because like you just you just 656 00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:48,279 Speaker 1: made you just threw him to the wolf. And there's 657 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,680 Speaker 1: a lot of documentation of that. Like that's what happens 658 00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:53,319 Speaker 1: when you send kids these facilities. Um, all right, so 659 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:56,319 Speaker 1: well I will I will tell you some of the 660 00:36:56,360 --> 00:36:59,480 Speaker 1: things these kids went away for, um and we'll we'll 661 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:04,080 Speaker 1: see how you feel about that. But Jesus Christ, um, Okay, 662 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:07,719 Speaker 1: So Paul the guy who is the realists or the 663 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:11,600 Speaker 1: lawyer who like helps start talking about this deal would 664 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:14,680 Speaker 1: later claim in court that after they get this thing 665 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:17,920 Speaker 1: under way, the two judges extorted him for bribes, and 666 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:20,440 Speaker 1: they basically said, we won't send more kids to your facility, 667 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:22,200 Speaker 1: and it will go out of business right if you don't, 668 00:37:22,239 --> 00:37:25,080 Speaker 1: if you don't pay us directly. I think that's a lie. 669 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:28,319 Speaker 1: Obviously they got paid. I think he's lying about them 670 00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:30,719 Speaker 1: extorting him. I I suspect this was the plan from 671 00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:33,640 Speaker 1: the beginning, right. Um. There's a number of reasons this 672 00:37:33,719 --> 00:37:36,600 Speaker 1: is unlikely. One thing is that, as the Times Tribune reports, 673 00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:39,200 Speaker 1: which is a local paper, there were plenty of other 674 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:41,880 Speaker 1: kids from Pennsylvania to go to the to the go 675 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:44,440 Speaker 1: to the juvenile detention center. They wouldn't have gone out 676 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:46,960 Speaker 1: of business if these judges had stopped. So I think 677 00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:50,160 Speaker 1: they just had I think they had a mutually beneficial arrangement. 678 00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:53,160 Speaker 1: I don't think he got extorted at all. The reality 679 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:55,279 Speaker 1: seems to be that Powel and his business partner, the 680 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:58,719 Speaker 1: builder of the PA childcare center, Robert Miracle, agreed to 681 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:02,520 Speaker 1: bribe Conahan Judge Sieverrella in order to secure one point 682 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:06,120 Speaker 1: three million dollars a year and guaranteed rent plus additional 683 00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:08,879 Speaker 1: funds because every time they get another youth prisoner, they 684 00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:13,400 Speaker 1: get more money. Um. So in exchange for this, Judge 685 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:17,000 Speaker 1: Siavarella and Conahan get hundreds of thousands of dollars per 686 00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:20,759 Speaker 1: year in total, about two point eight million dollars um 687 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:22,279 Speaker 1: and this is over I think like a four or 688 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:26,520 Speaker 1: five year period, so a lot of money. Now. Judge 689 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:29,480 Speaker 1: Sievrella was extremely eager to do his part, as this 690 00:38:29,560 --> 00:38:32,640 Speaker 1: quote from The Wall Street Journal's coverage makes makes clear. 691 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:37,080 Speaker 1: Quote Judge Judge Mark Sieverrella Jr. Reportedly sent kids to 692 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:40,000 Speaker 1: the private detention centers when probation officers didn't think it 693 00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:42,319 Speaker 1: was a good idea. He sent kids there when their 694 00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:45,080 Speaker 1: crimes were nonviolent. He sent kids there when their crimes 695 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:47,520 Speaker 1: were insignificant. It was as though he was determined to 696 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:50,400 Speaker 1: keep those private prisons filled with children at all times. 697 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:53,520 Speaker 1: According to news stories, offense is the smallest Swiping a 698 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:56,000 Speaker 1: jar of nutmeg or throwing a piece of steak at 699 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:58,200 Speaker 1: an adult were enough to merit a trip to the 700 00:38:58,239 --> 00:39:01,359 Speaker 1: Who's Goal. Over the years, Mark Sieverrella racked up a 701 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:04,680 Speaker 1: truly awesome score. He sent kids to detention instead of 702 00:39:04,719 --> 00:39:07,360 Speaker 1: other options, at twice the state average. According to the 703 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:10,480 Speaker 1: New York Times, he tried a prodigious number of cases 704 00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:13,479 Speaker 1: in which the accused child had no lawyer. Here, says 705 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:16,200 Speaker 1: the Times, the judges numbers were fully ten times the 706 00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:19,160 Speaker 1: state average, and he did it fast, sometimes rendering a 707 00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:21,480 Speaker 1: verdict in the neighborhood of a minute and a half 708 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:26,840 Speaker 1: to three minutes. What yeah, like, oh man, just instantly. 709 00:39:26,880 --> 00:39:29,279 Speaker 1: Some people will say there were thirty second judgments where 710 00:39:29,280 --> 00:39:31,680 Speaker 1: he just stands before him and he's just you're done, bro. 711 00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:34,840 Speaker 1: So this is the stuff Mapasse would talk about. He 712 00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:37,480 Speaker 1: would be like, we would know him among the other 713 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:40,359 Speaker 1: probation officers. They would already know, like this kid don't 714 00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:41,719 Speaker 1: need to go to know, he don't need to go 715 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:44,759 Speaker 1: to Like he's fine, just like let me you know, 716 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:46,799 Speaker 1: I'll take care of you know what I'm saying. And 717 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:48,359 Speaker 1: you stand in front of judge. Soon as you see 718 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:50,120 Speaker 1: the judge, you'll be like, oh shit, here we go. 719 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:52,400 Speaker 1: He's not gonna listen to me, you know what I'm saying. 720 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:54,880 Speaker 1: So my father was like in his thirty years, he 721 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:59,640 Speaker 1: never he never he never recommended prison ever thirty years. Never. 722 00:39:59,719 --> 00:40:02,040 Speaker 1: Reck Minty prison. It was always like i'll take him, 723 00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:05,239 Speaker 1: I'll take him, I'll take him, I'll take him. Didn't matter. 724 00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:07,719 Speaker 1: He knew he knew the judge when he walked in. 725 00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:10,120 Speaker 1: He knew the judge. He would be like, the kid's 726 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:11,799 Speaker 1: going to jail. This kid's going to jail. He just 727 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:14,640 Speaker 1: knew as soon as he looked at the judge. Yeah. 728 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:18,960 Speaker 1: And it's one of those like yeah, it's it's it's 729 00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:21,040 Speaker 1: just so fucked up that it that it could work 730 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:23,160 Speaker 1: that way, that it's ever been allowed to work that 731 00:40:23,239 --> 00:40:27,280 Speaker 1: way that like it doesn't everyone can know it's wrong, 732 00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:32,839 Speaker 1: including like fucking the parole officers and everyone. It's just 733 00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:35,799 Speaker 1: this guy. It's one of those things like I know 734 00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:38,759 Speaker 1: some people who have like not done time because they 735 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:41,479 Speaker 1: got a judge who was like get a great judge. Chill, 736 00:40:41,719 --> 00:40:44,000 Speaker 1: Like the judge who was like was like this is bullshit, 737 00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:46,160 Speaker 1: Like I have no desire. A friend of I just 738 00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:48,520 Speaker 1: didn't go to prison. A couple of we were at 739 00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:51,600 Speaker 1: all in court with him a couple of months ago, um, 740 00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:53,279 Speaker 1: and it was because the judge was like, well this 741 00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:55,600 Speaker 1: is this is like basically said the judge equipment like 742 00:40:55,640 --> 00:40:58,840 Speaker 1: this is a stupid case. Yeah. So that does happen. 743 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:03,440 Speaker 1: But I mean, you know, a case like that was 744 00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:06,040 Speaker 1: a good judge. She was like, yeah, you get them 745 00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:10,520 Speaker 1: sometimes sometimes when they're bad, they can do a lot 746 00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:14,959 Speaker 1: of damage. And that's like Sivarella does a lot of damage. Um. 747 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:18,000 Speaker 1: The Morning Call, which is another local paper in Pennsylvania, 748 00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:20,400 Speaker 1: does a good job of outlining some of the several 749 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:23,000 Speaker 1: of these cases. Um. And this is from After This 750 00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:24,640 Speaker 1: All Broke is a story and a bunch of the 751 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:26,560 Speaker 1: judge's victims sue. So I'm gonna I'm gonna read a 752 00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:28,360 Speaker 1: quote here of them, kind of summarizing some of the 753 00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:32,319 Speaker 1: worst cases. Among them was Melanie Petrillo, who said she 754 00:41:32,400 --> 00:41:34,800 Speaker 1: was twelve when she first went before sie Evarella in 755 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:37,680 Speaker 1: juvenile court in two thousand two. Si Evarella, she said, 756 00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:40,400 Speaker 1: wouldn't let her speak in her own defense. On Monday, 757 00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:43,280 Speaker 1: Petrilo testified that a visiting friend set a small fire 758 00:41:43,320 --> 00:41:46,080 Speaker 1: in a garbage can outside her house. She went inside 759 00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:48,400 Speaker 1: to get a glass of water, and police quickly arrived. 760 00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:51,440 Speaker 1: She was arrested and later taken before sie Evarella, who 761 00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:53,680 Speaker 1: sentenced her to a few months at the former Luzerne 762 00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:57,400 Speaker 1: County Juvenile Detention Center. It was horrifying. Petrilo recalled, I 763 00:41:57,440 --> 00:41:59,000 Speaker 1: had to put a blanket over my head so the 764 00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:02,160 Speaker 1: cockroaches wouldn't all on me, like many of si Evarrella 765 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:04,960 Speaker 1: and Conahan's victims. This was the start of years of 766 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:09,879 Speaker 1: relentless contact between Petrilo, a child, and the criminal justice system. 767 00:42:09,920 --> 00:42:11,920 Speaker 1: When Patrilo went away for the first time, it was 768 00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:14,880 Speaker 1: to a county center, not to the place bribing the judge, 769 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:18,680 Speaker 1: but she was released under harsh probation terms, which of course, 770 00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:21,680 Speaker 1: she violated, which brought her back in front of Judge Ciavarella, 771 00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:24,160 Speaker 1: who then sent her to PA Childcare. Who was this 772 00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:28,480 Speaker 1: place giving him kickbacks? Of course, Yeah, very old story. 773 00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:31,640 Speaker 1: Petrilo claims this time behind bars led to her falling 774 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:33,919 Speaker 1: in with a bad crowd due to her reputation, which 775 00:42:33,960 --> 00:42:36,080 Speaker 1: led to her getting a burglary charge. She winds up 776 00:42:36,080 --> 00:42:38,200 Speaker 1: in front of Siavarla a third time, and she she 777 00:42:38,239 --> 00:42:40,560 Speaker 1: doesn't get out of juvenile attention until she's an adult, 778 00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:43,400 Speaker 1: like her whole childhood from age twelve on. Um, So 779 00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:46,359 Speaker 1: the last six years of her childhood just gone as 780 00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:49,279 Speaker 1: a result of this this chain of events. Now, the 781 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:53,000 Speaker 1: judge sent another girl, Elizabeth Laurent, to a pH to 782 00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:56,120 Speaker 1: pH childcare for thirty two days after she was caught 783 00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:59,439 Speaker 1: bringing opiate pills to school. She of course then had 784 00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:03,560 Speaker 1: after ing out of PIA Childcare, she has a probation violation. Obviously, 785 00:43:03,680 --> 00:43:06,120 Speaker 1: this happens with all of them, and she winds up 786 00:43:06,120 --> 00:43:08,520 Speaker 1: in front of Judge si Evrella again. He sends her 787 00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:11,560 Speaker 1: next to Camp Adams, which is a juvenile boot camp. 788 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:14,360 Speaker 1: I haven't seen any evidence this boot camp gave camp 789 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:18,440 Speaker 1: gave him evidence, gave him kickbacks. Like he doesn't always 790 00:43:18,480 --> 00:43:20,520 Speaker 1: send kids to the places that are paying him. He 791 00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:24,319 Speaker 1: really likes to send kids, incarcerated children, even if he's 792 00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:26,680 Speaker 1: not getting money. He's just fine to take bribes for 793 00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:30,160 Speaker 1: it too. Elizabeth Laurent, because she winds up getting sent 794 00:43:30,200 --> 00:43:32,880 Speaker 1: to this boot camp, loses the college scholarship that she 795 00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:36,680 Speaker 1: had won. Uh and obviously things go worse for her 796 00:43:36,719 --> 00:43:38,960 Speaker 1: after this. She claims that she started hanging out with 797 00:43:39,080 --> 00:43:41,560 Speaker 1: a quote unquote bad kid because the parents of her 798 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:44,560 Speaker 1: old friends wouldn't let her hang out with him anymore. Um, 799 00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:46,839 Speaker 1: and like, yeah, things go you know. From there, She's 800 00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:50,520 Speaker 1: in and out of different places. Her overwhelming memory of 801 00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:53,040 Speaker 1: Sieverrella as he demolished her hopes and dreams again. She 802 00:43:53,080 --> 00:43:56,279 Speaker 1: had a college scholarship set up when this happens was 803 00:43:56,440 --> 00:43:59,959 Speaker 1: coldness and what she described as a nonchalant demeanor. That's whatever, 804 00:44:00,120 --> 00:44:04,600 Speaker 1: like he's again very perfunctory for him. Um. Zachary Richards 805 00:44:04,640 --> 00:44:06,520 Speaker 1: wound up in front of the judge because he stole 806 00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:09,759 Speaker 1: a candy bar. Uh. He was after this, Yeah, at 807 00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:12,560 Speaker 1: age fourteen, he steals a candy bar. Sieverrella sends him 808 00:44:12,560 --> 00:44:15,040 Speaker 1: to juvenile attention um, and he's there for the rest 809 00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:17,600 Speaker 1: of his childhood, from age fourteen to eighteen, mostly in 810 00:44:17,719 --> 00:44:21,440 Speaker 1: pah childcare, the place giving the judge kickbacks. Um. His 811 00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:24,480 Speaker 1: mom is adamant that Zachary never recovers from this, and 812 00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:28,040 Speaker 1: she blames his suicide at age seven on Judge si Evarella. 813 00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:30,640 Speaker 1: She is not the only mother making this claim. And 814 00:44:30,640 --> 00:44:33,120 Speaker 1: I'm gonna quote now from a write up by pin Live. 815 00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:36,480 Speaker 1: Fonso's son was seventeen and an all star wrestler with 816 00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:38,880 Speaker 1: a chance at a college scholarship when he landed in 817 00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:42,840 Speaker 1: Sieverarella's courtroom on a minor drug paraphernalia charge. Though the 818 00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:48,280 Speaker 1: teen Edward Kinseloski Edward Kinzikowski had no prior criminal record, 819 00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:50,759 Speaker 1: he spent months at the private lockups in a wilderness 820 00:44:50,800 --> 00:44:54,120 Speaker 1: camp and missed his senior year of high school. Kinzikowski 821 00:44:54,160 --> 00:44:57,560 Speaker 1: emerged an angry, bitter, depressed young man. He committed suicide 822 00:44:57,640 --> 00:45:00,440 Speaker 1: last June at the age of twenty three. He was 823 00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:03,080 Speaker 1: just never the same. He couldn't recover. He wanted to 824 00:45:03,080 --> 00:45:04,919 Speaker 1: go on with his life, but he was just hurt. 825 00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:08,120 Speaker 1: He was affected so deeply, more than anyone knew. That's 826 00:45:08,160 --> 00:45:13,520 Speaker 1: his his mom um. Yeah, it's bleak uh yeah, stuff 827 00:45:13,560 --> 00:45:18,120 Speaker 1: like that. It just hits so close to home because 828 00:45:18,160 --> 00:45:23,760 Speaker 1: I know kids who were either my friends or people 829 00:45:23,800 --> 00:45:27,839 Speaker 1: like taught that, Like I know the like man, these 830 00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:31,120 Speaker 1: are like gentle souls and then they're put in this 831 00:45:31,239 --> 00:45:37,160 Speaker 1: situation over a motherfucking candy bar. Come on, man, Yeah yeah, 832 00:45:37,360 --> 00:45:39,960 Speaker 1: and then was crazy is like at least and Cally 833 00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:43,239 Speaker 1: Camp is your best bet, you know what I'm saying, 834 00:45:43,280 --> 00:45:46,120 Speaker 1: Because it's like there's a school there, you know what 835 00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:48,360 Speaker 1: I'm saying. It's not like East, Like, it's not like Central, 836 00:45:48,760 --> 00:45:51,320 Speaker 1: which is like I mean, that's just that's or you 837 00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:54,040 Speaker 1: get sent up to y A, which is California Youth 838 00:45:54,040 --> 00:45:56,960 Speaker 1: Authority that's up in the north. That's prison. Yeah, and 839 00:45:57,120 --> 00:46:00,680 Speaker 1: it's very saying because some states the wild ferness bootcamp, 840 00:46:00,760 --> 00:46:02,480 Speaker 1: so the worst place you can go. It just kind 841 00:46:02,480 --> 00:46:04,920 Speaker 1: of depends on, yeah, your system, because some of those 842 00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:10,160 Speaker 1: places are nightmares. Yeah. Yeah, it's just everywhere's you know, 843 00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:13,359 Speaker 1: different depending on how bad they're din. And obviously our 844 00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:16,040 Speaker 1: camp is not wilderness in any way. It's just like 845 00:46:16,600 --> 00:46:21,120 Speaker 1: it's there's there's one in Whittier, California, like just right 846 00:46:21,160 --> 00:46:24,960 Speaker 1: off the corner of like, yeah, like the wilds of Whittier. Yeah, 847 00:46:25,040 --> 00:46:29,520 Speaker 1: it's just Los Pedrinos. It's like Whittier and freaking Marvista Drive. 848 00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:31,960 Speaker 1: It's just like, oh hey, look there's a juvenile prison 849 00:46:32,080 --> 00:46:35,320 Speaker 1: right there. Yeah. So one of Judged Ciavarella's favorite places 850 00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:37,080 Speaker 1: to send kids when he couldn't send them to p 851 00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:41,760 Speaker 1: a childcare was the Glen Mills School. Ryan Lamoreaux, for example, 852 00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:44,360 Speaker 1: was sent there by Civarella for five years on a 853 00:46:44,520 --> 00:46:47,920 Speaker 1: vandalism charge. Another fourteen year old was sent there for 854 00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:51,360 Speaker 1: the crime of stealing loose change from unlocked cars to 855 00:46:51,400 --> 00:46:54,359 Speaker 1: buy a bag of chips. So that's it. That's that's 856 00:46:54,440 --> 00:46:56,840 Speaker 1: why that kid gets sent to the Glen Mills School, 857 00:46:56,960 --> 00:46:58,960 Speaker 1: not the car. He ain't still at a car. No, 858 00:46:59,160 --> 00:47:01,360 Speaker 1: didn't even break away, just took a change out of it. 859 00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:03,840 Speaker 1: I just needed some quarters, which like, yeah, we can 860 00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:07,279 Speaker 1: say isn't ideal behavior, but like I mean, find the kid. 861 00:47:08,080 --> 00:47:10,440 Speaker 1: Let me let me tell you what this place is. 862 00:47:10,520 --> 00:47:13,960 Speaker 1: Like I could quote from a Philadelphia Inquirer article for 863 00:47:14,239 --> 00:47:16,560 Speaker 1: some context on the Glen Mill school where he sends 864 00:47:16,600 --> 00:47:20,520 Speaker 1: a child for stealing spare change. Another teenager was removed 865 00:47:20,560 --> 00:47:22,720 Speaker 1: from Glenn Mills and sent to a state run facility 866 00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:25,760 Speaker 1: in two thousand seventeen after counselors stepped on the boy's 867 00:47:25,800 --> 00:47:28,120 Speaker 1: face and broke his jaw so severely it had to 868 00:47:28,160 --> 00:47:30,920 Speaker 1: be wired shut. And last summer, two counselors were caught 869 00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:34,440 Speaker 1: up using a Philadelphia teenager on surveillance video. One slammed 870 00:47:34,520 --> 00:47:36,319 Speaker 1: him to the floor and choked him, then the other 871 00:47:36,400 --> 00:47:39,040 Speaker 1: punched the seventeen year old in the face. Both were 872 00:47:39,120 --> 00:47:42,399 Speaker 1: later arrested. So that's I feel like kind of ship 873 00:47:42,480 --> 00:47:45,000 Speaker 1: that happens in Glenn Mills. I feel like you just said, 874 00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:49,439 Speaker 1: stepped on his face. Yep, that's what you say, right, yeah, yeah, 875 00:47:49,960 --> 00:47:53,200 Speaker 1: because yeah, yeah, And these are two, these are a 876 00:47:53,280 --> 00:47:56,239 Speaker 1: couple of cases, but like it happens so constantly that 877 00:47:56,320 --> 00:47:59,440 Speaker 1: in two thousand, nineteen, Glenn Mills has its license revoked 878 00:47:59,480 --> 00:48:02,680 Speaker 1: and the state removes all children from its custody. Now, 879 00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:06,600 Speaker 1: Glenn Mills had been founded in eighteen twenty six. Um, so, 880 00:48:07,440 --> 00:48:10,319 Speaker 1: judge Ceverrell as a monster. I'm sure this place has 881 00:48:10,360 --> 00:48:14,800 Speaker 1: been about that bad for in their defense in the 882 00:48:14,880 --> 00:48:17,920 Speaker 1: eighteen hundred's, you could step on a kid's face. Yeah 883 00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:21,600 Speaker 1: you could. It was almost mandatory. Yeah, um Now, And 884 00:48:21,680 --> 00:48:24,440 Speaker 1: it's one of those things. And when you read articles 885 00:48:24,480 --> 00:48:27,160 Speaker 1: about like the fallout from the cast the Cash for 886 00:48:27,280 --> 00:48:30,280 Speaker 1: Kids scandal, there's a bunch of like comments from judges 887 00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:32,279 Speaker 1: and other people in the criminal justice system being like, 888 00:48:32,600 --> 00:48:35,359 Speaker 1: these men did tremendous damage to the criminals, to trust 889 00:48:35,440 --> 00:48:38,080 Speaker 1: in the criminal justice system, to the sanctity of the courts, 890 00:48:38,080 --> 00:48:42,120 Speaker 1: to the sanctity of justice. It's like, these guys are 891 00:48:42,120 --> 00:48:45,239 Speaker 1: pieces of ship. But dude, yeah, like, don't don't try 892 00:48:45,280 --> 00:48:49,440 Speaker 1: to don't try to bro like, come on now, we's no, 893 00:48:50,280 --> 00:48:53,200 Speaker 1: I mean, we're bad, but we don't try to give 894 00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:57,400 Speaker 1: me that ship man. Yeah, you're good. And the reality 895 00:48:57,480 --> 00:48:59,399 Speaker 1: is that all of the horrible things we've talked about, 896 00:48:59,719 --> 00:49:01,680 Speaker 1: he only got in trouble for because he took bribes 897 00:49:01,719 --> 00:49:03,759 Speaker 1: to do them. If he had just done this because 898 00:49:03,800 --> 00:49:05,440 Speaker 1: he was a piece of ship and he was willing 899 00:49:05,480 --> 00:49:07,040 Speaker 1: to do he did a lot of it for without 900 00:49:07,200 --> 00:49:10,640 Speaker 1: getting brought um. If he just hadn't taken the bribes, 901 00:49:10,880 --> 00:49:13,520 Speaker 1: he never would have gotten for this ship. Um And 902 00:49:13,640 --> 00:49:16,719 Speaker 1: in fact, the hellish sentences he's a he imposed on 903 00:49:16,840 --> 00:49:21,440 Speaker 1: children for minor what you could only often loosely describe 904 00:49:21,440 --> 00:49:25,360 Speaker 1: as crimes were lauded and celebrated by his community for years. 905 00:49:25,680 --> 00:49:28,200 Speaker 1: In two thousand six, he was reelected for another ten 906 00:49:28,320 --> 00:49:32,120 Speaker 1: year term. Inn pr reports quote. The community applauded him, 907 00:49:32,160 --> 00:49:35,000 Speaker 1: schools applauded him, police applauded him. He would go into 908 00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:37,279 Speaker 1: schools and he would warn kids, if you come before me, 909 00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:40,440 Speaker 1: I will send you away. And so schools invited him 910 00:49:40,520 --> 00:49:42,560 Speaker 1: year after year to come in and talk to them. 911 00:49:43,120 --> 00:49:45,120 Speaker 1: So when a kid came before him and there was 912 00:49:45,200 --> 00:49:47,560 Speaker 1: a school crime, this could be a kid getting into 913 00:49:47,600 --> 00:49:49,120 Speaker 1: a fight, or in our case, we had a kid 914 00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:52,239 Speaker 1: who did a fake MySpace page for the principal, he 915 00:49:52,280 --> 00:49:54,800 Speaker 1: would say, do you remember me being in your school? 916 00:49:55,160 --> 00:49:57,479 Speaker 1: And he would say, I wish I said, I would 917 00:49:57,480 --> 00:49:59,759 Speaker 1: send you away, get him out of here. And that's 918 00:49:59,800 --> 00:50:02,120 Speaker 1: what it happened. He says, a kid to a fucking 919 00:50:02,200 --> 00:50:05,319 Speaker 1: child prison for making a fake MySpace page. Like an 920 00:50:05,360 --> 00:50:08,680 Speaker 1: administrator at the school, Oh my god, yeah, like a 921 00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:11,719 Speaker 1: fake MySpace page, he said, locks a kid up, he 922 00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:14,920 Speaker 1: gives them a criminal record for a fake fucking MySpace page. 923 00:50:15,239 --> 00:50:18,840 Speaker 1: So this is why. Look, let me listeners, this is 924 00:50:18,920 --> 00:50:22,560 Speaker 1: why were during elections when we hear terms like, oh, 925 00:50:22,640 --> 00:50:25,279 Speaker 1: he's going to be tough on crime, We're like, that's 926 00:50:25,280 --> 00:50:27,839 Speaker 1: a dog whistle. This is what we're talking about. Yeah, 927 00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:30,359 Speaker 1: it's like, that's what you mean by tough on crime. Yeah, 928 00:50:30,480 --> 00:50:32,480 Speaker 1: like if the kid makes a my Space making fun 929 00:50:32,520 --> 00:50:35,520 Speaker 1: of his principle, I'm tough on crime. Like all right, bro, 930 00:50:36,239 --> 00:50:40,080 Speaker 1: that's what you mean by crime. Just blasting kids lives 931 00:50:40,120 --> 00:50:43,960 Speaker 1: apart for no real reason. But you know who won't 932 00:50:44,480 --> 00:50:47,959 Speaker 1: destroy the lives of children for no good reason. Can't 933 00:50:48,000 --> 00:50:49,880 Speaker 1: say you can't say that because it could be a 934 00:50:49,960 --> 00:50:53,360 Speaker 1: Washington State Washington State Highway patrol. I was like, I 935 00:50:53,440 --> 00:50:55,920 Speaker 1: don't know, man, I can pretty much guarantee and that 936 00:50:56,640 --> 00:51:01,120 Speaker 1: high possibility. One time we had a little FBI could 937 00:51:01,160 --> 00:51:03,839 Speaker 1: be the FBI, or it could be I mean even worse, 938 00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:06,640 Speaker 1: it could be UM one of those the food box 939 00:51:06,680 --> 00:51:09,920 Speaker 1: companies that uses their profits to hunt children for sports. 940 00:51:11,640 --> 00:51:14,960 Speaker 1: One you really don't like. Um, I don't know which 941 00:51:15,000 --> 00:51:18,600 Speaker 1: one I think you hate. Oh, they're the ones who 942 00:51:18,680 --> 00:51:20,879 Speaker 1: have the the island where you can hunt, hunt, hunt 943 00:51:20,960 --> 00:51:32,399 Speaker 1: kids for sport, right seriously in Ada that yeah, ah, 944 00:51:32,520 --> 00:51:36,880 Speaker 1: we're back. Ah. Those are some good ads for um. 945 00:51:37,400 --> 00:51:42,399 Speaker 1: Absolutely Now fifty prop of children who appeared before Judge 946 00:51:42,440 --> 00:51:46,080 Speaker 1: c Evarella did so without a lawyer. He remanded an 947 00:51:46,120 --> 00:51:49,040 Speaker 1: average of three hundred children per year into custody, which 948 00:51:49,080 --> 00:51:52,160 Speaker 1: is nearly obviously one a day. When you factor in vacations, 949 00:51:52,200 --> 00:51:54,279 Speaker 1: it probably is about one a day. In the years 950 00:51:54,360 --> 00:51:57,400 Speaker 1: before he made the deal with p A Childcare, Cfarella 951 00:51:57,440 --> 00:51:59,759 Speaker 1: had remanded about four percent of the juveniles in his 952 00:52:00,400 --> 00:52:03,359 Speaker 1: to criminal custody. As soon as he starts getting paid, 953 00:52:03,560 --> 00:52:07,600 Speaker 1: it goes to because this is very obvious. Some of 954 00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:10,080 Speaker 1: the offenses that he locked kids up for included es 955 00:52:10,120 --> 00:52:13,640 Speaker 1: stated making a face fake MySpace page. Other kids were 956 00:52:13,719 --> 00:52:16,520 Speaker 1: jailed for stealing a four dollar jar of nutmeg or 957 00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:22,960 Speaker 1: throwing a sandal at a parent. Right, yeah, why would 958 00:52:23,000 --> 00:52:24,719 Speaker 1: you not laugh if you were a judge, You're like 959 00:52:25,760 --> 00:52:31,520 Speaker 1: a sandal at the kid that the kids should have 960 00:52:31,680 --> 00:52:33,440 Speaker 1: is the judge should throw a sandal at just throw 961 00:52:33,480 --> 00:52:39,400 Speaker 1: a sandal at him. That is absurd. Also, uh Jen's ears. 962 00:52:39,480 --> 00:52:46,040 Speaker 1: Let me tell you what my space is. My space 963 00:52:46,200 --> 00:52:51,399 Speaker 1: was when the Internet was innocent, and it was one 964 00:52:51,520 --> 00:52:55,400 Speaker 1: of the precursors to it was a social media page. 965 00:52:55,480 --> 00:52:57,960 Speaker 1: That's when some guy named Tom tricked all of us 966 00:52:58,000 --> 00:53:01,600 Speaker 1: into learning to learning how to come If Facebook, if 967 00:53:01,600 --> 00:53:06,680 Speaker 1: imagine if Facebook hadn't destroyed civil society, that was. Yeah, 968 00:53:06,840 --> 00:53:09,799 Speaker 1: it's popular for a while. Some people found some good 969 00:53:09,880 --> 00:53:12,279 Speaker 1: bands because of it, and the guy who found it 970 00:53:12,360 --> 00:53:15,840 Speaker 1: got six hundred million dollars and disappeared. It is like 971 00:53:16,160 --> 00:53:19,080 Speaker 1: it is not mired in any way in any of 972 00:53:19,160 --> 00:53:25,160 Speaker 1: the never changed picture, never changed his profile picture, And 973 00:53:25,280 --> 00:53:28,960 Speaker 1: so far there hasn't been any self indulgent documentaries, hasn't 974 00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:33,840 Speaker 1: said shit. Just what proves he's the only one of 975 00:53:33,880 --> 00:53:36,279 Speaker 1: them who's a reasonable person Because a reasonable person gets 976 00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:43,640 Speaker 1: six million dollars and it disappears. Yeah, and I'm gone. Yeah. Um. 977 00:53:44,760 --> 00:53:48,279 Speaker 1: Siavarella told one kid during sentencing to count the number 978 00:53:48,360 --> 00:53:51,600 Speaker 1: of birds on the window sill outside the courtroom. He 979 00:53:51,719 --> 00:53:54,200 Speaker 1: gave the boy one month and detention for each bird 980 00:53:54,360 --> 00:53:56,919 Speaker 1: sitting outside the courtroom, Like that's the kind of shift 981 00:53:56,920 --> 00:53:59,760 Speaker 1: he's doing because he's like it's sad fun for himself, 982 00:53:59,840 --> 00:54:02,200 Speaker 1: you know. Yeah because the kid I got a lawyer, Yeah, 983 00:54:02,200 --> 00:54:04,480 Speaker 1: because getting out of what who do? Yeah, what's he 984 00:54:04,560 --> 00:54:08,400 Speaker 1: gonna do? Complained to someone that yeah, yeah, a kid 985 00:54:08,480 --> 00:54:10,759 Speaker 1: can't be like I feel like this, I feel like 986 00:54:10,840 --> 00:54:12,800 Speaker 1: that's not legal. I feel like you can't do that. 987 00:54:13,200 --> 00:54:20,399 Speaker 1: Yeah kid, yeah, maybe three dollars. In interviews during this period, 988 00:54:20,440 --> 00:54:23,400 Speaker 1: Siavrella was very open about how severe he could be. 989 00:54:23,640 --> 00:54:26,880 Speaker 1: He told one journalist quote, my experience has been if 990 00:54:26,920 --> 00:54:28,560 Speaker 1: you bring a child and who broke the law and 991 00:54:28,600 --> 00:54:30,800 Speaker 1: put him on probation, chances are he'll be back in 992 00:54:30,840 --> 00:54:32,759 Speaker 1: the system in a short period of time. If a 993 00:54:32,840 --> 00:54:35,480 Speaker 1: child believes the consequence will be anything other than placement, 994 00:54:35,719 --> 00:54:38,440 Speaker 1: they don't care. I have to find consequences that will 995 00:54:38,480 --> 00:54:42,480 Speaker 1: get their attention. Now, obviously, we know statistically that like 996 00:54:42,840 --> 00:54:45,399 Speaker 1: the worst thing you can do if you want kids 997 00:54:45,480 --> 00:54:47,759 Speaker 1: to not go on to go to prison is locked 998 00:54:47,800 --> 00:54:50,120 Speaker 1: them up with their kids. Yeah, there's that has a 999 00:54:50,200 --> 00:54:54,839 Speaker 1: massive correlation with them being locked up as adults. But whatever, Yeah, 1000 00:54:54,880 --> 00:54:57,520 Speaker 1: there's that. Also. Also, let me throw in this thing 1001 00:54:57,520 --> 00:55:01,680 Speaker 1: about probation. Why kids go ac Because if you say 1002 00:55:02,320 --> 00:55:06,000 Speaker 1: part of your probation is you can have no interaction 1003 00:55:06,640 --> 00:55:11,080 Speaker 1: with anyone from your former life or anyone who's involved 1004 00:55:11,120 --> 00:55:13,839 Speaker 1: in any sort of criminal or gang activity. But if 1005 00:55:13,920 --> 00:55:16,719 Speaker 1: that person is your fucking brother, Like, where do you so? 1006 00:55:16,880 --> 00:55:18,719 Speaker 1: Do I need to move out? Like? What do you 1007 00:55:18,880 --> 00:55:22,920 Speaker 1: so if you catch me with my uncle who just 1008 00:55:23,200 --> 00:55:26,440 Speaker 1: sent me to go get some groceries, I violated probation. 1009 00:55:26,440 --> 00:55:27,840 Speaker 1: I guess I'm going back to prisoner, you know what 1010 00:55:27,840 --> 00:55:30,600 Speaker 1: I'm saying. So, like even the probation stuff like food's 1011 00:55:30,600 --> 00:55:34,759 Speaker 1: going back. It's like, that's so I have to move. 1012 00:55:34,880 --> 00:55:36,800 Speaker 1: What you're saying is if I go back home and 1013 00:55:37,160 --> 00:55:39,960 Speaker 1: and the probation officer pull up and I'm literally just 1014 00:55:40,120 --> 00:55:43,080 Speaker 1: sitting on my porch, you know what I'm saying, and 1015 00:55:43,440 --> 00:55:46,280 Speaker 1: the person who's sitting across street, who just checking the mail, 1016 00:55:46,719 --> 00:55:48,520 Speaker 1: just happens to be from the same hood I'm from. 1017 00:55:49,320 --> 00:55:51,439 Speaker 1: I broke my probation. I'm going back to prison. Yeah, 1018 00:55:52,160 --> 00:55:55,520 Speaker 1: It's yeah, It's like it's very difficult for to not 1019 00:55:55,800 --> 00:55:58,640 Speaker 1: wind up in that situation. It's yeah, yeah, And that's 1020 00:55:58,719 --> 00:56:02,000 Speaker 1: it's that's why I would suppose us to be um Now, 1021 00:56:02,160 --> 00:56:05,240 Speaker 1: Judge sever Will explained in an interview to another reporter, quote, 1022 00:56:05,320 --> 00:56:07,120 Speaker 1: school is a place for kids to go and learn. 1023 00:56:07,400 --> 00:56:09,320 Speaker 1: Two percent of kids at school should not ruin it 1024 00:56:09,400 --> 00:56:11,400 Speaker 1: for the other ninety percent, anyone who gets in the 1025 00:56:11,400 --> 00:56:13,520 Speaker 1: way of that, I don't have a problem sending them away. 1026 00:56:14,200 --> 00:56:16,520 Speaker 1: Which is I can't think of how many times I 1027 00:56:16,600 --> 00:56:18,480 Speaker 1: heard logic like this from like adults in my life 1028 00:56:18,480 --> 00:56:19,960 Speaker 1: when I was a kid, that like, well, you just 1029 00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:21,719 Speaker 1: got to get rid of those kids who are are 1030 00:56:21,840 --> 00:56:25,600 Speaker 1: disrupting everyone else, as opposed to like, well maybe you 1031 00:56:25,719 --> 00:56:28,480 Speaker 1: could figure out what's going on in different Well you're 1032 00:56:28,520 --> 00:56:30,439 Speaker 1: the red Mustang to take care of them or whatever. 1033 00:56:30,560 --> 00:56:33,040 Speaker 1: But no, that's not you're about the red Mustang. No, 1034 00:56:33,520 --> 00:56:35,759 Speaker 1: that's a similar to like the broken window theory. It's 1035 00:56:35,840 --> 00:56:39,759 Speaker 1: like the red Mustang is like, well, if any of 1036 00:56:39,920 --> 00:56:42,840 Speaker 1: us are speeding on the road and you're driving a Prius, 1037 00:56:43,200 --> 00:56:46,600 Speaker 1: like nobody notices, but if you're speeding and you're a 1038 00:56:46,680 --> 00:56:51,440 Speaker 1: red Mustang and everybody's gonna catch you speeding. So that 1039 00:56:51,719 --> 00:56:55,319 Speaker 1: kid who always got them outbursts, who always got well, 1040 00:56:55,320 --> 00:56:57,680 Speaker 1: you're a red Mustang, man, Like, everybody's gonna see what 1041 00:56:57,719 --> 00:57:00,239 Speaker 1: you're doing. So like if you so you're to them, 1042 00:57:00,280 --> 00:57:02,680 Speaker 1: and if airbody sees it, everybody sees you speed, and 1043 00:57:02,800 --> 00:57:05,239 Speaker 1: then all little priuss think that they can speed. So 1044 00:57:05,400 --> 00:57:09,160 Speaker 1: then that's how they du these kids. Man. It's yeah, yeah, 1045 00:57:09,360 --> 00:57:12,719 Speaker 1: almost punched. An administrator was making that analysis once. I 1046 00:57:12,840 --> 00:57:15,120 Speaker 1: was like, Yo, I'm you're looking at me like I'm 1047 00:57:15,160 --> 00:57:17,800 Speaker 1: twenty three years old as when I first started teaching. 1048 00:57:17,840 --> 00:57:19,640 Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm twenty three, So I'm looking at you 1049 00:57:19,760 --> 00:57:23,600 Speaker 1: like you're talking about me, like I'm that kid, Like 1050 00:57:23,760 --> 00:57:26,320 Speaker 1: what the now, I'm good, I can't work here. Yeah. Yeah, 1051 00:57:26,800 --> 00:57:29,800 Speaker 1: it's uh, it's it's awesome. I mean because because they're 1052 00:57:29,800 --> 00:57:32,080 Speaker 1: not thinking about it as like I'm going I I 1053 00:57:32,320 --> 00:57:34,520 Speaker 1: think we should be destroying the lives of children and 1054 00:57:34,640 --> 00:57:38,000 Speaker 1: continning them to a life of what, in many cases 1055 00:57:38,120 --> 00:57:41,640 Speaker 1: is very close to slavery. They're thinking like, well, this 1056 00:57:41,840 --> 00:57:43,480 Speaker 1: is it's tough love. This is how it's the same 1057 00:57:43,680 --> 00:57:45,720 Speaker 1: attitude towards like, well, yeah, sometimes you gotta smack a 1058 00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:47,560 Speaker 1: kid around, you know, sometimes you've got to, like you 1059 00:57:47,640 --> 00:57:50,000 Speaker 1: have to, you have to be harsh with children, otherwise 1060 00:57:50,040 --> 00:57:56,000 Speaker 1: they'll they'll grow into two monsters. Yeah, which that's analysis 1061 00:57:56,080 --> 00:57:58,480 Speaker 1: than we could do. Yeah, Yeah. I even told a 1062 00:57:58,560 --> 00:58:00,640 Speaker 1: kid who came out of Julvie that ended up in 1063 00:58:00,720 --> 00:58:03,600 Speaker 1: my class. I told him that theory. But I told 1064 00:58:03,640 --> 00:58:05,560 Speaker 1: him in the theory in the sense that, like, these 1065 00:58:05,640 --> 00:58:08,080 Speaker 1: people are gunning for you, you know what I'm saying. 1066 00:58:08,160 --> 00:58:11,160 Speaker 1: So I'm like, like, stay close, Homi, Like just in 1067 00:58:11,200 --> 00:58:13,320 Speaker 1: the sense of like I'm trying to like I'm trying 1068 00:58:13,360 --> 00:58:15,160 Speaker 1: to protect you from this, you know what I'm saying, 1069 00:58:15,200 --> 00:58:18,160 Speaker 1: Like a matter of fact, like the Jevie you came 1070 00:58:18,240 --> 00:58:20,760 Speaker 1: from I used to work at before I worked here. 1071 00:58:20,920 --> 00:58:22,560 Speaker 1: So I'm like, I'm trying to tell you, bro, you 1072 00:58:22,560 --> 00:58:25,000 Speaker 1: don't you ain't trying to go back, right, They're gunning 1073 00:58:25,080 --> 00:58:26,920 Speaker 1: for you. This is the way they think of you. 1074 00:58:27,120 --> 00:58:30,640 Speaker 1: They think of you like this, bro. Man, I'm I'm 1075 00:58:31,440 --> 00:58:38,040 Speaker 1: I'm so read more. Yeah, yeah, um so the Yeah, 1076 00:58:38,400 --> 00:58:41,919 Speaker 1: it's it's it's pretty bad. This is a pretty bad 1077 00:58:42,440 --> 00:58:45,640 Speaker 1: scheme that these guys have. And again, it would have 1078 00:58:45,720 --> 00:58:49,040 Speaker 1: been perfectly legal if they hadn't been taking bribes. Nothing 1079 00:58:49,120 --> 00:58:51,880 Speaker 1: about these horrible you see in all the coverage, these 1080 00:58:51,920 --> 00:58:54,240 Speaker 1: like horrible cases that I've just related to you, They 1081 00:58:54,320 --> 00:58:56,560 Speaker 1: go to the tail about them, but they really note 1082 00:58:56,560 --> 00:58:58,440 Speaker 1: that like and it would have been fine if they 1083 00:58:58,480 --> 00:59:01,560 Speaker 1: hadn't taken kick. Those aren't crying, Yeah, crimes. You can 1084 00:59:01,600 --> 00:59:03,400 Speaker 1: be sad the children as you want as a judge, 1085 00:59:03,440 --> 00:59:07,240 Speaker 1: it's fine. The scheme fell apart because in two thousand seven, 1086 00:59:07,320 --> 00:59:09,720 Speaker 1: the parent of a child being railroaded by the judge 1087 00:59:09,720 --> 00:59:12,520 Speaker 1: placed a call to the Juvenile Law Center of Pennsylvania. 1088 00:59:13,080 --> 00:59:15,800 Speaker 1: Uh and these people rule. They started to investigate and 1089 00:59:15,880 --> 00:59:18,280 Speaker 1: found that kids regularly appeared in front of the judge 1090 00:59:18,320 --> 00:59:21,080 Speaker 1: without any lawyer of their own. And again, this is 1091 00:59:21,160 --> 00:59:23,240 Speaker 1: something he gets in trouble for. It's something you can say, 1092 00:59:23,320 --> 00:59:24,600 Speaker 1: like he doesn't have a legal right to do, but 1093 00:59:24,720 --> 00:59:27,120 Speaker 1: he had done stuff like the campaign add that he 1094 00:59:27,160 --> 00:59:29,880 Speaker 1: couldn't technically do. They've not been trouble for this if 1095 00:59:29,920 --> 00:59:31,520 Speaker 1: it hadn't have been for the bribes. I don't think. 1096 00:59:31,600 --> 00:59:36,080 Speaker 1: I think it's really unlikely. Um, they noted. So these 1097 00:59:36,160 --> 00:59:38,280 Speaker 1: the Juvenile Law Center looks into him, and they noticed 1098 00:59:38,320 --> 00:59:40,439 Speaker 1: that he's got this tendency. Kids are showing up without 1099 00:59:40,440 --> 00:59:43,360 Speaker 1: a lawyer, and he's got a tendency to very quickly 1100 00:59:43,480 --> 00:59:46,400 Speaker 1: make declare children guilty and take them away from their parents. 1101 00:59:46,960 --> 00:59:49,160 Speaker 1: So they petition the State Supreme Court in two thousand 1102 00:59:49,200 --> 00:59:52,200 Speaker 1: and eight to vacate these judgments, and the court denies them. 1103 00:59:52,280 --> 00:59:54,720 Speaker 1: So again, if it hadn't have been for the bribery, 1104 00:59:54,800 --> 00:59:57,280 Speaker 1: the court like already proved, if it hadn't been for 1105 00:59:57,320 --> 01:00:00,440 Speaker 1: the bribery, he probably would have been fine. Fine. The 1106 01:00:00,920 --> 01:00:04,480 Speaker 1: thing that destroys him is that in two thousand six, 1107 01:00:04,600 --> 01:00:07,400 Speaker 1: so two years before the Juvenile Law Center starts their 1108 01:00:07,440 --> 01:00:10,760 Speaker 1: investigation and makes this petition, the FBI gets a tip 1109 01:00:10,960 --> 01:00:14,120 Speaker 1: about the fact that he's being bribed from somebody who 1110 01:00:14,240 --> 01:00:17,040 Speaker 1: works in and around him. Right, finally, one of these 1111 01:00:17,080 --> 01:00:19,840 Speaker 1: fucking people because everyone knows what's more or less what's happening. 1112 01:00:19,880 --> 01:00:22,000 Speaker 1: They don't know for a fact about the bribe. But 1113 01:00:22,120 --> 01:00:25,040 Speaker 1: like he buys a yacht. He and Judge Conahan have 1114 01:00:25,160 --> 01:00:28,200 Speaker 1: these mansions next to each other. They've got like, yeah, 1115 01:00:28,280 --> 01:00:32,960 Speaker 1: they're like living judges. Don't aren't poor people? Right, Like 1116 01:00:33,080 --> 01:00:35,560 Speaker 1: you're taking care of but like they're living out of 1117 01:00:35,640 --> 01:00:40,560 Speaker 1: their means walking here with a role got the role 1118 01:00:40,720 --> 01:00:42,440 Speaker 1: ons like up guys like yo, when you get that 1119 01:00:42,560 --> 01:00:47,000 Speaker 1: rolex you know, I mean works from overtime Like what yeah, bam, yeah, 1120 01:00:47,240 --> 01:00:50,560 Speaker 1: where you get that role judge overtime? Yeah? Yeah, you 1121 01:00:50,600 --> 01:00:53,439 Speaker 1: get judges there's noose things judge overtime. Gee, here's those 1122 01:00:53,560 --> 01:00:57,800 Speaker 1: zinc so he uh so, somebody um gives the FBI 1123 01:00:57,920 --> 01:01:00,480 Speaker 1: a tip um and they do an invest diigation. And 1124 01:01:00,560 --> 01:01:02,200 Speaker 1: in two thousand and eight, the same year that the 1125 01:01:02,560 --> 01:01:06,960 Speaker 1: State Supreme Court denies this petition, the FBI charges him 1126 01:01:07,080 --> 01:01:08,360 Speaker 1: um and they come out with like you know, they 1127 01:01:08,680 --> 01:01:10,240 Speaker 1: it's the same thing we've seen with the Capital. You 1128 01:01:10,280 --> 01:01:12,200 Speaker 1: get this big charging document that has all of the 1129 01:01:12,240 --> 01:01:15,200 Speaker 1: things the state is accusing them of. Um. They accuse 1130 01:01:15,360 --> 01:01:18,360 Speaker 1: c la and Conahan of quote, ordering juveniles to be 1131 01:01:18,480 --> 01:01:21,000 Speaker 1: sent to these facilities and which judges had a financial 1132 01:01:21,080 --> 01:01:25,360 Speaker 1: interest even when juvenile probation officers did not recommend placement. Now, 1133 01:01:25,440 --> 01:01:28,720 Speaker 1: a flurry of press coverage and investigations followed. Here's the 1134 01:01:28,760 --> 01:01:32,040 Speaker 1: Juvenile Justice Center quote. The scope of the violations of 1135 01:01:32,080 --> 01:01:34,280 Speaker 1: the children's rights in Luzerne County turned out to be 1136 01:01:34,360 --> 01:01:37,080 Speaker 1: more egregious than anyone could have imagined. From two thousand 1137 01:01:37,160 --> 01:01:39,760 Speaker 1: three to two thousand eight, the Luzerne County judicial corruption 1138 01:01:39,800 --> 01:01:42,440 Speaker 1: scandal altered the lives of more than twenty five hundred 1139 01:01:42,560 --> 01:01:46,000 Speaker 1: children and involved more than six thousand cases. Over fifty 1140 01:01:46,040 --> 01:01:49,640 Speaker 1: percent of the children who appeared before Crella lacked legal representation. 1141 01:01:50,080 --> 01:01:52,760 Speaker 1: Sixty percent of these children were removed from their homes. 1142 01:01:53,160 --> 01:01:54,760 Speaker 1: Many of them were sent to one or both of 1143 01:01:54,800 --> 01:01:57,680 Speaker 1: the two facilities the center of the corruption scandal, believed 1144 01:01:57,680 --> 01:02:00,360 Speaker 1: to be the largest judicial corruption scandal in our history. 1145 01:02:00,920 --> 01:02:03,360 Speaker 1: This is like a lot of lives that these guys 1146 01:02:03,480 --> 01:02:07,880 Speaker 1: just nuke. I mean, and and those numbers are pretty stark. 1147 01:02:08,080 --> 01:02:12,000 Speaker 1: So Judge Conahan, Uh, the guy who says his dad 1148 01:02:12,040 --> 01:02:14,920 Speaker 1: beat him and you know, is an alcoholic. As soon 1149 01:02:15,000 --> 01:02:17,840 Speaker 1: as the the FBI starts gunning for them and there's 1150 01:02:17,920 --> 01:02:21,439 Speaker 1: charging documents, he is smarter than his partner. He's like, yep, 1151 01:02:21,800 --> 01:02:24,880 Speaker 1: I did it. You know what, you don't have to 1152 01:02:24,920 --> 01:02:26,959 Speaker 1: take me to court. I plead guilty, right, which saves 1153 01:02:26,960 --> 01:02:28,640 Speaker 1: the government a lot of money. And as a general rule, 1154 01:02:28,920 --> 01:02:30,640 Speaker 1: that's part of why if you plead. And this is 1155 01:02:30,680 --> 01:02:33,320 Speaker 1: problematic too because oftentimes they use this to like funk 1156 01:02:33,360 --> 01:02:36,440 Speaker 1: people over and like give people charges that maybe they 1157 01:02:36,480 --> 01:02:38,160 Speaker 1: wouldn't have if they went to court. But you kind 1158 01:02:38,200 --> 01:02:42,040 Speaker 1: of take well, better to take a guarantee, maybe go 1159 01:02:42,200 --> 01:02:44,560 Speaker 1: away for ten years. If this actually goes to write 1160 01:02:44,960 --> 01:02:49,200 Speaker 1: in this case, it's fine. Um, he's he's absolutely guilty. 1161 01:02:49,440 --> 01:02:53,440 Speaker 1: He pleads guilty, he gets like eleven years. Robert Miracle, um, 1162 01:02:53,520 --> 01:02:55,720 Speaker 1: who's the guy who's the builder, gets like gets like 1163 01:02:55,840 --> 01:02:59,080 Speaker 1: a year or so, so does Robert Powell. So everyone 1164 01:02:59,240 --> 01:03:03,320 Speaker 1: involved pleads guilty and goes away except for Judge ci Evarella, 1165 01:03:03,320 --> 01:03:05,960 Speaker 1: who decides he's not gonna plead guilty. He denies he 1166 01:03:06,080 --> 01:03:08,280 Speaker 1: did anything wrong, and he demands to take it to 1167 01:03:08,360 --> 01:03:11,200 Speaker 1: trial and fight his charges. And he's the one that 1168 01:03:11,400 --> 01:03:13,800 Speaker 1: he's the one that like came from the struggle. He's 1169 01:03:13,800 --> 01:03:15,640 Speaker 1: the trigger man. Yeah, and he's he's the guy who 1170 01:03:15,640 --> 01:03:18,360 Speaker 1: grew up poor too. Okay, this is all adding up 1171 01:03:19,160 --> 01:03:21,320 Speaker 1: because like, if you know you call for money, you 1172 01:03:21,400 --> 01:03:23,360 Speaker 1: know how to play the game you like. Listen, dude, 1173 01:03:23,480 --> 01:03:26,840 Speaker 1: Yeah I'm guilty. Also, as a side note, for anybody 1174 01:03:26,880 --> 01:03:30,440 Speaker 1: who's in any sort of like romantic relationships, take the 1175 01:03:30,480 --> 01:03:33,040 Speaker 1: advice at a rich dude, just take the L. Listen 1176 01:03:33,240 --> 01:03:36,680 Speaker 1: when you if you wrong, you know you're wrong, just 1177 01:03:36,840 --> 01:03:40,640 Speaker 1: take the L. You know a baby, love baby, my bad. 1178 01:03:41,600 --> 01:03:46,160 Speaker 1: You are right. Comprehensively good advice. It is comprehensively good advice. 1179 01:03:46,600 --> 01:03:50,160 Speaker 1: The L. Just take the L. Guys, So Judge c 1180 01:03:50,240 --> 01:03:52,640 Speaker 1: Evererella does not do this, Um, and he makes it 1181 01:03:52,880 --> 01:03:55,560 Speaker 1: very public. He's he's constantly while his trial is going on, 1182 01:03:55,680 --> 01:03:57,800 Speaker 1: he's up in front of the press as often as possible. 1183 01:03:57,880 --> 01:04:01,440 Speaker 1: He defends himself by saying this to journalists about the 1184 01:04:01,520 --> 01:04:04,640 Speaker 1: bribes that he took. This was a finder's fee. We 1185 01:04:04,760 --> 01:04:07,240 Speaker 1: needed this center built. I was always yelling at kids 1186 01:04:07,280 --> 01:04:09,200 Speaker 1: because that's what they needed, because parents didn't know it 1187 01:04:09,240 --> 01:04:11,240 Speaker 1: to be parents and so forth. So what's the big 1188 01:04:11,280 --> 01:04:14,000 Speaker 1: deal now, I mean, everybody was celebrating me all these years, 1189 01:04:14,040 --> 01:04:16,040 Speaker 1: so now they're not happy with me anymore, just because 1190 01:04:16,040 --> 01:04:24,439 Speaker 1: I took this money finders fee. This was a finder's fee. 1191 01:04:24,480 --> 01:04:28,640 Speaker 1: Fan this commission, y'all talking about bribes. It was a 1192 01:04:28,680 --> 01:04:32,280 Speaker 1: finder's fee, y'all talking about how dangerous the streets of 1193 01:04:32,320 --> 01:04:35,760 Speaker 1: Philadelphia are. I don't clean these streets, and now you've 1194 01:04:35,760 --> 01:04:38,480 Speaker 1: got a problem making a little money off it. Dang, 1195 01:04:38,920 --> 01:04:42,880 Speaker 1: it's very funny. So he gets convicted UM sentence to 1196 01:04:43,000 --> 01:04:46,200 Speaker 1: like twenty eight years in prison. Now Conahan also gets 1197 01:04:46,240 --> 01:04:48,280 Speaker 1: like eleven years or something like that, a pretty significant 1198 01:04:48,320 --> 01:04:51,080 Speaker 1: sentence UM. But after he's in prison a few years, 1199 01:04:51,360 --> 01:04:53,960 Speaker 1: COVID nineteen hit. These guys get like convicted and like 1200 01:04:54,040 --> 01:04:57,960 Speaker 1: two eight nine UM COVID nineteen hits you know, a 1201 01:04:58,040 --> 01:05:01,400 Speaker 1: decade or so later and con Hand gets compassionate leave 1202 01:05:01,480 --> 01:05:03,720 Speaker 1: to go live with his wife under house arrest. Right, 1203 01:05:03,760 --> 01:05:05,520 Speaker 1: So he's like he's in a back in his mansion 1204 01:05:05,600 --> 01:05:08,640 Speaker 1: with his wife. He does his time, but like a 1205 01:05:08,760 --> 01:05:14,080 Speaker 1: little early UM, Judge c Evarella is still in incarcerated UM, 1206 01:05:14,160 --> 01:05:17,600 Speaker 1: and he's he's appealed constantly. He continues to protest his 1207 01:05:17,680 --> 01:05:20,120 Speaker 1: conviction sentence, and he's asked, he asks to be set 1208 01:05:20,200 --> 01:05:22,160 Speaker 1: free as a result of COVID. And I want to 1209 01:05:22,200 --> 01:05:24,400 Speaker 1: quote from an article in The Times Leader about his 1210 01:05:24,520 --> 01:05:27,800 Speaker 1: judge's response to him asking to get out early. Chief 1211 01:05:27,920 --> 01:05:30,680 Speaker 1: US District Judge Christopher C. Connor acknowledged that these are 1212 01:05:30,720 --> 01:05:33,840 Speaker 1: compelling reasons for compassionate release, but still denied it, saying 1213 01:05:33,880 --> 01:05:37,040 Speaker 1: that Sieverrella continues to fail to acknowledge the seriousness of 1214 01:05:37,080 --> 01:05:40,320 Speaker 1: his conduct, while he now concedes his honest services mail 1215 01:05:40,400 --> 01:05:42,840 Speaker 1: fraud and tax fraud charges are serious crimes and are 1216 01:05:42,880 --> 01:05:45,400 Speaker 1: not to be taken lightly, Connor writes in his decision, 1217 01:05:45,640 --> 01:05:48,720 Speaker 1: he persists in downplaying the overall criminal scheme and his 1218 01:05:48,880 --> 01:05:50,960 Speaker 1: role within it. Connor goes on to say that the 1219 01:05:51,000 --> 01:05:54,200 Speaker 1: primary need for Sieverrella's lengthy prison sentence is so he 1220 01:05:54,280 --> 01:05:56,680 Speaker 1: can reflect on the seriousness of the crime and to 1221 01:05:56,760 --> 01:05:59,720 Speaker 1: promote respect for the law, something which Connor suggests has 1222 01:05:59,800 --> 01:06:03,120 Speaker 1: not happened. So I don't know, judges like you still 1223 01:06:03,200 --> 01:06:05,640 Speaker 1: don't get it. Yeah, think about that however you want, 1224 01:06:05,760 --> 01:06:10,760 Speaker 1: right not, But but I'm glad he's punished for it. 1225 01:06:12,480 --> 01:06:14,560 Speaker 1: The boy. The boy got to go home with the 1226 01:06:14,640 --> 01:06:17,240 Speaker 1: ankle bracelet. The other homy that tried to fight is like, 1227 01:06:17,360 --> 01:06:20,840 Speaker 1: no ni yaka sit in there day, yeah, and kind 1228 01:06:20,880 --> 01:06:23,000 Speaker 1: of handles some time, and it's like you an't think 1229 01:06:23,040 --> 01:06:25,280 Speaker 1: about him getting led out early however you want. Severel 1230 01:06:25,440 --> 01:06:28,680 Speaker 1: is the one who is doing the direct rm um, 1231 01:06:28,800 --> 01:06:30,560 Speaker 1: the most direct arm at least they both are doing 1232 01:06:30,640 --> 01:06:33,760 Speaker 1: direct harm. Siever was the what kind of sentencing the kids? 1233 01:06:33,880 --> 01:06:36,520 Speaker 1: You know, what kind of prison is that? Do you know? 1234 01:06:36,840 --> 01:06:38,959 Speaker 1: Like what kind of prison they're in? I think it's 1235 01:06:39,000 --> 01:06:40,920 Speaker 1: gonna be a federal prison, right, because yeah, it's a 1236 01:06:41,000 --> 01:06:45,480 Speaker 1: federal prison. It's it's probably a nicer federal prison. I 1237 01:06:45,520 --> 01:06:47,720 Speaker 1: would That's what I was going to say. I was like, yes, 1238 01:06:47,880 --> 01:06:50,320 Speaker 1: it's not the worst of them, but I don't know, 1239 01:06:50,400 --> 01:06:53,520 Speaker 1: can't put no judge and you know, like g pop. 1240 01:06:53,600 --> 01:06:55,240 Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, be careful with that guy 1241 01:06:55,320 --> 01:06:57,520 Speaker 1: so he doesn't get you know, murdered. Yeah, he ain't 1242 01:06:57,560 --> 01:07:00,280 Speaker 1: doing not of time. He goes that time going done 1243 01:07:00,360 --> 01:07:03,240 Speaker 1: real quick. But a judge and there with general population 1244 01:07:03,400 --> 01:07:06,960 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, um but yeah that's the cash for kids scandal. 1245 01:07:07,240 --> 01:07:13,880 Speaker 1: Oh my god, dude. Good stuff. Uh triggered, reminded of 1246 01:07:16,040 --> 01:07:21,360 Speaker 1: a lot of things and bad. I feel like to 1247 01:07:21,440 --> 01:07:24,560 Speaker 1: describe this is the type of stuff that like I 1248 01:07:25,840 --> 01:07:30,480 Speaker 1: I find so like, how do I say this refreshing 1249 01:07:30,600 --> 01:07:33,560 Speaker 1: in the sense that like it's telling the rest of 1250 01:07:33,640 --> 01:07:38,320 Speaker 1: the world like, see, we're not crazy. I'm not making 1251 01:07:38,400 --> 01:07:42,080 Speaker 1: this stuff up when we say bigger. It's like I 1252 01:07:42,120 --> 01:07:44,360 Speaker 1: don't have two hours to explain to you that the 1253 01:07:44,440 --> 01:07:48,640 Speaker 1: system is broken or that it's corrupt and just well, 1254 01:07:48,680 --> 01:07:50,800 Speaker 1: if you were not guilty, then you have nothing to 1255 01:07:50,840 --> 01:07:54,480 Speaker 1: worry about, like to explain why that's the dumbest shit 1256 01:07:54,560 --> 01:07:57,360 Speaker 1: I've ever heard. It's like, listen, this is what I'm 1257 01:07:57,400 --> 01:08:00,480 Speaker 1: trying to tell you, Like fools get sent to jail 1258 01:08:01,520 --> 01:08:06,240 Speaker 1: on dumb shit because there's money to be made, is 1259 01:08:06,280 --> 01:08:08,240 Speaker 1: what I'm trying to say. You know what I'm saying 1260 01:08:08,600 --> 01:08:11,320 Speaker 1: and it's like this they got in trouble because it 1261 01:08:11,400 --> 01:08:14,920 Speaker 1: was obvious other judges make money doing this ship. They 1262 01:08:15,000 --> 01:08:17,599 Speaker 1: just don't take a direct payment from a dude because 1263 01:08:17,680 --> 01:08:21,920 Speaker 1: that's stupid. Because they're smarter, they get consulting fees, they 1264 01:08:22,000 --> 01:08:24,360 Speaker 1: get like side jobs where they're like working for this 1265 01:08:24,479 --> 01:08:26,519 Speaker 1: company or giving advice or like helping to do Like 1266 01:08:27,120 --> 01:08:30,600 Speaker 1: there's ways everyone it's the same way with like Congressman, 1267 01:08:30,880 --> 01:08:33,200 Speaker 1: the dumb ones take a pile of cash for something. 1268 01:08:33,479 --> 01:08:36,080 Speaker 1: The smart ones quit and get a highly paid job 1269 01:08:36,200 --> 01:08:39,040 Speaker 1: as a consultant, right, Like there's yeah, there's so many 1270 01:08:39,080 --> 01:08:41,760 Speaker 1: other people profit from doing the same thing that these 1271 01:08:41,800 --> 01:08:45,280 Speaker 1: guys got caught because they were stupid as shit, and 1272 01:08:45,320 --> 01:08:49,519 Speaker 1: they still were able to people lives, you know, at 1273 01:08:49,560 --> 01:08:52,120 Speaker 1: least for a while. Hopefully as many of them as 1274 01:08:52,160 --> 01:08:54,800 Speaker 1: possible recovered, but you know, not all it. Obviously it's 1275 01:08:54,840 --> 01:08:58,280 Speaker 1: hard to come back, mamselves, right, Like, yeah, it's hard 1276 01:08:58,320 --> 01:09:02,720 Speaker 1: to come back, dude, It's hard hard to come back. Yeah, yeah, thanks, right, 1277 01:09:03,160 --> 01:09:07,160 Speaker 1: thanks for On Thursday, we're talking about the Texas criminal 1278 01:09:07,240 --> 01:09:11,360 Speaker 1: justice system. That's the bastard is the Texas juvenile Yeah, 1279 01:09:12,160 --> 01:09:17,760 Speaker 1: so check back in Thursday. Um, and I don't know. 1280 01:09:17,960 --> 01:09:21,160 Speaker 1: Go hug a cat. Yeah, what are we doing? Is 1281 01:09:21,200 --> 01:09:25,200 Speaker 1: it a live show, Sophie. Yeah, February seventeen, Foo February 1282 01:09:25,360 --> 01:09:28,120 Speaker 1: seventeen and the episode description you could click the link, 1283 01:09:28,200 --> 01:09:32,120 Speaker 1: but it's it's Momenthouse dot com slash behind the Bastards. 1284 01:09:32,360 --> 01:09:34,800 Speaker 1: It's the three of us doing a live stream show 1285 01:09:35,000 --> 01:09:38,760 Speaker 1: and you watch it wherever you want to. It'll be 1286 01:09:38,880 --> 01:09:40,880 Speaker 1: live for a little while too, So if you can't 1287 01:09:40,920 --> 01:09:45,240 Speaker 1: do six pm Pacific, you can do it on demand. Yeah, 1288 01:09:46,160 --> 01:09:53,040 Speaker 1: any other time. Yeah, that'll check it out. And uh 1289 01:09:53,320 --> 01:09:55,600 Speaker 1: oh yeah, I got a novel you can, Yeah, you do. 1290 01:09:56,000 --> 01:09:59,160 Speaker 1: You can google After the Revolution a k Press. If 1291 01:09:59,200 --> 01:10:01,560 Speaker 1: you preorder it out you get as signed copy. It 1292 01:10:01,560 --> 01:10:03,640 Speaker 1: will come out in May, so go go buy that. 1293 01:10:04,000 --> 01:10:07,000 Speaker 1: You get a book too, don't you? Mr prop I do, man, 1294 01:10:07,080 --> 01:10:08,920 Speaker 1: you can call me Ernest slimming Way. You know what 1295 01:10:08,920 --> 01:10:13,920 Speaker 1: I'm talking about. Uh yeah, poetry book called Terraform Propy 1296 01:10:14,040 --> 01:10:16,760 Speaker 1: pop dot com. Come grab that book is poetry and 1297 01:10:16,800 --> 01:10:20,240 Speaker 1: short story. I think it's dope, Sophie. Gotta signed copy, 1298 01:10:20,360 --> 01:10:23,280 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying? Good stuff? Yeah, check it 1299 01:10:23,520 --> 01:10:27,160 Speaker 1: out and go go check us back out on Thursday 1300 01:10:27,439 --> 01:10:29,280 Speaker 1: where it will be sad again. Bam