Former Luzerne County Judge Michael Conahan has filed court papers that seek to vacate his sentence should a federal appellate court reviewing his co-defendant’s case determine Judge Edwin Kosik should have recused himself.

Conahan, acting as his own attorney, said he believes he’s entitled to a new sentencing hearing before a new judge should the Third Circuit Court of Appeals agree with former judge Mark Ciavarella that Kosik should have stepped aside.

Conahan and Ciavarella were charged in 2009 with illegally accepting money from the builder and developer of two juvenile detention centers the county utilized.

Conahan pleaded guilty to a single count of racketeering conspiracy and was sentenced in September 2011 to 17½ years in prison.

Read the rest at the Times Leader

Kids for cash, Michael Conahan